Top Tips for Balancing Your Hormones Naturally

Hormone imbalance is when one or more of the sex hormones are higher or lower then they should be. The reasons for this can be many and are uniquely different for each person.  Your levels will depend on how well you’re producing the hormones and also how well you are detoxing them from your body.  So your hormone balance depends on not only your endocrine system but your gastrointestinal health, nutritional status, your liver function, your medications, your diet and lifestyle.

 

Common symptoms of hormone imbalance: 

• hair loss
• low energy
• irregular menses
• heavy menses
• premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
• acne
• insomnia
• slow metabolism
• weight gain
• low libido
• migraines or headaches
• low mood
• anxiety

 

The first tip is to keep your insulin low

 

High levels of insulin cause the ovaries to produce more testosterone  and this can contribute to acne and a backup of liver function.  High insulin also causes lower levels of sex hormone binding globulin which then leads to more circulating estrogen, and this can lead to heavier periods, more PMS symptoms, and fibroid tumors. (1)

 

Insulin is secreted by the pancreas in response to consuming carbohydrate foods such as  starchy foods like rice, pasta, potatoes, sweets, bread, cereals and pastries.  Keeping insulin low requires that you do not overeat carbohydrates. It’s best to focus on eating a lower carb diet such as eating primarily protein and vegetables, skipping the carbs. You can also help keep your insulin low by building muscle. Every new muscle you build is going to be going to work for you and burning carbohydrates for fuel.  Eating late increases fasting insulin very quickly. For balanced hormones, it is best to eat within an 8 hour window by doing intermittent fasting.  (LINK TO BLOG ON IF)

 

Second tip is keeping your bowels moving

 

For optimal health one should have one to two healthy bowel movements everyday. When the bowels are at all sluggish, or you skip a day, what happens is that the bowels will reabsorb the hormones and their metabolites into circulation.  Higher levels of estrogen and estrogen metabolites is one of the most common reasons causing hormone imbalance.  

 

To keep your bowels moving, it is important to eat fiber foods daily, drink plenty of water and take probiotics or eat probiotic-containing foods.  For example, you can add one tablespoon of healthy fiber such as ground flaxseed to your salad or smoothie every day.  Good probiotics are those that have at least 16 different strains and are refrigerated.  Probiotic-containing foods are fermented vegetables like kraut, or kimchi and kefir.  Hydration is key to keep the mucous lining in your gut healthy and not get constipated.  Drink half your body weight in ounces of pure filtered water every day. (2)

 

Third tip is to keep your liver function optimal

 

When your liver is functioning optimally, your hormones are detoxified more easily and your hormones are more likely to be in balance.   There are so many things that can affect your liver function, such as drinking alcohol, mold exposure, toxin exposure, being overweight which can cause fatty build up in the liver, just to name a few. One way to check if your liver function is optimal is to look at your blood work for the markers AST and ALT.  These should be < 19 according to environmental medicine experts.  The typical normal range is much broader.  

 

Botanical medicine can help keep our liver healthy.  Milk thistle seed is one of the best, it can be ground up and put in a smoothie, or found in capsules and taken orally. (3)  Dandelion root is one that can be used in a tea, and is also available in tincture or capsules.  Many liver tonic formulas are available as well.  You can eat foods that help the liver such as dark green leafy vegetables such as collards, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and kale.  There are other botanicals that can help hormone imbalance but it depends on exactly what your specific levels of hormones are, and what medications you are taking. Of course it is recommended to have your hormones tested by myself or a qualified physician before you begin any new regimen involving botanicals that will change your hormone levels.

References:

1.  Kolb H, Kempf K, Röhling M, Martin S. Insulin: too much of a good thing is bad. BMC Med. 2020 Aug 21;18(1):224. doi: 10.1186/s12916-020-01688-6. PMID: 32819363; PMCID: PMC7441661.
2. Lai H, Li Y, He Y, Chen F, Mi B, Li J, Xie J, Ma G, Yang J, Xu K, Liao X, Yin Y, Liang J, Kong L, Wang X, Li Z, Shen Y, Dang S, Zhang L, Wu Q, Zeng L, Shi L, Zhang X, Tian T, Liu X. Effects of dietary fibers or probiotics on functional constipation symptoms and roles of gut microbiota: a double-blinded randomized placebo trial. Gut Microbes. 2023 Jan-Dec;15(1):2197837. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2023.2197837. PMID: 37078654; PMCID: PMC10120550.
3. Greenlee H, Abascal K, Yarnell E, Ladas E. (2007) Clinical applications of Silybum marianum in oncology. Integr Cancer Ther 6:158–165