6 Natural Tips to Balance Hormones

Are you dealing with what you suspect may be a ‘hormone imbalance’? Things like, PMS, acne, mood swings, irregular periods, intense cramps, and/or fertility struggles? Are you curious how to support balance to your hormones naturally without the use of medication or hormonal birth control? Well do I’ve got some news for you! Not only is it absolutely 100% possible to achieve hormone balance naturally, but when doing so, you’ll likely experience many improvements in other areas of your health & wellbeing as well. I say this because hormones are intimately interconnected between all body systems.


For some perspective, let me ask you this… Do you also experience digestive disturbances like bloating, indigestion, constipation, etc? How about energy lows, fatigue & brain fog? Even though these issues don’t necessarily seem related to hormone imbalances on the surface level… Deep down, they are all very connected. Please allow me to explain.


Hormones are chemical messengers that the body uses to communicate between cells. Responsible for maintaining & facilitating this internal communication is the Endocrine System. This system is made up of 10 or more organs & glands responsible for receiving & secreting hormonal messages. For context, let’s compare the Endocrine System to a great symphony orchestra. It all starts off with the Hypothalamus gland within the brain, which we can think of as the conductor to our orchestra. Its job is to understand the music & convey it through signaling certain cues to each musician. Each endocrine gland in the body is like a musician in the orchestra playing a certain instrument (or a specific hormone for comparison). When each musician is playing in tune with the others, together they create a beautiful, harmonic melody. However, if even one instrument is out of tune, or a musician goes off key from the others, it can degrade the quality of the entire performance. 


Similarly, within the endocrine system, each organ/gland has a specific role to play & hormone to communicate. When their function is diminished or the hormones go out of balance, the result can send a ripple effect of dysfunction to the entire system. The major endocrine glands consist of the Hypothalamus, Pineal & Pituitary glands in the brain, as well as the Thyroid, Parathyroid, Thymus, Pancreas, Adrenals, Ovaries & Testes. So as you can imagine, if dysfunction happens to any of these endocrine organs, it can lead to complications further down the line. For a realistic example, blood sugar imbalances (ie. Hypoglycemia - low blood sugar or prediabetes) can impair the function of the pancreas (an endocrine organ that plays a role in both blood sugar balance as well as digestive function), this can send complications further down the line, interfering with communication in other areas of the body, like within the ovaries,   which as a result, could potentially interfere with your menstrual health & reproductive function. 


Now that we can see how interconnected the endocrine system truly is, it’s easy to accept the idea that in order to balance hormones, we need to take a look at the big picture. If you truly want to balance your hormones, you have to consider approaching it from the foundation up. What I mean by this is, consider areas of your health & wellbeing that fuel & support the entire endocrine system, not just one particular area of it. 


For some examples & specific recommendations on how to support hormone balance naturally, here are 6 key tips:

1. Make sure you’re eating a consistent nutrient-dense diet. This means having a nutrition plan that contains plenty of whole-foods from their natural sources. If you want to support healthy hormones, skip the processed foods & baked goods. Opt for nutrient-rich, organic vegetables & fruits as well as naturally & sustainably-raised unprocessed animal products. This includes plenty of healthy fats (like butter, fish, coconut oil, avocado, etc.) & high-quality protein with each meal. Hormones & the endocrine-system require a lot of nutrients to function optimally. Nutrient-deficiencies are common in individuals that experience hormone imbalance. Start at the foundation & provide the key tools your body needs in order to produce the hormones you need in the first place.
   
   If you happen to just be coming off of hormonal birth control, keep in mind that you are likely already deficient in certain nutrients like B vitamins (especially B6, B12, & Folate), Magnesium, Vitamin C, Vitamin D & Zinc. To minimize the effects of post-birth control syndrome & to help ensure you’re getting enough to replenish your stores, you can consider taking a quality multivitamin. Here is a product that I like & trust. (receive 25% off the MSRP when working with me!)
   
   
   
2. I was serious when I said to avoid the processed foods. You’ll also want to consider significantly decreasing your consumption of added sugars (candy, sweets & baked goods). I get it, this part isn’t easy for many of us. Sugar & the additives found within processed foods are not only highly addictive, they also create a toxic burden on your system. Your body then has to work extra hard to get the gunk out, using your energy & nutrient reserves to do so. If you’re taking step 1 seriously, step 2 is your key ticket to actually experiencing success. If you stop stabbing the wound with a knife, results might happen for you faster than you think. 
   
   
   
3. Drink 1/2 your body weight in oz of clean, mineralized water each day + 12 oz more for every 8oz of caffeine consumed. Hydration is essential for healthy bowel function & movement, which is necessary for eliminating excess hormones properly. Oftentimes, hormone imbalance can be due to estrogen dominance. This is a situation where there is too much of one sex hormone (estrogen) & not enough of the others (primarily progesterone) to help keep everything in balance. This can be caused by an excess of internal estrogen production (usually due to poor elimination) & external estrogenic stimuli (which we’ll talk more about in step 6). Stay hydrated, girlfriend!
   
   
   
4. Practice regular stress management. Mental/emotional stress can truly have a profound effect on our internal body systems - most notably, the endocrine system. Stress has a way of interfering with the communication between the brain & other endocrine glands. Stress, when in excess, can present a huge obstacle when it comes to achieving hormone balance naturally. Without this part in check, you could be eating the greatest diet in the world, but you might still experience issues. Allow yourself 10+ minutes every day just for you. Whether that be reading in the morning or before bed, taking a bath, going on a walk/jog, playing music, creating art… whatever it is that decompresses you & helps you to take your mind off things. You can also consider incorporating a regular practice of deep breathing exercises, meditation and/or light stretching.
   
   
   
5. Are you a night owl? How many hours of restful, deep sleep do you get each night? Regulation & metabolism of several hormones is dependent upon a good night’s sleep. Not only that, but watching TV late into the night, and/or staring at your phone’s screen right before bed can interfere with your production of melatonin - your body’s sleepy hormone produced by the Pineal endocrine gland. The blue light emitted from electronic devices has a way of increasing your body’s stress hormones, decreasing melatonin & further impacting your ability to get a full night’s rest. To support a healthy rest, make sure you’re getting a solid 8hrs of sleep each night. I recommend stepping away from the TV/computer screen/cell phone about 1-2 hours before going to bed, to help naturally support the production of melatonin. If that isn’t possible, you can considering purchasing blue-light blocking glasses and/or turning the orange screen on inside your device settings to minimize your subjection to blue light right before bed. You can now even purchase blue-light blocking screen protectors for your device!
   
   
   
6. Finally, decrease your toxic exposure by purposefully ditching the plastic & switching to glass/stainless steal instead. Many plastics (think: water bottles, food containers, plastic baggies, straws, etc.) contain harmful, endocrine-disrupting compounds (aka xenoestrogens) that can mimic estrogen in the body, leading to estrogen dominance, triggering hormone imbalances.  There are many plastic-free alternatives available on the market, and they are well worth it if you truly want to support healthy hormones naturally.

There you have it, 6 tips for supporting hormone balance from a natural, holistic approach! Please keep in mind that these steps are covering just the basics. These are a few, simple ways you can support the entire endocrine system from the foundation up. However, keep in mind that more often than not, healing takes time, especially when it involves the entire hormonal symphony we talked about earlier. Fixing serious hormones imbalances can be complicated & might require you to work with a hormone expert/professional to uncover triggers & support the root of your imbalance. If you are in the market for finding a professional to help you dive deep into your hormonal situation, you can consider scheduling a free discovery call with me to see if we’re a good match to work together on your situation.
 
Supporting hormone balance naturally IS 100% possible. As long as you have the right information at hand & you’re able to provide your body with the tools it needs to keep the entire hormonal orchestra in harmony, you’re well on your way to naturally balancing your hormones & experiencing a truly symptom-free life.