(Writing Portfolio) Hack Your Health With a Hormone Balancing Diet

Always tired or moody? Is your lack of focus getting out of hand? Can’t lose the extra pounds no matter how hard you try? You’re not alone. 80 percent of women report symptoms of a hormonal imbalance. But there’s good news! A hormone balancing diet can get you back on track.

To learn about the symptoms, causes, and what to eat to feel better, keep reading.

Symptoms of a Hormonal Imbalance

Your body’s hormonal system is complex and needs to operate in harmony for best performance. Having an imbalance can cause these kinds of symptoms:

• Depression
• Mood Swings
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Lack of Mental Clarity
• Trouble Focusing
• Weight Gain
• Hot Flashes
• Hair Loss
• Acne
• Infertility

Do any of those look familiar to you? We all experience at least one of them throughout our lifetime. It’s the ones that stick around for long periods of time that become a concern.

Taking medications for these symptoms only masks the root cause. Medications often trigger other complications that wouldn’t exist without them. It’s best to fix your body naturally.

The body is incredibly self-sustaining when given the right nutrition. Not only will a hormone balancing diet help harmonize your hormones, but you will also avoid inflammation. Inflammation is the primary cause of disease nowadays, so it’s a win-win situation.

 

A Hormone Balancing Diet: Targeted Nutrition

Let’s look at the primary hormones responsible for the symptoms and conditions above and foods that help balance them out.

Insulin

Out of whack insulin levels cause diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and metabolic syndrome, to start. A symptom of an imbalance of this hormone is weight gain, as well as fatigue and brain fog. If left this way, it can lead to serious health complications and even death.

Diet Changes:

Cutting out sugar and starches is the main thing you’ll want to do to gain control in this area. You need to naturally keep your blood sugar levels stable to avoid insulin spikes. Watch for hidden sugars in your food by checking labels for things like maltodextrin and all forms of corn syrup.

Thyroid Hormones

The thyroid gland makes tyrosine-based hormones that are responsible for your metabolism. Iodine is needed to make these hormones. Tyrosine is an amino acid, and amino acids are the building blocks of protein.

To help the thyroid efficiently make hormones, make sure you are getting enough iodine and tyrosine.

Diet Changes:

Eat dairy foods, meats, and eggs for tyrosine. And for iodine, use pink salt in your meals or eat sea vegetables like kelp several times a week.

Cortisol

Chronic stress or repeated use of corticosteroids cause cortisol imbalances. You can experience weight gain (especially in the belly area), anxiety, sleep problems, heart palpitations, and fertility problems if this hormone is out of balance.

High cortisol levels often lead to adrenal fatigue, contributing even more unwanted symptoms like depression, hair loss, and lack of focus.

Diet Changes:

To improve cortisol and adrenal health, avoid a lot of caffeine which puts more stress on your adrenal glands. Eat an anti-inflammatory hormone balancing diet by cutting out sugar, processed foods, and trans fats.

Include more fiber and healthy fats in your diet by consuming coconut oil, avocado, olive oil, and green leafy vegetables. Also, include healthy proteins like eggs and grass-fed beef.

Herbs like ashwagandha, licorice root, astragalus, and holy basil have been shown to regulate cortisol. You can readily find adrenal health supplements containing these herbs.

Besides food, you can reduce cortisol levels by sleeping eight hours a night, spending time in nature, and staying active.

Leptin

Leptins job is to tell your brain when you’ve eaten enough food. People that overeat continually will wear out this signaling process, becoming insensitive to the leptin signals.

When this happens, the signals are ignored, and they don’t receive the message to stop eating. An imbalance contributes to obesity. In fact, insulin and leptin resistance usually happen together.

Correct leptin levels and signaling helps with brain function, memory, and mood. Resetting leptin sensitivity with diet is possible.

Diet Changes:

Follow the hormone balancing diet recommendations listed above for insulin to fix the leptin system in your body. Eating healthy fats will keep you from overeating because they are satisfying and filling.

Melatonin

Melatonin is essential for a good night’s sleep; less than ideal levels can cause insomnia. Made by the pineal gland, it helps regulate your internal clock. An optimal level of this neurotransmitter helps with metabolic syndrome, fat loss, depression, and panic disorders too.

Melatonin deficiencies are common in shift workers, those that stay up late, and late-night coffee drinkers. The timing of melatonin release is essential to avoid insomnia at night and fatigue during the day.

Diet Changes:

Eating foods that contain tryptophan will increase serotonin levels, and in turn, melatonin levels as well. To take advantage of this, eat eggs, turkey, chicken, nuts, seafood, or dairy during your last meal of the day.

Vitamin B-6, Magnesium, Folic Acid, and Zinc are also crucial for the production of melatonin.

Melatonin supplements are available nearly everywhere. But, be careful using these for too long. Long-term use can change your body’s natural hormone levels, sabotaging sleep.

Neurotransmitters and Hormones

Hormones are not always the sole cause of imbalances. Neurotransmitters regulate several glands that are in charge of controlling hormones. In these cases, neurotransmitter levels will need to be corrected also.

Here are some common ones and the functions they are in charge of:

Dopamine

Dopamine is involved in controlling the release of hormones in brain pathways. Too much of this neurotransmitter and you may experience muscle spasms. Too little and you’ll have trouble staying focused and lose motivation

Norepinephrine

Norepinephrine is not only a neurotransmitter but also used by the adrenal glands as a hormone. The adrenal gland is in charge of the fight or flight response and dealing with stress. Prolonged amounts of mental or physical stress overstimulate and wear this gland down.

The right balance of norepinephrine provides concentration, alertness, and helps in learning and retaining knowledge. A shortage will have the opposite effect.

Serotonin

Serotonin is needed for your body to produce melatonin. Melatonin induces sleep after the sun sets. The right amount of serotonin is essential for a positive mood and gastrointestinal functioning too.

Estrogen inhibits the breakdown of serotonin, increasing concentrations of it in the brain. Women that have had a hysterectomy, or gone through menopause, lose the significant benefits of this interaction.

What’s the Bottom Line?

Provide your body what it needs, and you’ll see incredible changes inside and out. Focus on a hormone balancing diet, sleep, stress reduction, and exercise. If you want an extra helping hand, find out more about hormonal replacement therapy combined with nutrition and fitness.

 

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