How to balance your hormones naturally

Imagine starting your day everyday feeling like your body is fighting you. You’re constantly struggling between fluctuating weight, constant mood swings and exhaustion. Probably you’ve had the “will power” to try to stay at a healthy weight. You’ve tried all types of supplements to raise your energy, but you simply can’t seem to get it right. Hopefully not, but you may have even been struggling to conceive naturally or feel cranky all the time. If you know the feeling, you can relate to the fact that something is wrong with your body. Maybe it’s time to look deeply on your hormones. Yes, hormone imbalances are more common than you know. The good news is, you can switch up things naturally so that your body starts working the right way again. Here, you’ll discover how to balance your hormones in a natural way so that you can boost your metabolism.

Facts about hormones

Without hormones, our bodies would definitely be a mess… Hormones are responsible for everyday functions, from telling our brain when we should eat, how to stop when we are full. They regulate metabolism and every brain function. Hormones also regulate our sleep cycles, sexual and reproductive cycles, our body temperature and digestion, just to name a few examples.

Pretty much everything that goes on inside your body is regulated by hormones. For that reason, we should always aim to keep a healthy lifestyle and balance, so that our bodies can work properly. Your liver has a key role in keeping your thyroid, adrenal, cortisol, and sex hormones balanced.

Both men and women have the same types of hormones. As a matter of fact, there are over 200 hormones circulating in the bloodstream. The amount of hormones, just as how they are produced or how they interact with each body varies by gender. Every hormone in your system and the internal processes are connected, so when one of these hormones is imbalanced, your entire body suffers.

Can hormone imbalances deeply affect your ability to lose weight? To answer this question; yes! It is not the main reason why it’s harder to lose weight, but it’s definitely a strong fact to consider. So, if I have problems keeping a healthy weight, how can I shift my hormones to normal levels? Well, I’ll explain next how to balance your hormones through simple healthy living steps.

The hormones you should know about 

• Insulin: This hormone helps to convert the sugar from what you eat into energy. When you have constant blood sugar spikes or insulin, your body stores that sugar as fat.
• Ghrelin: It’s called the “hunger” hormone and causes you to overeat when it is not balanced.
• Cortisol: It’s considered your “survival” hormone. Cortisol is controlled by your stress levels. When it is high, it indicates that your body is ready for survival, making it store more fat. This is what you typically see around your belly, and other areas. 
• Estrogen: This is the reproductive hormone. It is higher in women. Estrogen levels can fluctuate and decrease around menopause, which affects the body fat, muscle mass an the metabolism, overall.
• Thyroid: This is the metabolism hormone. It helps to speed it up or slow it down. When it is not active, it causes you to accumulate more body fat, especially around your waistline.
• Leptin: It is released by your fat cells and it tells your body when you’re full and stop eating. Leptin, for some reason, has a more profound effect on “dieters”, and that’s why many have a yo-yo effect. This hormone helps us to maintain a healthy weight, but, unfortunately, for obese people and chronic dieters, it’s harder to keep a steady weight.
• Testosterone: This hormone helps to build lean muscle and strong bones. 

Why does a hormone imbalance happen?

Toxins

Bad diet

Lifestyle 

How does hormone imbalance affect you

Having hormone imbalances can show in different ways, but, overall, there are some symptoms that ring an alarm. Take a look at some of the common signs and symptoms of hormone imbalance.

• Sudden changes in weight
• Low energy levels
• Mood swings
• Gut problems
• Fatigue, foggy mind
• Sleep issues
• Low sex drive
• Dry skin, brittle hair and nails
• Acne
• PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)
• Irregular periods, heavy periods, amenorrhea, infertility, miscarriages, PMS
• Excessive sweating
• Heart rate changes

Natural ways to balance your hormones

Eat enough protein at every meal

Consuming enough amounts of protein is extremely important. Your body needs protein to produce hormones. Also, getting enough of this nutrient helps to control your appetite and produces hormones that make you feel full. Basically, eating 20-30g of protein at every meal can help you burn fat and build more muscle. 

Read more: Increase protein intake with these easy hacks!

Focus on whole fruits and veggies (bright ones)

Your liver is the most important organ that regulates hormone balance in your body. Whole fruits and veggies are rich in phytonutrients. Vegetables, especially broccoli, cabbage,cauliflower, and broccoli sprouts are hormone health superfoods.These substances help your liver do its job. For that reason, get at least 3-5 servings a day as salads, stir-fry or smoothies.

You can also take advantage of superblends or superfood smoothies. These foods are packed with so much nutrition value and benefits, that you won’t want to miss including these in your healthy eating regimen. I tried Splendid Spoon superblends, and I love that they have superfoods, are fully plant-based and help boost your metabolism. You can easily have them for a quick meal replacement, post-workout smoothie, or simply as a complete snack. These smoothies are perfect for busy people, who are always on-the-go. Splendid spoon offers many flavors and bundles, plus deliver right to your door. Get 15% off here.

Eat more food high in omega-3 fats

Healthy fats help to reduce appetite and insulin resistance. Omega-3 also helps to reduce inflammation and hormone imbalance. You can easily find omega-3 in foods like fish, chia seeds, flaxseeds, avocados, nuts, olive and coconut oils.

How to balance your hormones: Stay away from refined sugars

When you eat too much refined sugars, you cause your body to produce more insulin than normal. This excess makes higher blood sugar spikes, which ends in making you feel sluggish, with weight gain and more food cravings. Keep simple sugars to a minimum.

Reduce the amount of saturated fats and over processed food

By eating less saturated fats and processed food, you’re reducing the risk of having high blood sugar levels. Besides that, you’ll support your liver’s health, which is key in your metabolism and hormone balance functions. Eat a variety of more fresh foods and stay away from trans fats. In my previous post, you can find some healthy food pantry swaps.

How to balance your hormones: Get good carbs! 

You know that eating too much sugary and over processed foods can mess up your blood sugar levels. On the other hand, eating high quality carbs like whole grains, veggies, fruits and leafy greens will control your appetite, cause you to store less body fat and promote better liver function. This is key to regulating your hormone levels. 

More fiber is the key

High fiber foods, like whole grain cereals, nuts, seeds, and veggies, are essential to keep your hunger and fullness hormones balanced. The more fiber you eat throughout the day, the less cravings you’ll have, hence less stored body fat. You should aim for at least 25-30g of fiber each day. You can easily achieve that by including more raw fresh plant-based foods.

Practice more exercise

Being active has so many health benefits beyond losing weight or getting toned. By practicing exercise regularly, you reduce the insulin resistance and your body develops better levels of hormones that build muscle. Remember that a lean mass is key to maintaining a healthy metabolism and less body fat.

Read more: 20 ways to stay in shape when you have limited time for exercise

How to balance your hormones: Sleep well

Getting enough quality sleep is one of those underrated lifestyle habits that improves your metabolism. Well, there is also proof that resting enough can also help to balance your hormones naturally. When you don’t sleep enough, your cortisol levels increase, and so does the insulin. Actually, studies show that poor sleep decreases fullness hormones, increases hunger and stress hormones, and insulin resistance. Aim to get at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

How to balance your hormones: Upgrade your gut!

Taking care of your gut health is very important to help you control your appetite and keep a healthy weight. The way this happens is by the friendly bacteria in your gut. Experts found that healthy gut bacteria influences your hormones. In other words, a healthy gut regulates your appetite and reduces insulin resistance. You can find a list of gut-friendly foods in this post. 

Keep a healthy weight

Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight should be the goal to avoid hormonal imbalances. Weight gain is linked to having more cravings than usual, storing excess body fat and less fullness hormones. Also, being overweight is the cause of many infertility problems.  To keep all your appetite and blood sugar hormones in check, make sure you are being consistent with your healthy living habits. Healthy nutrition is key to a healthy weight. Focus on eating a variety of whole foods, stay active and stay away from toxins.

Read more: The Ultimate guide to lose body fat and bloating

Take your multivitamins

One major benefit you’ll have from taking your multivitamins is helping to balance your hormones. Because most vitamins and minerals play a vital role in forming hormones, you should ensure enough intake. In women, our hormonal cycles can also influence how much vitamins we absorb. I personally take Whole Food Women’s Multivitamin on a daily basis, since they help to boost my energy, support my immunity, as well as keep my metabolism in check. My go-to vitamins are plant-based, and high quality, which include all the vitamins and minerals my body needs. Learn more about this vitamin supplement and get it at discount here:

How to balance your hormones: Don’t skip meals

Skipping meals is the number one reason why people have a messed up metabolism, hormone imbalances and subsequent weight gain. If you thought that missing that breakfast or only eating 2 small meals a day will help with your “diet”, think twice. You are actually causing more harm than good. Starving yourself throughout the day will only make your body release more hunger hormones, spike your blood sugar and make you overeat. 

So, stay on the safe side by consistently eating nutritionally dense foods at least 3 times a day.

Include stress reduction techniques

Stress is another main cause of hormone imbalances in your body. When you have too much stress, cortisol is up to the skies as well.  This stimulates your body to crave more fatty and sugary foods. This eventually will lead to overeating and obesity. Also, excess exercise can cause your body to release more cortisol. In this case, that could cause your body to store more body fat, even though you may be skinny. So, more is not always better. Instead, focus on getting quality moderate exercise no more than 5 times a week. In terms of handling stress, practice mindfulness, meditation, unplug, etc. 

Read more: How stress can affect your fitness results

Get enough daily sunlight

Exposing yourself to sunlight will produce enough vitamin D in your body. In its active form, vitamin D is in fact, a hormone. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium for healthy bones and muscles. As well, vitamin D is vital to produce estrogen, and together, they help to prevent risk of heart disease. In order to avoid hormone fluctuations, getting enough vitamin D is essential here. You don’t have to worry about deficiencies, since you can easily get it through sunlight. Most animal foods are also supplemented with vitamin D. 

To recap,

You can balance your hormones naturally to keep a healthy metabolism and body as a whole. Overall, balanced hormones will avoid constant weight gain, high body fat, blood sugar spikes, and all the chronic diseases linked to it. Even fertility problems can be avoided if we keep our hormones in check and live a healthy life. As you noticed, staying healthy is 80% good nutrition. What are you currently doing to balance your hormones? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Sharing is caring!

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