As a women’s health naturopath, you can say I am VERY passionate about our hormonal health. Put simply you are not achieving wellness if your hormones aren’t happy! These simple steps can be done each day to help enhance overall wellness, but also importantly support how our hormones function so they work with us and help us thrive.
- Eat your veggies
Generally Australians are not consuming enough vegetables, we want to enjoy a variety of what is in season and cooked in a variety of different ways. With vegetables we increase our over nutrients, increase fibre, support elimination and they just make us happier!Start with 1 cup of veggies with each meal and increase from there! Ideally we want at least 5 cups a day. - Boost the fibre
Fibre is ESSENTIAL for hormonal health, it supports how waste eliminates the body. If we are not moving our bowels effectively we are not clearing hormones effectively. - Balance blood glucose levels
Our body loves balance, everything finding its equilibrium and balancing our blood glucose levels makes this possible. The rise and fall of glucose metabolism affect how our hormones are produced, our energy production and even our moods. The simple trick to creating this balance is protein and good fat with each meal, and having something small every few hours. Avoiding refined sugars and carbohydrates will also give a helping hand. - Add in the protein
Protein is the building blocks for everything wellness, it is key to hormonal metabolism and function, along with cellular repair, energy production, mood and like point 3 mentioned balancing blood glucose levels. - Boost the zinc
Oh, zinc how I love you! Zinc is essential for hormonal health, in both men and women. It is one of the key nutrients to support hormonal development and metabolism. It also supports our mood and can be a brilliant tool in PMS. - Take magnesium
Magnesium is another hormonal essential mineral, during times of stress magnesium levels deplete but we also need magnesium to support how we respond to stress … it’s a little bit of a never-ending circle! Magnesium has been found to reduce symptoms of PMS, period pain, mood changes, encourage sleep quality and energy levels. It really is a girl’s best friend. - Nibble seaweed.
Seaweed is rich in iodine, something our breast tissue and ovaries love! it is also one of the key minerals for thyroid health – our thyroid is responsible for hormonal development, metabolism, energy and moods! We want to go slow with this one, and will need to be limited in some thyroid conditions. - Add in a good b complex multivitamin
B vitamins are little powerhouses, and though they are small they play a big role in our overall wellbeing! They play a role in liver detoxification, energy production, hormonal metabolism, mood balancing and so much more! They are the cellular foundation of vitality! We want to choose a bioavailable form. - Move your body
Our body thrives on movement, it shifts our digestive system and encourages bowel motions, it moves lymphatic fluid to support detoxification, it enhances overall detoxification through our lungs and skin and it releases endorphins which make us happy.. it’s a win all around! - Do a poo
I think we all knew this one was coming, ladies if you do not poo daily you simply are not elimination correctly. You are not detoxifying effectively and this will affect your overall hormonal health. Health equals a daily poo! - Avoid the xenoestrogens
Xenoestrogens are a type of xenohormones that mimic our hormones, and in turn, can cause havoc on our hormonal health. Xenoestrogens can be found in soft plastics (such as BPA and BPS) which include cling wrap, or take away containers. They can also be found in cleaning products, beauty products, perfumes, room diffusers, air fresheners and fragrances. Ideally, we want to limit out exposure as much as possible, generally, this means reducing what we can in our home, allowing fresh air to filter through the home and avoiding additional exposures as much as possible. We have learnt that with xenoestrogens it’s not only the long-term exposure but the multitude of possible exposures which can affect how hormonal health and even our fertility outcomes.