Hormones, they have a significant effect on your mental, emotional, and physical health. They are the chemical messengers in your body that play a significant part in controlling your mood, weight, and appetite. Your body should produce the perfect amount of hormones that it needs, but sometimes they go out of wack and become unbalanced.
There are many reasons your hormones may become unbalanced, such as age, environment, or diet. But whether you are experiencing a lack of estrogen, estrogen dominance, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, or adrenal fatigue, there are natural ways to get your hormones balanced once again naturally.
Move Your Body
Participating in physical activity is one of the best influences on your hormonal health. It not only improves blood flow to your muscles but can also enhance the sensitivity of your hormone receptors.
Getting up and moving your body in whatever way feels good to you is an excellent way to aid your insulin levels. If you are insulin resistant, the best physical activity to participate in is higher-intensity interval training, cardio, or strength training. If you have specific physical ailments that make vigorous workouts difficult, simply walking can help balance your hormones.
Protein is Your Friend
Ensuring you are getting an adequate amount of protein in your diet is crucial when balancing your hormones. Protein provides essential amino acids that our bodies cannot make on their own, as well as producing peptide hormones, a protein-derived hormone. The peptide hormones play an integral part in controlling physiological processes, such as the metabolism of energy, growth, reproduction, appetite, and stress.
Consuming protein has also been shown to decrease ghrelin, which is your hunger hormone and boosts the production of the hormones that let you know you are full. So, to help your hormones remain balanced, it is suggested that a person should consume 20 to 30 grams of protein for every meal. The best proteins to consume are eggs, lentils, chicken breast, and fish.
Care for Your Gut Health
In your gut, there are more than 100 trillion friendly bacteria. These bacteria can make several metabolites that have been proven to have a positive or negative effect on your hormonal health.
Your hormones are regulated through your gut microbiome by adjusting insulin resistance and the feeling of fullness. An example of this would be when your gut microbiome ferments fiber. As it ferments the fiber in your system, it creates acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which are short-chain fatty acids. This is why taking care of your gut health is vital to promote balanced hormones.
Reduce Your Stress
One of the most harmful things to your hormones is stress. How your body reacts to stress can have a domino effect on the hormone known as cortisol. This stress hormone helps your body cope with any long-term stress. Once the stressor has passed, the cortisol production should end, but if you have chronic stress, it can damage the feedback mechanism that returns your hormonal system to normal.
When this happens, your cortisol levels may remain high, stimulating your appetite and raising your chances of choosing sugary or high-fat foods. Unfortunately, high cortisol levels can also produce glucose from non-carbohydrate sources, known as gluconeogenesis. This can, in turn, cause insulin resistance. To diminish your stress levels and reduce cortisol levels in your body, you will want to try yoga, meditating, and listening to music that relaxes you. Doing that 10 to 15 minutes a day can significantly affect your stress levels.
Quality Sleep is Vital
These tips will mean nothing if you do not also ensure you get good, quality sleep every night. It is vital not only to your hormonal health but your overall health as well.
Poor sleep has been linked to imbalances in insulin, leptin, cortisol, ghrelin, and HGH. In addition, it has been proven that our brains need at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep to ensure we go through all five sleep cycle stages.
When your hormones are unbalanced, it can affect many parts of your body and mind. If you want to help keep them balanced, these tips will help you do that naturally.
