5 Easy First Steps To Take For Hormone Balance
My journey with hormone imbalance began years ago, as a middle schooler. I suffered very heavy periods, bleeding through a heavy tampon in under an hour (TMI I know). As a high schooler they lessened, but my cramps intensified. Once I even had to leave class to throw up from the pain. I coped with ibuprofen and heat packs until college when I went on birth control. I was on and off hormonal BC for a couple years while I changed my mind about whether or not I wanted to take daily medication or if I wanted the convenience factor of being in control of my cycle. Finally, once I firmly decided against hormonal BC, I quit the pill for good…and then dealt with inconsistent, long cycles (previously I could always track my period fairly easily). In addition, I was dealing with mood swings, bloating, anxiety, and acne (although none of these symptoms were new; I had been familiar with these since high school). It wasn’t until my husband and I started getting serious about trying to start a family that I finally went to see a naturopath to address my irregular periods. This is when I discovered, with the help of my naturopath, that I have an excess of estrogen and was experiencing post birth control syndrome. I immediately delved into research all about my cycle, hormone balance, and fertility. Aaaaand now I have a new passion :) Move over, gut health. Jkjk gut health still has my heart and is actually linked very intimately with hormone health. Go figure ;)
After months of working with my ND and incorporating lifestyle changes, my hormones have never been better. I no longer have mood swings, my skin is lovely, my anxiety has greatly decreased, and my cramps are so minimal they don’t require ibuprofen or heat packs.
I just would not be doing hormone health and our cycle justice by trying to fit it all into this one blog post. I will take the time to dive deep into those topics. For now, I want to share the basic, simple, everyday things that helped me in my journey to balancing my hormones. Whether you have long, short, or the “perfect” 28 day cycles, experience all the PMS symptoms, a few, or none at all, these tips and tricks are still for YOU and will help support healthy hormone balance in your body.
Herbal help
Chaste tree berry extract, maca root, dandelion, and nettle are all herbs that help support hormone balance. I personally take chaste tree berry and maca daily as a capsule, and incorporate roasted dandelion root and nettle tea into my diet as much as possible. Chaste tree berry stimulates the pituitary gland, which regulates progesterone in our bodies. Progesterone is what triggers our bodies to build the lining in our uterus, preparing for a pregnancy. If an egg does not get fertilized, progesterone levels drop drastically, which triggers our uterus to shed the lining (our cycle has begun). Maca root is a good source of fatty acids, which is one of the ways it helps support hormone balance. When the body has enough healthy fats, our cells are properly able to function, including our hormones. Nettle is an all around nutritious herb and has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Dandelion root is a bitter herb which is excellent for digestion and liver health. A healthy gut and liver will support health hormones.
Check your nutrition
Take a look at the food you’re eating and make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need. Incorporate a quality multivitamin in your diet, eat an adequate amount of healthy fats, and avoid non-organic if possible. There are so many chemicals, pesticides, and antibiotics used on food these days unfortunately, and they are a huge source of hormone disrupters. Our bodies can get overloaded with phytoestrogens, or chemicals that bind to our estrogen receptors. Our body doesn’t recognize them as true estrogen so we keep producing more, overloading our systems.
Learn how to better manage stress
Stress suuuuuucks. And we all experience it, and we all have control over it! I have experienced first hand how stress directly lengthens my cycle by delaying ovulation, and I have also experienced how I am able to keep my body and my mind calm even in stressful circumstances. Our minds and are bodies are so intimately linked, it’s truly beautiful. Our bodies will respond to real and perceived stress, either emotional or physical, by kicking into fight or flight response. This dumps adrenaline into our systems and increases our cortisol levels. Our bodies can get so run down from constantly being stressed that it causes our systems to not function properly, slowing our digestion, decreasing our immune system, and throwing our hormones off balance. Research has shown that simple practices like deep breathing, meditation, mindfulness, gratitude journaling, gardening, physical touch such as a hug, walking, or yoga can switch our nervous systems from fight or flight stage to rest and digest (or from sympathetic to parasympathetic).
Avoid synthetic lighting
Did you know that the light from our TV screen, computer, phones, and other devices increases our cortisol levels? Well, now ya do. This is why it is especially important for us to avoid “fake” lighting at night, when our cortisol levels naturally should be at their lowest. Spend at least an hour or two away from screens before going to bed. Dim the lights in your house as the sun goes down, light candles or use Himalayan salt lamps to give off soft natural looking light. Use blue light blocking glasses (I was able to add those lenses onto my Warby Parker eye glasses, otherwise my husband and I have boughten non-prescription pairs off of Amazon). You can also change the screen preferences on your computer and phones to “night shift” where you’re able to make the screens more orange rather than blue, which is easier on your eyes. I have noticed a decrease in headaches since I’ve started wearing blue light blocking glasses!
Go homemade…
…when it comes to household cleaners and beauty products. Remember those phytoestrogens I talked about in our food? They’re also found in many common cleaners and beauty products. Going greener in your home and on your skin will decrease the amount of fake estrogen you’re exposed to, and it’s also a lot more cost effective, plus better for the environment! I am still in the process of switching certain products over to homemade. It takes a lot of time and trial and error, but it is so worth it! I’ve found that my homemade face wash works better for my skin than any other over the counter product I’ve ever tried, and I love that I don’t have to spend the money on expensive products or create waste with the containers.
Now you know the secrets!
Although they’re not really secrets ;) Just super simple lifestyle habits that anyone and everyone can practice!