If you have been experiencing symptoms of hormonal imbalance, such as chronic pain, trouble sleeping, appetite changes, and weight gain, you might be wondering what treatment options are available.
Before looking at medial intervention, you can start with daily, healthy habits. This includes switching up your diet. Here are some tips that you can try that can help a lot with hormonal imbalance.
Apple Cider Vinegar
You have likely heard of people talking about apple cider vinegar recently and discussing the many health benefits of it. Apple cider vinegar has many health benefits for you, even aside from helping with your hormonal imbalance.
It can lower your cholesterol, help with your blood sugar levels, and even aid in your weight loss efforts. ACV is also amazing for your digestion and fatty liver.
Since apple cider vinegar is fermented, it is amazing for your gut bacteria, which in turn can help balance those hormones. Add a little ACV to your water each morning, and you’re good to go.
Leafy Greens
You have heard it many times before, and you’re going to hear it again – you need to eat your vegetables! Specifically, those leafy greens like kale, collard greens, lettuce, spinach, and many others. Leafy greens are known as superfoods, since they often have a very high amount of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and so many more nutrients. They can help to cleanse your liver as well, which is an amazing way to start balancing your hormone levels.
Even if you aren’t a big fan of these types of greens, there are ways to add them to your diet without much effort. You can make a mixed green salad with your favorite lettuce, then add in some kale or spinach to it. You can make an egg scramble with spinach or add a handful of greens to a smoothie. It’s even a great way to get the kids to eat their greens!
Healthy Fats
More healthy fats in your diet can also help to balance out those hormone levels and help with cleansing your liver.
Think about fats like
- avocado,
- olive oil,
- coconut oil
- MCT oil,
- nuts and seeds
- grass-fed butter
These are the food sources of fats, in addition to fatty fish like salmon and mackerel.
Stay hydrated - drink plenty of water!
Our body is made up of around 60% water, so proper hydration is vital for every function in our body. Particularly as we age because our body doesn’t retain moisture as well.
And did you know that estrogen makes it easier for our tissue to retain moisture, so in menopause as levels of estrogen drops, so does our body moisture.
Dehydration can cause fatigue, headaches, joint inflammation, mood swings, brain fog and forgetfulness. Other symptoms include drier, more brittle hair and nails, skin that is flaky, dry, and itchy. Headaches are common, as are constipation and bloating. Do not wait until you are thirsty to drink water – if you are thirsty you are already dehydrated.
Eat more protein
As we age our protein needs increase, so regularly eating protein throughout the day can help prevent the loss of lean muscle mass. In addition to helping prevent muscle loss, a diet high in protein can help with weight loss because proteins enhance fulness, so we don’t eat as much and can also increase the number of calories burned.
Foods rich in protein are meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, and dairy.
Reduced Sugar and Carbs
People who go on specific diets that lower their carbohydrate intake, like Paleo and Keto, often find that their hormones are suddenly balanced, and they have lower inflammation.
Why? Because they are lowering the refined carbs and added sugars in their diet. These can cause a lot of inflammation, throw your hormone levels off, and add to obesity. You can still have naturally-occurring sugar like in fruits and other natural foods, but be careful about foods that add sugar, like pasta sauce, bacon, and deli meats.
"Health requires healthy food." - Roger Williams
Grab a copy of my eBook: 7 Steps to Feeling Better. A guide to improving your sleep, mood and energy. In this guide I will walk you through seven steps to help get you started building new healthy habits to get you on your way to easing those peri/menopause symptoms, naturally!
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