Hormones usually affect overall health, appetite, stress levels, and moods. When a hormonal imbalance occurs, you may feel more tired than usual. Furthermore, you may experience general irritability, heightened stress, irregular menstrual cycles, and bowel movements.
Many people don’t think food can remedy the effects of hormonal imbalance. Most times, they usually focus on medication. However, diet can positively affect hormones, especially in regulating your gut health which can also affect your mental health.
So let’s find some food types to help you regain your hormone levels.
Fibrous carbohydrates
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When you eat a sizable portion of whole grains carbohydrates such as brown rice, quinoa, and buckwheat, you are ensuring that you get the vital vitamin B and fiber. In addition, they can restore your hormones to their normal level and help remove spent hormones closely related to issues like PMS.
Cruciferous vegetables
As part of the brassica family, they produce a chemical called Indole-3-carbinol when cut, cooked, and chewed. Indole-3-carbinol helps promote liver function and is essential for clearing out spent hormones.
Therefore, you can eat cruciferous vegetables daily as a part of hormone balancing or detoxification. Examples include radish, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, and bok choy.
Foods rich in magnesium
Magnesium can improve insulin sensitivity, which means that the body can better use insulin to regulate blood sugar and the nervous system. Foods having magnesium are easy to add to your daily diet.
They include avocados, legumes, soybeans, lentils, chickpeas, dark green leafy vegetables, kale, watercress, spinach, seeds, nuts, and whole grains.
Flaxseeds
Flaxseed is a rich source of lignans. Lignans is a type of phytoestrogen used to balance estrogen levels by promoting estrogen. It can also eliminate estrogen. A perfect way to use flaxseeds is to add them to soups or smoothies.
Add proteins to meals
Apart from filling you up, protein can keep you fuller for a long time, ensuring your blood sugar level is balanced. You can decide on the type of protein you want, plant or animal, or you can combine them. When opting for animal protein, ensure that the meat is fed organic grass.
Proteins are an essential part of our diet, providing the building blocks for our muscles, bones, and organs. Many people don’t get enough protein in their diet, which can lead to health problems. Herbalife’s Protein Drink Formula is a great way to add extra protein to your diet. The Herbalife Protein Drink Formula is a high-quality protein powder that provides all the essential amino acids your body needs. It’s easy to mix with water or milk, and it tastes great!
Incorporate fruits
You can decide to eat one or two fruits that are low in sugar daily. However, ensure that you eat them raw with their skin on, as it helps check your blood sugar level. Include apples, citrus, pears, and berries. However, avoid fruit juices and dried fruits since they can increase your blood sugar level.
Incorporate good fats into your daily diets
Good fats are vital to the production of hormones since these fats build up the hormone and reduce inflammation. So, ensure you add a good portion of fat to every meal. It can come from avocado oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil, avocados, and nut butter.
Eat leafy greens
Greens such as swiss chard, collard greens, kale, and spinach are filled with antioxidants to help stop inflammation. Leafy greens are hormone-balancing foods since they lower stress levels by reducing cortisol levels and also lead to balancing estrogen. Additionally, they are very high in fiber.
A high-fiber diet can also help you lower your estrogen level, especially for people with the risk of hormone-sensitive breast cancer. Generally, consuming 25 – 35 grams of fiber daily can support the hormone balance.
Eat fatty fish
Data from the American Heart Association shows that fatty fish caught in the wild, like sardines, lake trout, mackerel, herring, and salmon, can make you feel full for a long period and stabilize hunger hormones.
Additionally, fatty fish is also one of the foods that help females balance their hormones. They provide vitamin D, which is essential in improving female testosterone levels.
Nuts
Nuts are pretty rich in monounsaturated and poly fats. They aid in hormone production and blood vessel health. Additionally, they positively impact the endocrine system, reducing insulin and cholesterol levels while maintaining blood sugar.
A good source of selenium is brazil nuts. Selenium is important in balancing hormones since they support thyroid health.
Add spices and herbs to your food
Adding dried or fresh herbs and spices to your foods, specifically those with anti-inflammatory properties such as paprika, sumac, garlic, turmeric, and ginger, will help promote hormone harmony. Also, adding spices and herbs to your food can give you various nutrients.
Final thought
Hormone affects development and growth, mood, stress, fertility, digestion, metabolism, weight, appetite, energy, and more. Besides medication, eating diets rich in proteins, fats, whole grains, vegetables, and fruits can help balance your hormones.
When you don’t eat the right number of calories, fiber, or healthy fats, it might result in cancer, infertility, diabetes, and obesity. Additionally, processed foods, alcohol, stress, and lack of sleep can affect your hormones by including your gut microbiome, which ensures your hormone is balanced.
