Healing your hormones naturally

When discussing hormones it’s difficult to know where to begin. 

We could start by looking at different disorders related to hormonal problems: for example premenstrual syndrome, menopausal problems, infertility, thyroid disorders, weight problems, depression, chronic fatigue….the list is endless.  Or we could start by looking at different treatment options and how they work.  For example, medication or supplements. 

Personally, I think the best place to start is by looking at our day-to-day life and working out why our hormones aren’t behaving as best they should. 

Often it's because we're simply ignoring (or avoiding) at least one of the basic rules of good health: eat well, sleep well, exercise well and manage your stress.  So simple to say yet actually so difficult to follow!   

Eat well

You are what you eat

When it comes to caring for our hormones, eating enough food is as important as not eating too much.  

Being overweight tends to upset the balance of our sex hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone because fat cells produce excess oestrogen.  However, being underweight or not eating enough calories also causes problems with our sex hormones and is a major cause of amenorrhoea (an absence of menstrual periods).    

Think about it...every cell in our bodies, every organ and every gland is made up only from what we put into our bodies. 

We're literally what we eat!

For example:

• oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone are steroid hormones made from the cholesterol we eat
• hormones such as insulin are derived from amino acids which we get from the protein we eat
• and hormones such as Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH), two hormones integral to the functioning of the reproductive cycle, are glycoproteins – needing both proteins and carbohydrates to be produced.

So basically, it is vital we eat a well-balanced diet that includes all the major food-groups to ensure we have the building blocks from which our hormones are made. 

Don't overload the body with toxins

In addition to eating enough healthy food, we need to ensure we don’t take in unnecessary toxins through our diet. 

By unnecessary toxins I mean any substances that put additional stress on our livers such as:

• food additives
• hormone-enriched meats or milks
• and “junk food”.  

This is because the two most important organs that support hormonal health are the liver and the gut.

The liver detoxifies our blood and helps to remove excess hormones from our bodies.  When the liver is not functioning optimally it cannot properly metabolise and clear these excess hormones.

The liver also helps control our blood sugar levels.  Irregular blood sugar levels are stressful to the body and result in an increase in our stress hormone cortisol. High levels of cortisol upset the balance of many other hormones.

It is like a domino-effect. One thing goes out and many others follow!

Don't scrimp on water and fiber

As mentioned above, the two most important organs when it comes to supporting hormonal health are the liver and the gut. The liver helps remove excess hormones from the bloodstream while the gut helps remove them from the body stoole.

Once hormones have been metabolised in the liver, they're excreted via the urine and stoole. If the metabolites are not excreted, they can accumulate and cause hormonal imbalances as well as other health problems.  

It's essential, therefore, to drink plenty of water and eat plenty of fiber to ensure healthy elimination of hormone metabolites.

Dietary fiber is plant-based food that isn't broken down during digestion. It:

• bulks up one's stoole, making it easier to pass and so preventing constipation
• helps you feel full so you eat less junk food
• helps regulate blood sugar levels by slowing down the absorption of glucose
• and it helps lower LDL cholesterol levels.

Sleep well

Regular, good-quality sleep is vital to a well-functioning hormonal system. 

Not only does sleep help us cope with stress, it's also necessary for the release of some hormones such as human growth hormone (hGH) whose secretion is stimulated by deep sleep. 

If our sleep patterns are disturbed for too long then they in turn disturb the cyclical nature of hormone-release and this has a knock-on effect on many hormones.  That's why I'm never surprised to find night-shift workers with premenstrual problems or teenagers who stay out all night with acne or menstrual disorders.

Exercise well

Don't just think about exercising, think about "exercising well”. 

By this I mean be careful not to over-exercise because when considering hormone health, too much exercise can be as detrimental as too little. 

Regular, gentle, enjoyable exercise is vital for our general health as well as to help us deal with stress.  However, too much exercise actually places a lot of stress on the body, causing pain, inflammation and then an increase in cortisol levels. 

Chronically high cortisol levels will affect the normal production and functioning of our hormones.

Manage your stress

I know it's easier said than done, but chronic stress wreaks havoc on hormones and if you have a hormonal problem you really need to assess your stress levels and ability to cope with stress. 

The primary hormone released in times of chronic stress is cortisol. 

When we have chronically high cortisol levels from stress we:

• Tend not to produce sufficient quantities of sex hormones - and so suffer from imbalances such as infertility, menstrual disorders, mood swings and low libido.
• Increase our risk of developing insulin resistance - the effects of insulin resistance include fatigue, increased appetite, abdominal weight gain, and eventually Type II Diabetes Mellitus.
• Lose our natural sleeping rhythm - Cortisol is released in a cyclical rhythm, peaking in the mornings at approximately 8am and then waning in the afternoons, between 3-4pm.  This rhythm enables you to get up and function in the mornings and then relax and ‘switch off’ at the end of the day. If, however, cortisol is constantly being released into your bloodstream due to ongoing stress, then this natural rhythm and hence your sleeping rhythms become displaced.  High levels of cortisol circulating in your blood stream in the middle of the night means you will be wide awake in the middle of the night.  And when these levels crash early in the morning you will too.  

So dealing with stress is of paramount importance to the general functioning of your hormones.  What is important to be aware of is that chronic stress comes in many forms, not just the obvious emotional, financial, relationship, work stress that we are all so aware of - long term illness, injury, pain or inflammation are also stressors to the body, raising cortisol levels and disrupting our hormonal balance.  

The majority of our hormones are regulated via negative-feedback mechanisms.  Our body cleverly monitors the blood levels of our hormones and if there are too many being produced then production is decreased and if there are too few then production is increased. 

Hence, we could describe our hormonal system as a finely balanced system, reliant on us living balanced lives – eating well balanced meals, developing stable sleeping rhythms, finding a balance between too much and too little exercise and working on emotional and mental equilibrium.  As the painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954) once said:

“What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity”.

And yes....I know....this is much easier said than done!

Please note: The health and nutritional information provided by Ruth Hull is intended for general educational purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute or replacement for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have any concerns regarding your health and before making any changes to your lifestyle or diet you should always consult your general medical practitioner or other health professional.