Hormone issues seem to be a common problem, but most people avoid it and think of hormonal imbalances as simply a part of life. Hormones — such as estrogen, testosterone, adrenaline and insulin can disrupt our system and cause several health concerns. Hormones usually play a role in how you feel on a daily basis—with the heaviest hitters being cortisol, adrenaline, insulin, and reproductive hormones like estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone, even a slight hormone imbalance can cause major health problems. Here are 8 daily practices for better hormone balance.
1. Exercise
It might not be your favorite thing to do, but train yourself to make this a part of your daily routine.
- Walk– walking also stimulates the lymphatic system to help flush toxins from the body and works a wide range of muscles without undue stress on the body, take the stairs instead of the elevator, do some cardio instead being a couch potato, and stand up while you work.
Moving your body will help you control stress levels, support your heart health, and allow proper delivery of key nutrients to your body.
2. Eat Healthy Fats for Hormone Balance
Eating a variety of foods high in short, medium and long-chain fatty-acids is the key to keep your hormones in check, they keep inflammation levels low, boost your metabolism and promote weight loss. The best sources of anti-inflammatory, healthy fats include: coconut oil, avocados, grass-fed butter and wild-caught salmon.
- Coconut oil uses are plentiful− for example coconut oil has natural anti-bacterial and fat-burning effects.
- Avocado benefits include improving heart health, lowering inflammation, controlling your appetite and contributing to your daily intake of fiber and nutrients such as potassium.
- Salmon nutrition is also impressive: it’s one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to lower inflammation and help with cognitive functions.
3. Eliminate Toxic Kitchen, Beauty & Body Care Products
Another way to eliminate toxins in your body is to avoid conventional body care products that are made with potentially-harmful chemicals.
- A better alternative is to use natural products made with ingredients such as essential oils, coconut oil, shea butter and castor oil.
- Another thing to consider is your use of plastic bottles, aluminum cans and containers. It’s best to replace plastic and aluminum with glass and stainless steel because of their toxic effects.
- Another wise precaution is to switch from teflon pans to stainless steel, ceramic or cast iron, which can make a big difference in the amount of chemicals making their way into the food you prepare.
4. Reduce Stress & Get More Sleep
Unless you get 7-8 hours of sleep every night, you’re doing your body no favors. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, is regulated at midnight.
Sleep helps keep stress hormones balanced, builds energy and allows the body to recover properly. Excessive stress and poor sleep are linked with higher levels of morning cortisol, decreased immunity, trouble with work performance, and a higher susceptibility to anxiety, weight gain and depression.
- To maximize hormone function, ideally try to get to bed by 10 p.m. and stick with a regular sleep-wake-cycle as much as possible.
5. Watch Your Caffeine Intake
Caffeine in moderate amounts might be okay for some people, but drinking too much caffeine is almost as bad as not getting enough sleep, and is linked with insomnia.
Caffeine, which can stay in your system for up to six hours, is a chemical that affects the central nervous system and raises your heart rate, increases alertness, and changes the way your brain produces hormones.
- Caffeine is capable of uplifting cortisol levels if it interferes with your normal sleep cycle.
- Caffeine might also have an impact on other stress hormones, such as adrenaline production.
6. Hormone Balance with Carrots
Raw carrots contain a unique fiber that helps detox excess estrogen from the body. Both men and women of all ages benefit from this practice, since too much estrogen in the body is nearly always a component of hormonal imbalances in both genders. Eat carrot a day or better hormone balance.
7. Hydration and Hormone Balance
Keeping yourself hydrated is the key for hormone balance. Obtain nutrient-rich water from fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Metabolic hydration is an important step for many individuals to help balance hormones naturally, because it supports the thyroid and adrenal glands.
8. Practice this Detox Yoga Position for Hormone Balance
Regular yoga practice or simply stretching at home can help improve numerous aspects of health.
- Try “Legs up the Wall” When we sit all day, the lymph fluid becomes stagnant and toxins collect. To balance hormones naturally, we need to eliminate these from the body and keep the lymph flowing. With this yoga pose you circulate the lymphatic fluid and encourage the elimination of toxins.