The battle of the hormones…it’s really not you.

Hormones in your body significantly affect your appetite, weight, and mood, among other things. These chemical messengers also control your body’s major functions like reproduction and metabolism. Your endocrine glands typically produce an adequate amount of each hormone needed for specific tasks in your body. But due to today’s fast-paced lifestyle, hormonal imbalances are becoming more common. The common conditions caused by hormonal imbalances are premenstrual syndrome (PMS), PCOS, perimenopause, and menopause.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) occurs just before menstruation and affects a woman’s feelings, health, and behaviour. Over 90% of menstruating women suffer from its symptoms. It is believed that the changes in the levels of serotonin, oestrogen, and progesterone hormones cause PMS symptoms. 

Another condition is polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) which occurs in females of reproductive age. It is one of the leading causes of infertility. During puberty, pregnancy, breastfeeding, perimenopause, and menopause, your normal hormonal cycle also changes naturally. 

The most common hormonal imbalance symptoms are abdominal pain, sore breasts, heavy or irregular periods, acne, hirsutism, weight gain, vaginal dryness, constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, headaches, changes in sleep patterns, anxiety, depression, hot flashes, and emotional outbursts.

Adopting healthy lifestyle choices can help you maintain a healthy hormonal balance and feel and perform at your best. My cleanse programs are designed in 7, 14, and 21 days nutritional plans that have been developed to help you fight all the common conditions of a hormonal imbalance. The 14-days program can be used for those with PMS, and perimenopause, and the 21-Days program is designed for a deeper reset which may work more effectively for those with menopause, fibroids, and PCOS conditions. The main protocols of a Cleanse and how this helps you fight hormonal imbalance conditions, are discussed below.  

1. Drink plenty of purified water (with lemon) and other fluids to ease abdominal bloating and remove toxins and other wastes from your body. 

2. Eat a balanced diet comprising plenty of vegetables and fruits, and reduce sugar, salt, alcohol, and caffeine consumption to optimize your energy levels and overall health. 

3. Consume 20–30 grams of protein per meal to provide your body with enough amino acids for maintaining bone, muscle, and skin health.

4. Reduce your weight to make your periods more regular and enhance your chances of getting pregnant. 

5. Do regular exercise to improve your mood, mental health, hot flashes, and reduce stress and weight as it helps improve insulin sensitivity.

6. Take supplements like vitamin B-6, folic acid, calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium to reduce cramps, mood swings, and other symptoms of hormonal imbalance. 

7. Engage yourself in a relaxing activity right before bed like meditation, yoga, or a warm bath to normalize your stress hormone (cortisol) levels.

8. Sleep eight hours every night to prevent fatigue.

9. Consume healthy fats like MCTs found in palm oil, coconut oil, and pure MCT oil and avoid unhealthy trans fats. MCTs are unique fats taken up directly by the liver for immediate use as energy and help reduce insulin resistance in obese.

10. Consume high fibre diet, green tea, and many whole eggs to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce the hormonal imbalance symptoms. 

11. Essential oils are plant-based and some of them are known to contain phytoestrogens which may help to balance hormones and relieve some symptoms. Here are a few oils that have been known to assist, Clary Sage, Lavender, Jasmine, Neroli.

If you would like to learn more about the impact of hormonal imbalances on your health, please join me on my online workshop, “Hormonal Imbalances and your health”, on the 26th July. You can register for the online event here or email me at themoderartioncoach@gmail.com for more information or answer any questions you may have. If you suspect you may have a hormonal imbalance, here is the link to my online surveys. It’s free. Get it done and when you submit it, I will review the results and get back to you on the results. Click here for the link.

Yours in Health,

Marcia Howard