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Hormones are basically one of the most important compounds in the body which are responsible for the overall functioning of the body. Any kind of disturbance to the equilibrium of the levels of the hormones in the body often has profound impacts on one’s emotional, physical as well as mental well being. In order to balance hormones naturally, it is important to have a clear understanding of the dynamics involved.
It is our endocrine glands that produce optimum and sufficient amounts of hormone to suffice the body requirements. But, any kind of hindrance in the activity associated with the function ends up causing problems and that’s when you need to step in with effective ways on how to balance hormone balance.
In this article, we are going to shed some light on how to balance hormones naturally in order to positively impact your overall health – both mental and physical.
How to Increase Hormone Balance?
Now, this section of the article is what you need to primarily focus on because we are going to be sharing some of the most effective and impactful ways to balance hormones naturally without inflicting any kind of negative impacts on the body.
From influencing and changing the diet to necessary changes in one’s lifestyle, every aspect of changes has beneficial influence over the hormone balance in our body. Here, we are going to discuss some of the common ways to keep the hormonal levels in check.
Check Out the Most Popular Self Care Tips On How To Maintain Hormone Balance
1. Engage in Some Physical Activity – Exercise
Exercise is possibly one of the best and most effective ways when it comes to how to balance hormone balance in an individual. Not only does it help in regulating the hormonal levels in the body, but it is also very beneficial in reducing the excess levels of insulin in the blood stream and to increase the insulin sensitivity.
The higher levels of insulin in the body often tend to have adverse effects on the body and increase the risks associated with several diseases like diabetes and even cancer. Not just that, it also tends to induce insulin resistance in the body which can be very fatal for the body.
Studies (R) (R) (R) have proclaimed that physical activities and exercises can effectively reduce the heightened levels of insulin and also increase the insulin sensitivity. The primary kinds of exercises associated in this include aerobic exercises, endurance exercise etc.
Not just insulin levels, but even the muscle maintaining hormones (R) (R) gets a quick boost when one indulges in some exercises and physical activity. Some of these hormones include IGF-1, testosterone, DHEA etc.
There are often instances when people are unable to engage in exercises, switch it up with some morning walk and even that helps boost the overall hormone balance (R) and improves the quality of life.
2. Proper Stress Management
The cortisol and the adrenaline, the two primary hormones associated with the stress. While in historic times, these hormones would have been triggered during an emergency situation of fight or flight, the current hectic lifestyle that we lead is often a very potent contributor nowadays to this issue.
Now, while you may think how even does it affect the hormone levels in the body on the long term, right? Well, the prolonged stress levels in the body often times end up causing persistently elevated levels of cortisol in the bloodstream which tend to increase one’s appetite and makes them eat more throughout the day, thus resulting in obesity.
It thus very important to keep the cortisol levels in check for a healthier well being. Researches and studies (R) (R) (R) has shown that engaging in activities like yoga, meditation or even listening to music could be effective in keeping the levels of cortisol down and in check in the body.
3. Optimal Consumption of Protein With Every Meal
The proper levels of protein in the body are beneficially important for influencing the hormones that are related to appetite and the overall food intake and satiety of an individual. In several studies (R) (R), it has been showcased that the proper consumption of protein is associated with lowered levels of the hunger inducing hormone, ghrelin in the body. It also boosts the secretion of the hormones PYY and GLP-1 which are associated with making you feel fuller.
If you want to ensure a proper hormonal balance of the associated hormones, it is best advised to keep the levels of protein consumption in check. Make sure to consume at least 20-30 grams (R) of protein with every single meal.
4. Consume Healthy Fats in Your Meal
Fats are not always bad for you, quite the contrary actually. Including healthy fats in your diet helps you to have a proper boost to your overall well being and is very much an important trigger for the maintenance of proper levels of hormones in the body.
Much like how exercise has a close knit connection with the levels of insulin in the body, even the consumption of optimum levels of fat is associated with the proper levels of insulin in the body. Studies (R) have shown that proper levels of fat in the body tend to reduce the levels of heightened insulin in overweight and obese people.
Eating healthy fats with meals also boost the release of hormones that are related to satiety (R) (R) much like cholecystokinin, PYY etc. The only key factor in this is the fact that it is necessary to ensure that you are consuming healthy fats and not the Trans fats which have completely opposite and negative implications for one’s health.
Make sure to have a good and well balanced portion of healthy fats with each meal to increase hormone balance naturally.
5. Avoid the Consumption of Refined Carbohydrates
Consumption of high fructose diet (R) is associated with the increased levels of insulin in the body which has adverse impacts on the body by impact weight gain and even the risks of prediabetes and diabetes (R).
It was even found in a conducted study on people suffering from prediabetes who were fed with a diet rich in honey, sugar and other forms of syrup experienced a spiked increased in their insulin levels.
The consumption of refined carbs (R) like that in white bread and even pretzels have shown to adversely not just increase the levels of insulin but it also tends to cause insulin resistance in the body which is responsible for a number of potent diseases in both children and adults. Limit the consumption of excess sugar compounds as well as refined carbs that could adversely impact the hormone balance in the body.
6. Drink Green Tea on Regular Intervals
Studies support the fact that the consumption of green tea (R) is associated with the prevention of heightened levels of insulin or insulin resistance (R) in the body. For patients who suffer from diabetes and are also obese, green tea could be a boon. A single detailed study showcased the impactful benefits of green tea in lowering the levels of insulin in the body at a comparatively faster rate.
So, if you have been seeking ways to balance hormones naturally, start with consuming green tea every day for effective benefits in your levels of insulin in the body.
7. Getting Quality Sleep Is The Key
Lack of proper sleep actually has disruptive effects on the levels of a number of hormones (R) (R) like cortisol, leptin, ghrelin, insulin and even growth hormones, for that matter.
In a conducted study (R) on a group of men who were subjected to just 5 hours of sleep at night, it was found that they experienced a drastic impact on their insulin sensitivity and that too by a whopping 20%.
Apart from the how much a person is sleeping, even the quality of the sleep has quite a lot of impact on the overall levels of hormone in the body. Acquiring uninterrupted sleep during the night or whenever you are sleeping for that matter plays a crucial role in the release of growth hormone (R) in the body which has beneficial impacts on the overall body functions.
8. Overeating And Under Eating Both Have Their Impacts
Hormonal shifts can be induced when you are eating uncontrollably or even when you are cutting down the optimal calorie intake in the body.
For the stance of overeating, it is often times related with the increased levels of insulin (R) (R) in the body with reduced levels of insulin sensitivity. This is mostly witnessed in people who are overweight and are at more risks of developing diabetes.
While we have shed some light on the connection of overeating with the hormone levels in the body, but even the sudden cutting off of the calories (R) from the meals have been witnessed to be a contributing factor to the higher levels of cortisol in the body whose elevated levels often contribute to weight gain.
So, when it comes to consumption of food, it is important to ensure that you are neither overeating nor under eating to ensure that your hormonal levels are kept in check.
9. Consume a High-Fibre Diet
High-fibre diet is not just beneficial for one’s overall health; it is also very effective when it comes to answering how to balance hormone balance in the body. The primary hormone associated with the fibre rich diet is insulin.
There have been multiple conducted studies which provide concrete scientific evidence concerning the fact that the consumption of high fibre diet is not just beneficial for the keeping the insulin levels (R) (R) in check but to also ensure that there is a regulated secretion of the hormones related to hunger and satiety.
It is believed that while the soluble fibres have a better impact, even the category of insoluble fibre are responsible to increase hormone balance naturally. Both of these fibres have impactful benefits in making your feel full and thus reduce your consistent hunger (R).
10. Start off With a Shot
If you didn’t know any better, what we eat and how our body processes and digests it plays a very crucial role in the regulation of the various hormones in the body. This is why it is necessary to ensure that the body is well prepared and ready to properly digest and consume the food and thereby either trigger or suppress the activity of any hormone depending on the requirement.
Starting your day off with an apple cider vinegar shot actually does help flush out the unwanted toxins out of the body and also improves the overall digestive power of the body. Mix 1 tablespoon of the vinegar to a glass of water and mix it together. If the smell and taste is too overpowering for you, mix in 1 teaspoon of honey to the mix and drink it empty stomach in the morning.
It is an amazing remedy to metabolise excess fat and boost the liver functioning (R) which indirectly help maintain the proper levels of the associated hormones in the body. Make sure that you are consuming the organic and raw variant of the vinegar for better results.
11. Detoxify and Flush the Liver
Our liver is considered the primary hub of detoxification of all the unwanted toxins and unnecessary compounds. Several experts and publications regard the liver as the powerhouse of all the hormone secretion as well as metabolism (R) which is why it is necessary to keep the liver in a good condition and function.
Having a clogged liver is going to affect your hormone balance inadvertently. If you want to balance hormones naturally, it is best to pay heed to the functions of the liver. Include green smoothie as a part of your diet and consume it at least for one meal and you will see the starting difference right after a few days.
12. Supplement with Adaptogen Herbs
Adaptogenic herbs are not a term that you get to come across quite often, now, do you? These are categorized as a group of herbs which have impactful benefits for maintaining proper levels of hormones in the body. They are also responsible for ensuring effective stabilization of the physiological processes along with promoting the homeostasis of the body.
These herbs have a multifaceted approach to trivializing and regulating the hormonal levels in the body, mainly that of the thyroid hormones (R) as well as the insulin levels (R) in the body. They also have beneficial impacts on the state of anxiety and stress (R) of an individual, thereby keeping the cortisol levels in check too.
If you have been looking for answers on how to balance hormones naturally, opt for some of these adaptogen herbs like holy basil, ashwagandha, rhodiola etc.
13. Keep the Alcohol and Caffeine Intake in Check
Coffee, tea and basically anything containing caffeine is not something that you need to cut out from your daily diet but it is very important to keep a close eye on how much you are consuming it. The excess amount of caffeine in the system often correlates to disrupting your sleep which, in turn, reflects on the heightened levels of cortisol in the body.
The excess of caffeine (R) actually adversely affects how your brain perceives the signals for hormone release and thus negatively affects its release into the blood stream.
When it comes to alcohol intake, it is associated with negative impacts on the liver (R), which, as mentioned before, is a hub associated with effective release and metabolism of the primary hormones in our body. Even the associated impacts of smoking adversely affect the liver and hinders with the smooth hormone balance in our body.
Cut down the caffeine intake along with the alcohol intake. Drink responsibly and occasionally to ensure that it doesn’t necessarily affect the body’s overall hormonal balance negatively.
14. Consumption of Fatty Fish
The main impacts that the omega-3 fatty acids have on are the levels of cortisol and other stress hormones in the body. Even studies (R) conducted on a group of men fed with an omega-3 rich diet found significant lowered levels of cortisol after 3 weeks.
Apart from the common ground of stress hormones, the omega-3 fatty acids also have insightful impacts on the reduction of insulin resistance (R) (R) in people which are correlated to polycystic ovary disease and even gestational diabetes.
15. Include Probiotic Foods in the Diet
Including probiotic food item in the day to day diet actually helps in boosting the gut health and thus has impactful influence to increase hormone balance naturally.
Food items like yoghurt, kefir, sourdough bread and even kombucha are rich sources of probiotics that are essential for the metabolism process of the body and in turn, the hormone balance too.
16. Steer Clear Off Sugary Beverages
These are loaded with sugar which has negative impacts when it comes to insulin levels (R) as well as insulin resistance (R) (R) in the body.
In a conducted study (R), the subjects were administered ensuring that 25% of their calorie consumption would be done with the consumption of the high fructose sugar beverages. At the end of the study, it was found that even without any alterations in the calorie intake or the food consumption, the subjects experienced heightened insulin levels and had a reduced insulin sensitivity and increased deposition of fat in the abdomen region.
Consuming these sugary beverages also tend to adversely impact the hormones associated with hunger and satiety.
Cut down the consistent consumption of these beverages because of the kind of negative implications they have on the overall hormone balance in the body.
17. Supplementation With Vitamin D3
The impact of Vitamin D in the overall well being of an individual is not something that you need separate explanation about, right?
What many people often tend to miss out on is the fact that the Vitamin D itself acts as a hormone (R) inside our body. It has beneficial impacts in keeping the levels of inflammation in check and is beneficial in other kinds of functional activities in our body.
Vitamin D3 also has an amazing correlation with the secretion of the insulin hormone (R) from the beta cells in the pancreas. If you have been looking for amazing ways to balance hormones naturally, start off with soaking yourself in the sunlight for quite some time and that should do the trick.
18. Shield Your Thyroid Gland
Thyroid gland and the hormone that it generates and secretes play a very crucial role in the overall body functions which is why it is necessary to protect the thyroid gland and ensure that the thyroid hormones (R) are secreted proactively without any sort of hindrance.
The main boost that you could give to your thyroid gland is by consuming foods that are rich in magnesium and iodine because that’s what helps boost the steady release of the hormone from the gland.
Consume foods like almonds and dark green veggies and even include the sea vegetables like seaweed and nori etc for that extra dose of iodine in your diet.
19. Keep The Consumption Of Birth Control Medication In Check
If you want to know how to balance hormone balance, it is necessary to get off of the pills and rather, opt for any other method for preventing pregnancy. Even studies (R) have shown that the long term intake of birth control pills have several side effects ranging from irregular menstruation to weight gain and benign liver tumors.
Signs and Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance
Now, as per the common guidelines, it should be known well that knowing for a fact that you are suffering from hormonal imbalance is not something that you can source and locate right from the exterior; it is the wide array of signs and symptoms that signify the same.
In this section of the article, we are going to be discussing about the common and basic symptoms that one might be experiencing that could be a definitive explanation that you are suffering from hormonal imbalance.
Some of the common signs and symptoms of hormonal imbalance include:
- Infertility or difficulty in conceiving
- Irregular periods or even abstinence from the regular menstrual cycle
- Mental health issues like depression and anxiety
- Fatigue and tiredness
- Low Libido
- Insomnia and unable to getting quality sleep
- Changes in appetite, either increased or even decreased
- Issues with the process of digestion
- Hair loss and breakage in the hair follicles
Common Diseases Associated with Hormonal Disbalance
Yet another factor that is often linked and associated with hormonal disbalance are the diseases that we often complain about on a day to basis.
That being said, it is important that you are aware of the common diseases that you will often come across linked with the same. Some of them include:
- Estrogen dominance
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Low estrogen and testosterone levels
- Hypothyroidism
- Hyperthyroidism and Grave’s disease
- Diabetes
- Adrenal fatigue
Risk Factors Linked With Hormonal Disbalances
Some of the common risk factors and causes behind the same include:Food Allergies
- Leaky Gut Syndrome
- Overweight and obesity
- Higher levels of inflammation in the body
- Leading a sedentary lifestyle
- Genetic reasons
- Toxicity or exposure to toxic materials
- High levels of stress and anxiety
- Insomnia and lack of sleep and proper rest
Hormones play a very crucial role in all our day to day activity and lifestyle as well. This is the primary reason why one needs to ensure that there is a proper maintenance of equilibrium in their levels, be it for the secretion or even for the regulation of the same. These above mentioned easy ways can actually be very effective to balance hormones naturally and I hope it would be helpful for you in the long course of time.
