Select Page
7 Natural Ways To Help With Hormone Imbalance

7 Natural Ways To Help With Hormone Imbalance

Most women struggle with hormone imbalance, whether they are aware of it or not. Thyroid issues, moodiness, hot flashes, lack of libido, and painful periods are only a few ways hormonal imbalances can manifest in your life. Unfortunately, it is difficult to pinpoint the root cause of your troubles, as there is not one thing to blame for your complaints. Stress, diet, poor lifestyle choices, and environmental factors can all play a role.

 

Signs Of Hormone Imbalance

 

If you regularly suffer from two or more of these symptoms, the chances are that your hormones are out of balance.

  • Irregular periods
  • PMS symptoms (mood swings, bloating, headaches)
  • Fibroids
  • Fibrocystic and tender breasts
  • Endometriosis
  • Thyroid issues
  • Hot flashes
  • Night sweats
  • Low energy
  • Low libido
  • Weight gain
  • Hair loss
  • Water retention

Check out this video to help you understand how hormones work and the most common symptoms of hormone imbalance.

 

But don’t think you are helpless and at the mercy of your out-of-balance hormones. Instead, feel empowered knowing you can do a lot to help improve your hormone health.

Here are 7 natural ways to help with hormone imbalance:

 

1. Eat More Fruits And Vegetables

 

When women suspect that their hormones may be out of balance, rarely do they think of their diet as a factor that may have contributed to their problems. But diet and nutrition profoundly impact your overall health, from immune to hormone health.

A simple change you can make is eating more fruits and vegetables. Increasing the consumption of foods containing phytochemicals, antioxidants, and other beneficial plant compounds has been shown to support healthy hormone levels. They also provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other nutrients that promote good health.

Tip: Regardless of how many fruits and veggies you currently consume, there is always room for improvement. For the next 7 days, commit to eating an apple a day and gradually add more colorful fruits and vegetables to your current diet.

 

seed-cycling

2. Try Seed Cycling

 

Seed cycling is praised for helping regulate your cycle and support hormone balance. But what exactly is seed cycling?

Seed cycling means incorporating four different seeds into your diet to support the hormonal needs of the different phases of your menstrual cycle.

From day 1 to day 14 of your cycle, eat 1 tbsp of freshly ground flax seeds and 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds daily. Both flax and pumpkin seeds contain natural estrogen-promoting substances that can help prepare the uterine lining for implantation and bring estrogen levels into balance.

From day 15 to day 28 (or until menses), eat 1 tbsp of freshly ground raw sunflower seed and 1 tbsp sesame seed daily. Both sunflower seeds and sesame seeds are high in vitamin E and zinc. These nutrients are essential for optimum progesterone production.

The beauty of this strategy lies in its simplicity and that as you do it, you will be more in tune with your menstrual cycle. As a result, you will pay more attention to how you feel throughout the month and understand better how your natural hormonal fluctuations influence your mood and energy levels.

 

3. Drink More Water

 

Many women don’t understand how hydration affects their bodies’ ability to keep their hormones in balance. Drinking fresh, clean water helps keep your body hydrated, which supports the adequate functioning of your endocrine system, a network of glands and organs responsible for regulating a range of bodily functions through the release of hormones.

For instance, your thyroid and adrenal glands are part of your endocrine system. The thyroid produces hormones that regulate metabolism, growth, development, and energy production, while the adrenal glands produce hormones that control functions such as blood pressure, heart rate, and stress response.

Remember, poor hydration can adversely affect your body’s ability to detoxify and remove toxins, leading to hormonal imbalance. So be sure to drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

4. Exercise Regularly

 

Not just what we eat affects our hormone levels; exercise also plays an important role. Hormone-related health problems, such as sleep issues, mood swings, stress, and weight gain, may be successfully addressed by increasing your physical activity.

While it’s easy to put exercise on the backburner and find plenty of perfectly valid excuses why you don’t have time to go for a walk or to the gym, physical activity deserves to be part of a hormone-loving lifestyle. Exercise enhances your overall wellbeing and boosts hormone levels, such as dopamine, serotonin, estrogen, and testosterone.

Increased dopamine levels in the brain help decrease stress and enhance your mood. So when you feel down, why not go for a walk or a nice jog? If you have trouble sleeping, exercise can help by encouraging serotonin production, which promotes a good night’s sleep. In addition, boosting serotonin levels can positively affect your mood, appetite, digestion, and even sexual function. Regular exercise can also help boost testosterone, slowing the natural aging process.

Do you suffer from hormone imbalance?

Take this 2-minute survey to find out!

START SURVEY

5. Reduce Stress Levels

 

According to a 2020 survey, 49 percent of American adults report increased stress taking an emotional and physical toll on their bodies. Feeling tension in the body and experiencing mood swings are two common ways stress can manifest. Although your body is designed to handle small amounts of stress, chronic stress can wreak havoc on your health, leading to hormone imbalance.

Your stress hormones – adrenaline and cortisol – are only meant to be released by the body occasionally. Yet, if you experience chronic, sustained stress, your body is forced to release stress hormones continuously. This can lead to weight gain, thyroid problems, fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety, irregular menstrual cycles, infertility, and more.

Learning to deal with stress by staying calm in stressful situations is a great way to manage stress better. While you cannot eliminate stress, you can train yourself to respond to it in a way that is less destructive to your hormone health.

Tips: Practice yoga, meditation, or breathwork daily to help calm your body. Schedule time for self-care, so it becomes a health-promoting habit over time. 

 

6. Fix Your sleep

 

The recommended daily amount of sleep is about 8 hours. Getting a sufficient amount and quality of sleep is critical for optimum hormone regulation. If you are a light sleeper, wake up multiple times throughout the night, or have trouble falling asleep, your low-quality sleep likely disrupts your hormone balance.

Too much sleep isn’t always a good thing either. Sleeping more than 9 hours a night can disrupt your sleep cycle, reduce metabolism, and cause daytime fatigue. Take sleep seriously and take action to improve your sleep hygiene.

Tips: Keep your cell phone, laptop, and other electronics out of the bedroom. Train your body to know when it’s time to sleep by going to bed and waking up at regular times.

 

7. Ditch Toxic Skincare Products

 

Unfortunately, it is not a cliche that we live in a highly toxic world. Our food, water, air, and even personal care products expose us to hundreds of harmful chemicals. Yet, shockingly enough, cosmetics and other personal care products are subject to little government oversight, allowing manufacturers to use toxic chemicals in their formulations, many of which have been linked to severe health problems, including cancer.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), some of the most common chemicals used in cosmetics are:

  • Formaldehyde (a known carcinogen)
  • Paraformaldehyde
  • Methylene glycol
  • Quaternium 15 (releases formaldehyde)
  • Mercury (damages the kidneys and nervous system)
  • Dibutyl and diethylhexyl phthalates (disrupts hormones and damage the reproductive system)
  • Isobutyl and isopropyl parabens (disrupts hormones and harm the reproductive system)
  • The long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS (linked to breast cancer)
  • M- and o-phenylenediamine, used in hair dyes, (irritates and sensitizes the skin, damage DNA, and can cause cancer)

Research shows that the harmful effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are much more extensive than initially recognized. Clinical studies have linked EDCs to certain types of cancer, including breast cancer, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Similarly alarming studies have also linked EDCs exhibiting estrogenic effects to increased uterine and breast cancer risk.

The bottom line is, no matter how clean your diet is, how well you manage your stress, or how much you exercise, if your environment is filled with toxic chemicals and your skincare products are laden with endocrine-disrupting chemicals, you can still struggle with signs of hormone imbalance.

Tips: Purchase natural and organic skincare products with clean formulations containing no toxic chemicals. Read labels carefully and avoid products with EDCs. Alternatively, you can make your own moisturizer, toothpaste, shampoo, or body butter with all-natural ingredients. A quick online search for DIY skincare recipes will get you thousands of non-toxic and skin-loving ideas.

Are you committed to improving your hormone health but not sure where to start? Explore ways for us to work together.  

Book a free 20-minute discovery call

Sources used for this article include:

APA.org

EWG.org

NIH.gov

Link.Springer.com

Best diet to relieve menopause symptoms and signs

Best diet to relieve menopause symptoms and signs

best-diet-for-menopause-symptoms

Menopause is a natural phase of a woman’s life.  Although millions of women experience signs and symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, irritability, mood swings, weight gain, and similar uncomfortable symptoms, others go through this period symptom-free and with ease.  While hormone replacement therapy is commonly recommended to relieve menopause symptoms, this may not be necessary.  It turns out your diet has a lot to do with whether menopause will destroy your quality of life.

What is menopause? 

 

Menopause is not a disease state; instead, a natural stage of every woman’s life.  If you have not had a period for 12 months or longer, you are likely in menopause. But as mentioned above, the absence of periods is often not the only symptom women experience as part of this new phase of life. 

If hot flashes, anxiety, vaginal dryness, night sweats are ruining your life, it is understandable why you may believe that hormone replacement therapy is the only option. 

What’s so wrong with hormone replacement therapy (HRT)? 

 

Contrary to common belief, HRT is not a solution to your menopause-related symptoms.  At least not in the real sense.  Solutions, by definition, resolve the core problem.  HRT does not do that; it merely masks it, leaving the underlying issue completely unresolved.

But what’s even worse than that, HRT adds fuel to the fire and predisposes you to a whole host of side effects. Some doctors recommend estrogen-only HRT; others prescribe estrogen-progestin hormone replacement therapy.  Regardless, the basis for this approach is always the same, and it is deeply rooted in the false idea that your aging ovaries are to blame.  

HRT has serious potential side effects

Shortly after hormone replacement therapy for women became popular, doctors began noticing some serious adverse effects among their patients on the drugs.  This recognition took place decades ago.  You might wonder, where is the proof?  Over the years, multiple clinical trials have confirmed the initial concerns, showing an increased rate of breast cancer, heart attack, and stroke among women on HRT.

If people were to read the information that is included in the product label approved by the Food And Drug Administration of hormone drugs, they would be horrified to find these and other similar “adverse events”.

The below examples come straight out of the package insert of one of the most commonly prescribed estrogen, Premarin: 

  • Black box warning about endometrial cancer, cardiovascular disorder, breast cancer, and dementia. 
  • Increased risks of stroke, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) and heart attack
  • Higher risk of dementia in postmenopausal women over 65 years old
  • Elevated risk of invasive breast cancer risk

The above is by far not an all-inclusive list of what can go wrong while on estrogen therapy with or without progestin.  The risks are real and are not new.  But I don’t blame you for believing the misinformation that there is something inherently wrong with you, that your body is simply breaking down as you get older, and that you have no other alternative than getting on HRT.

What is the real cause of menopause symptoms?

 

 

As I already pointed out, menopause is a natural stage of every woman’s life.  Unlike what we are lead to believe, menopause symptoms are not meant to be part of the process, nor they are meant to be treated with synthetic hormones.  The cause of your problems may be rooted in reasons other than your aging ovaries.

Your troubles are more likely to be the result of a combination of the following: 

  • sluggish liver
  • adrenal fatigue
  • thyroid hormone imbalances
  • food sensitivities
  • nutritional deficiencies
  • high toxic load on the body

While taking estrogen and progestin pills may temporarily provide symptom relief, it does so by suppressing your immune system’s ability to respond to whatever the underlying issue may be in the first place. Hormone replacement therapy does not address the root cause of your problems and makes you more likely to develop breast cancer, stroke, and heart disease, especially when combined with other risk factors. 

What is the best diet to help with symptoms of menopause?

 

 

Proper nutrition can have a profound impact on how you experience menopause. If you start implementing some of the below suggestions at the early stages of perimenopause, you will be far less likely to experience symptoms during menopause and postmenopause.

If you are already menopausal and concerned about the risks of HRT, know that you have options. The right foods, herbs, therapeutic grade essential oils and self-care can bring about the relief you have been seeking.

Dietary tips for menopause

Increase your consumption of whole, plant foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and other seeds. Many of these foods have powerful hormone-balancing effects.

Eat flaxseeds. They contain phytoestrogens and have demonstrated the ability to decrease hot flashes in multiple clinical trials.

Add fermented soy foods to your diet. Organic tofu, miso, and tempeh can also help reduce hot flashes.

If you eat animal products, be sure to only consume hormone-free meat to avoid creating hormone imbalance. Reduce or eliminate spicy foods and alcohol, both of which may increase hot-flash frequency and intensity.

Avoid processed foods, refined carbohydrates, and alcohol as they can make your symptoms much worse, 

Herbs to support hormone balance during menopause

 Black Cohosh

Vitex (chaste berry)

American Ginseng – an incredibly potent herb that supports healthy adrenals, boosts energy and relaxes the nervous system

Maca (Lepidium peruvianum) – has been shown to reduce hot flashes and support normal hormone balance. Be careful, there are many different phenotypes of Maca, and not all are created equal. 

Lift your mood and cool your body with essential oils

Geranium and Rose oils have amazing hormone balancing effects. They also lift your mood and help you combat stress. There are few things in life more relaxing than taking a bath with a few drops of these powerful oils added to your water.

Peppermint offers an instant cooling effect. Place a few drops on the back of your neck, chest, and feet at night.

To get your long lost libido back, give Ylang Ylang a try! You may just find that it melts stress away and lifts your spirit.

When it comes to essential oils, please use therapeutic grade oils.

Whether you are in perimenopause, menopause, or post-menopause, you can benefit from making some simple diet and lifestyle changes to ease your uncomfortable symptoms.  Cleaning up your diet may just be the most natural approach to getting the relief you want. 

12-Week (Pre)Menopause Hormone Restore

When you hit menopause and your ovaries shut down, your estrogen levels drop by 95%. I will work with you to help implement natural solutions for hormone imbalance and eliminate some of the most bothersome symptoms so that you can embrace this new phase.

Learn More

Top 5 Amazing Essential Oils For Natural Hormone Balance

Top 5 Amazing Essential Oils For Natural Hormone Balance

 With 80 percent of women suffering from hormone imbalance, hormonal symptoms are incredibly common. Chances are if you are reading this post, you are looking for natural solutions to your hormonal troubles. If you have never considered essential oils for hormone balance, keep reading.

Whether you have painful periods, debilitating anxiety, severe acne, or infertility, chances are your hormones are out of whack. Sadly, hormones can go haywire at any age, as they are not limited to any particular age group. 

Even though not feeling like yourself can be super frustrating, be rest assured that natural remedies do exist to help you feel better. In  combination with proper nutrition and self-care routine, I find that essential oils for hormone imbalance are very effective as they can positively affect your body’s natural hormone production. 

What are Hormones?

Most people know very little about what hormones are and how they can get out of balance. We blame them for so many of our misfortunes. From acne to bloating, mood swings, and anxiety, we point fingers at our hormones. 

So what are hormones, anyway? They are chemical messengers that your body produces to perform various functions. Your hormones use your blood to travel to tissues and organs, giving them specific instructions on performing major bodily processes. Nonetheless, when your body makes too much or not enough of a particular hormone, you can experience uncomfortable symptoms. 

How Hormones Affect You?

 

Your hormone health plays a role in: 

  • how you feel during the day
  • how you sleep a night
  • how much energy you have
  • how much weight you hang onto
  • how ready you are to be intimate and so much more.

Impressive, right? This is just the tip of the iceberg. All that to say, your hormones have an all-encompassing effect on multiple areas of your being and daily life. 

 

Do you suffer from hormone imbalance?

Take this 2-minute survey to find out!

START SURVEY

Signs of Hormone Imbalance

 

Hormone imbalance can look very different from one person to another. Some of the most common hormone imbalance symptoms women suffer from are: 

 

  • PMS

  • Difficulty losing weight

  • Bloating

  • Mood swings

  • Brain fog, memory problems

  • Acne

  • Night sweats

  • Irregular periods

  • Anxiety

  • Hot flashes

  • Heavy periods

 

What Causes Hormone Imbalance?

Imbalanced hormones are never the result of a prescription drug deficiency. Instead, the cause is likely rooted in a combination of dietary, lifestyle, and environmental factors. In fact, our nutrient-deficient diet, chronic stress, lack of self-care, sedentary lifestyle, and exposure to environmental toxins are all part of the story. While we work on tweaking our lifestyle and adopt new, hormone-friendly eating habits, we can reach for natural solutions, like essential oils, to nudge our hormones in the right direction. 

 

Can Essential Oils Help with Hormone Imbalance?

 

Many women use essential oils for hormone balance to help alleviate period cramps, PMS, and even hot flashes. However, there is much more than mere anecdotal evidence that shows the various benefits of essential oils for hormonal symptoms. As a matter of fact, numerous studies confirm how aromatherapy with essential oils can affect your hormone balance and help you cope with anxiety (1) and premenstrual syndrome (2). 

Although you can use many essential oils for hormone balance, the ones below are my favorite, with an abundance of research supporting their effectiveness. 

 

5 Best Essential Oils for Hormone Balance

 

1. Clary Sage

 

Clary sage is one of the top essential oils that is well-supported by clinical research. It affects the body’s hormone levels because it contains natural phytoestrogens. Clary sage is a beautiful herb that regulates estrogen levels and helps keep your uterus healthy.

Menstruating women frequently suffer from infertility issues and PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). These conditions and various types of cancers have been linked to high estrogen levels. Clary sage’s estrogen-balancing effect makes it an incredibly helpful oil. In addition, studies also show a beneficial impact on menstrual cramps (3) (4). 

Keeping your cortisol level in check is also important. Cortisol is a hormone that your adrenal glands release in response to physical or emotional stress. It is not hard to imagine how our overly stressed lifestyles get us in trouble, making our adrenals work hard, pumping out massive amounts of cortisol. Clary sage has proven itself to reduce cortisol levels effectively. This study (5) showed a 36% drop in menopausal women’s cortisol levels by merely inhaling the essential oil. 

 

2. Lavender

 

Lavender is one of the most commonly used essential oils. Even if you are not an avid user of essential oils, you have probably heard of lavender’s ability to reduce stress, ease tension, and help you fall asleep. These are just some of the ways lavender essential oil can help make you feel better, improve your mood, and help you get a good night of sleep. 

Rubbing lavender essential oil on your abdomen when you get your monthly menstrual cramps can bring significant relief. Furthermore, headaches, PMS symptoms (2), bloating, anxiety, and depressive mood, can also be alleviated. When I am on the go, I carry a bottle of lavender essential oil and inhale it whenever it calls my name. At home I have a diffuser and love diffusing it into the air around me.

3. Thyme

 

Most women know thyme from their kitchen cabinet. The culinary use of this herb has a long history. Thyme has strong antibacterial properties, making it an excellent choice to cleanse and purify acne-prone skin. In addition, thyme is considered one of the best essential oils for low progesterone. 

Science confirmed thyme’s ability to support your natural hormone production by balancing progesterone levels (6).  If you wonder how to use thyme essential oil for hormone balance, it is actually quite simple. A few drops of thyme oil diluted in a carrier oil, such as coconut oil, goes a long way. Apply the mix on the bottoms of your feet. 

 

4. Ylang-ylang

 

 

Ylang-ylang has a beautiful floral scent and antioxidant properties. Cosmetic companies often use it in creams and perfumes for its fragrance and its nourishing properties. Ylang-ylang is rich in antioxidants and helpful in reducing wrinkles and signs of aging (7). I make my own DIY facial moisturizer using some of my favorite essential oils. You guessed it right, ylang-ylang is one of the must-have ingredients! 

Diffusing ylang-ylang into the air or applying it to the skin can help induce a sense of calm and relaxation (8). Most of us are chronically stressed. Unmitigated stress has a detrimental effect on your hormone balance. Ylang-ylang is a fantastic oil to help lift your spirit and positively affect your mood. 

Ylang-ylang essential oil can help reduce fatigue and even increase libido (9). But don’t take my word for it. Diffuse a few drops in your bedroom at night or place a drop or two on your pillow and experience it yourself.

 

5. Geranium

 

Researchers have long recognized that some essential oils can alleviate menopausal symptoms. Since menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, are thought to be caused by dropping estrogen levels, inhaling essential oils that can raise estrogen levels can help. A 2017 study (10) found that it is possible to increase estrogen levels by inhaling geranium and rose otto. This is why geranium is thought to be one of the best essential oils for hot flashes. 

Geranium can also be handy during childbirth. It reduces anxiety during labor, and according to this study (11), it can be a helpful alternative to anxiolytics during childbirth.

Learn about the dangers of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) 

Feel More Balanced One Drop at a Time

I have been using essential oils for hormone balancing for several years now, and I can honestly say they have changed my life. I find it fascinating how essential oils offer us a beautiful way to benefit from plant intelligence’s infinite potential. 

 

Which Essential Oil Should I Choose?

 

If you are ready to begin your journey of natural hormone balance with essential oils, let me give you a few pointers to help you get started. Not all essential oils are created equal. The market is flooded with mediocre products that are neither pure nor therapeutic grade. Essential oils are powerful and potent, but only when they contain the constituents that give them their unique properties, contain no fillers, are extracted the right way, and come from the right sources.

Would you like to learn more about essential oils and other natural solutions to get your hormones back on track?

Book a free 20-minute discovery call

References:

1. A multi-center, double-blind, randomised study of the Lavender oil preparation Silexan in comparison to Lorazepam for generalized anxiety disorder, Phytomedicine, 2010 Feb;17 (2):94-9.

2. Effect of aromatherapy on coping with premenstrual syndrome: A randomized controlled trial, Complement Ther Med.  2018 Feb;36:63-67.

3. Pain relief assessment by aromatic essential oil massage on outpatients with primary dysmenorrhea: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial, J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2012 May;38(5):817-22.

4. Aromatherapy massage on the abdomen for alleviating menstrual pain in high school girls: a preliminary controlled clinical study, Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:187163.

5. Changes in 5-hydroxytryptamine and cortisol plasma levels in menopausal women after inhalation of clary sage oil, Phytother Res. 2014 Nov;28(11):1599-605.

6. Estrogen and progestin bioactivity of foods, herbs, and spices, Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1998 Mar;217(3):369-78.

7. Potential of native Thai aromatic plant extracts in antiwrinkle body creams, J Cosmet Sci. Jul-Aug 2015;66(4):219-31.

8. Relaxing effect of ylang ylang oil on humans after transdermal absorption, Phytother Res. 2006 Sep;20(9):758-63.

9. Evaluation of the Harmonizing Effect of Ylang-Ylang Oil on Humans after Inhalation, August 2004Planta Medica 70(7):632-6

10. Effects of essential oil exposure on salivary estrogen concentration in perimenopausal women, Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2017 Jan;37(8):567-572.

11. Effect of Inhalation of Aroma of Geranium Essence on Anxiety and Physiological Parameters during First Stage of Labor in Nulliparous Women: a Randomized Clinical Trial, J Caring Sci. 2015 Jun 1;4(2):135-41. (11)

Pin It on Pinterest