Suppose you’re experiencing fatigue, cravings, mood swings, weight gain/resistant fat loss, hair thinning, low libido, insomnia, anxiety, or acne. These are all examples of symptoms that hormonal imbalances can cause. It’s important to remember that hormonal imbalances are not uncommon. They are a frequent issue that many individuals face. Understanding this commonality can help you feel less alone in your experiences and more confident in seeking the right solutions.

This is why it’s hugely helpful to understand hormones and why you should care, what symptoms of imbalance may look like, and, most importantly, how we can resolve these symptoms and restore balance to get you feeling your best!  

So, what are hormones?

Hormones are like the traffic controllers of our body, directing and regulating many body functions, including metabolism, mood, sleep, and reproductive functions. Just like taxis on a busy highway, they ensure everything runs smoothly. This relatable analogy can help you grasp the importance of hormones in our body. When our hormones are out of balance, it can lead to various symptoms that impact our daily lives.

Symptoms like:

✔️ Fatigue

✔️ Cravings

✔️ Weight gain/Resistant fat loss

✔️ Hair loss/thinning

✔️ Anxiety

✔️ Acne and skin issues

✔️ Mood swings and/or changes in mood

✔️ Sleep disturbances

✔️ Irregular menstrual cycles

✔️ Decreased libido

Nutrition and lifestyle shifts can improve hormonal imbalances. There are many root causes for hormonal imbalances, some related to aging, the environment, and stress in daily life. To get to the root causes, you could work with a qualified nutritionist for lab work and get personalized diet and lifestyle shifts.

Every body is unique and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but there are vital foundational practices that every woman can adopt to support optimal hormone health—easily!

What you can do right now to support hormone health:

1) Eat protein (aim for 30 grams per meal), fat, fiber and greens at every meal. Protein helps produce and regulate hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and insulin, which play vital roles in women’s health. 

2) Prioritize sleep. Sufficient sleep supports growth and development, cellular turnover, cardiovascular health, and regulation of hormones like insulin. 

3) Strength train 2-3 days a week. Strength training builds and maintains bone density, which is crucial to preventing osteoporosis, a condition affecting more women than men. Strength training also builds lean muscle mass which boosts metabolism, acting as a “sugar sponge” to keep blood sugar stable, resulting in increased energy and fat burning. Also, add walking to your regular fitness routine.

4) Manage stress and do 5 minutes a day of mindfulness (gratitude journal, meditation, breathwork, etc.)

5) Reduce toxin exposure (reduce plastic use, swap out beauty and skincare to EWG-approved brands, cook with cast iron, spend more time in nature, etc.)

It may be difficult to make all of these changes at once, so focus on which is most important for your body now and build from there.