How to Fix Hormonal Imbalance Naturally

Hormones are chemical messengers produced in the endocrine glands, then travel throughout the body, telling it what to do. These messengers control major body processes such as reproduction, metabolism, weight, mood, and appetite. However, they can become imbalanced, manifesting in varying symptoms, including weight gain and infertility. You can fix them with medication, but this can also cause further side effects. This is why you should learn how to fix hormonal imbalance naturally.

This article goes over what hormonal imbalance looks like, what causes it, and what you can do to restore balance naturally.

What is Hormonal Imbalance?

The body usually produces the exact amount of hormones it needs for a specific function. However, different factors, including diet and other lifestyle habits, age, medical issues, and medications may disrupt normal hormonal production, resulting in health issues.

Symptoms of hormonal imbalance:

If you suspect a hormonal imbalance, these are some common symptoms in both men and women, including:

Weight gain
Unexplained fatigue
Unexplained or sudden weight loss
Increased sensitivity to heat and cold
Infertility
Dry skin
Puffy face
Pink or purple stretch marks
Thin and brittle hair
Depression
Anxiety and irritability
Increased hunger
Frequent urination
Sweating

What causes Hormonal Imbalance

Too much stress

If you’re constantly feeling stressed, your body is likely producing too much of the stress hormone cortisol. This can lead to a whole host of problems, including weight gain, anxiety, and depression.

To fix this, you need to find ways to reduce stress in your life. This could include exercise, prayer, meditation on God’s words, or simply taking some time for yourself each day. Stress Relieving Foods

Unhealthy diet

An unhealthy diet is one of the most common causes of hormonal imbalance. Eating processed foods, refined sugars, and unhealthy fats can disrupt your hormone levels and lead to weight gain, inflammation, and other health problems.

To fix this, eat a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats. Avoid processed foods, sugary drinks, and alcohol intake. See Vegan Recipes.

Not getting enough sleep

When you don’t get enough sleep, your body doesn’t have time to properly recover from the day’s activities. This can lead to a whole host of problems, including hormonal imbalances.

Lack of sleep can cause an increase in the stress hormone cortisol, which can then lead to weight gain, anxiety, and depression. In addition, it makes it more difficult for the body to control blood sugar levels and regulate other hormones like insulin.

If you’re not getting enough sleep regularly, make sure you’re trying to take short naps during the day or going to bed earlier at night. You might also want to invest in some blackout curtains if it’s still light outside when you go to bed. Why Am I Not Sleeping Well?.

Sugar

We all know that too much sugar is bad for our health, but did you know that it can also lead to hormonal imbalances? When we eat sugary foods, our blood sugar levels spike and then crash, leaving us feeling tired, irritable, and craving more sugar.

This roller coaster ride can throw off our hormones, leading to weight gain, mood swings, anxiety, and even depression. If you want to balance your hormones, it’s important to cut back on sugar. Effects Of High Blood Sugar On The Body.

Ensure proper hydration

When you don’t drink enough water, your body can’t function properly. This includes your endocrine system, which is responsible for producing hormones. When you’re dehydrated, your body produces less estrogen and progesterone, which can lead to hormonal imbalances.

To avoid this, ensure you’re drinking eight glasses of water a day or more, depending on the climate and activity level. You may also want to limit your intake of salty foods because they increase the risk of dehydration. Benefits Of Drinking Water.

Gut health issues

Your gut health is extremely important for overall health, including hormone balance. Poor gut health can lead to inflammation, which can then lead to hormone imbalances. To support gut health, eat a healthy diet rich in fiber and probiotics, and avoid processed foods, sugary drinks, and alcohol.

You can also take probiotic supplements or eat fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha. Fermented foods are helpful because they contain good gut bacteria or probiotics that can aid digestion, fight inflammation, and balance out your gut flora. Why Do You Have Bad Gut Health?

Hormonal birth control

One common cause of hormonal imbalance is the use of hormonal birth control. While birth control can be an effective way to prevent pregnancy, it can also lead to a host of other problems, including hormone imbalances.

If you’re on birth control and experiencing any sort of hormone-related issues, it’s worth talking to your doctor about alternative options. For example, if you have PCOS, switching to another form of contraception may be able to help regulate hormones.

Environmental toxins

Environmental toxins are one of the most common and under-diagnosed causes of hormonal imbalance. These toxins can come from a variety of sources, including the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. They can also come from the products we use on our skin, in our homes, and in our workplaces.

Exposure to these chemicals has been linked with decreased fertility rates, and increased rates of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and other hormone-related cancers.

To minimize your exposure to environmental toxins, try buying organic when possible (especially for your produce), avoid plastics whenever possible (including at work), buy products that are made without chemicals (including household cleaners), try getting outdoors more often, and don’t hesitate to check about the ingredients in any product you might be using.

Mercury fillings

Dental work is one of the most common sources of mercury exposure. Even though the amount of mercury in dental fillings is small, it can still cause problems. The body treats mercury as a toxin and tries to get rid of it. This can lead to an imbalance in the levels of other hormones in the body.

In addition, mercury disrupts the endocrine system, leading to a hormonal imbalance. If you suspect your dental work is causing hormonal problems, talk to your dentist about removing any mercury-based fillings and replacing them with safer alternatives.

Dairy

Dairy can cause an imbalance in your hormones for a number of reasons. First, dairy products contain estrogen and other hormones that can throw off your body’s natural hormone levels.

Second, dairy products are often made from the milk of cows that are given growth hormone injections, which can also impact your hormone levels. Third, consuming dairy products can increase inflammation in the body, which can lead to an imbalance in hormones. Is Milk Bad For You?

How to Fix Hormonal Imbalance Naturally

If you want to try aiding your body with balancing your hormones without needing medications, of course, if your doctor agrees with this approach, then try some of these tips for natural hormonal imbalance treatment.

1. Avoid sugar and refined carbohydrates

Sugar and refined carbohydrates have been linked to high insulin, elevated blood glucose, and insulin resistance, the main risk factor for metabolic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Avoiding sugars and refined carbohydrates helps maintain your insulin hormone within normal, thus preventing the associated complications.

While some people may choose to avoid some form of sugar like table sugar but consume others like honey or high fructose corn syrup, research has found that all these classes have similar metabolic effects on the body. How To Beat Sugar Cravings.

2. Include healthy fats in your diet

Fat plays an essential role in balancing those hormones associated with metabolism, appetite, and satiety.

For instance, studies show that consuming monounsaturated fats in olive oil can increase insulin sensitivity in both healthy individuals and those with conditions such as high triglycerides, fatty liver, prediabetes, and diabetes.

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) such as coconut oil and pure MCT oil may also help increase insulin sensitivity in diabetes, overweight and obese individuals.

Further research shows that consuming healthy fats with food will stimulate the release of satiety hormones, which helps you feel full and satisfied, thus preventing overeating.

Other healthy sources of fat include avocado, nuts, and seeds.

3. Get better sleep

Sleep is one of the significant hormonal regulators because hormones depend on the sleep-wake cycle.

Sleep influences the production and function of most hormones, including melatonin, estrogen and progesterone, growth hormones, thyroid hormones, and hunger hormones such as ghrelin, insulin, and leptin.

It also regulates cortisol, a steroid hormone also known as the stress hormone, which helps regulate other hormones in the body.

According to research, chronic sleep disturbances on hormones may result in problems with your appetite, obesity, and diabetes.

To ensure a good night’s sleep, limit your blue light exposure as it can interfere with your sleep cycle.

For instance, research shows that exposure to artificial light at night suppresses melatonin, the sleep hormone that signals the body to fall asleep. What To Do If You Can’t Sleep?

4. Become physically active

Engaging in regular exercise is essential for your endocrine health. It helps balance hormones such as insulin, cortisol, sex hormones, and thyroid hormones.

Research indicates some exercises may be more effective at balancing your hormones than others. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of the recommended exercises to help regulate your hormones.

This entails short but highly intense workouts followed by equal or extended periods of rest or low-intensity exercises. This would look something like this: an all-out 30-second sprint followed by a minute of rest, slow jogging, or walking. Repeat the cycle for ten minutes.

HIIT has been shown to increase the human growth hormone, which promotes muscle growth, recovery, and metabolism. Muscle growth is further associated with new cells that are more receptive to insulin, thus increasing insulin sensitivity. This may help lower the risk of insulin resistance, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Another recommended exercise is strength training, such as weight lifting. Strength training helps burn calories and build muscles. It may also reverse the effects associated with high cortisol levels.

However, be careful not to overdo the exercises as they can raise your stress hormone and increase your risk of fatigue, injury, and muscle loss. For instance, you can include HIIT in your workout routine only 2-3 times a week. Benefits of Cardiovascular Exercise.

5. Master stress management

Stress causes your adrenal glands to release cortisol and adrenaline. Cortisol is a hormone that helps you cope with stress. It is also responsible for regulating blood pressure, blood glucose, metabolism, preventing inflammation, and improving memory.

On the other hand, adrenalin elevates blood pressure, increases heart rate, and expands air passages to allow more oxygen into the muscles.

High levels of these hormones may contribute to hormonal disruption, leading to weight gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, anxiety, damage to blood vessels, and cardiovascular problems, including increased risk for stroke or heart attack.

According to research, you may easily lower your stress levels by performing stress-relieving exercises such as meditation and listening to music.

One study showed that massage might also help in reducing stress. The same study showed that massage could help increase the feel-good chemical serotonin and dopamine levels. Why Is Stress Management Important?.

Final thoughts on natural hormonal imbalance

Hormones are essential for a wide range of body processes. Any imbalance may result in a negative response that may bring health consequences.

Common causes of hormonal imbalance include stress, environmental toxins, poor diet, dairy, hormonal birth control methods, inadequate sleep, and gut issues.

Nonetheless, the methods discussed in this article will help you balance your hormones naturally and not just that; things such as getting enough sleep, exercising, and managing your stress will help your body have a balance needed to boost your immune system and promote good health and wellbeing.

But keep in mind that if your cause of hormonal imbalance is due to a health condition, you may want to follow your doctor’s advice. But again, the steps in this article are totally harmless and may greatly complement whichever treatment you’re on.