Beauty4HER | TOP WELLNESS TIPS FOR OPTIMAL HORMONE BALANCING

Hormones naturally fluctuate throughout the month, but they can also fluctuate unnaturally in response to lifestyle factors such as poor nutrition, liver toxicity, excess stress and not getting enough sleep.  Even healthy women who follow a good diet may experience issues in their hormones.

Fortunately, there are some simple steps that can be done to balance hormones naturally.

COMMON SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HORMONE IMBALANCES:

  • Anxiety/Depression
  • Blood sugar imbalances
  • Cold intolerances
  • Facial hair growth
  • Fatigue
  • Fibrocystic breasts
  • Hair loss
  • Hot flashes/night sweats
  • Insomnia
  • Irregular cycles/mid-cycle spotting
  • Joint pain
  • Low libido
  • Painful periods
  • PMS
  • Skin conditions
  • Stress
  • Weight gain

Top 5 tips to regain natural hormone balance:

  1.  IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP
  • Be in bed before 10 pm.
  • Sleep in a completely dark room.
  • Aim for 8 hours of sleep nightly.
  • Avoid light-emitting electronics two hours before bed.
  • Create bedtime rituals that include relaxing practices such as sipping relaxing tea, taking a bath, light reading or stretching.
  • Decrease cortisol by avoiding stimulants and sugary foods.  Practice deep breathing and make time to laugh and play.

2.  LOVE YOUR LIVER

  • Start your day with ½ lemon squeezed in hot water.
  • Consume ½ your body weight in ounces of filtered water each day.
  • Consume liver cleansing foods daily:  beets, bitter greens, apples, lemons, flax seeds, garlic and cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, radish, turnip and bok choy).
  • Take liver clearing herbs such as Dandelion, Artichoke, Milk Thistle, Turmeric and Burdock root.

3.  OPTIMIZE YOUR NUTRITION

  • Add more fats.  Fats are essential to building hormones and creating stable blood sugar.  Healthy fat sources are nuts, seeds, cold-water fish, grass-fed pastured meat, olives, avocados and eggs.
  • Eliminate sugar.  Sugar is inflammatory and causes blood sugar spikes which cause extreme hormone imbalances.
  • Eat more Brassicas.  Broccoli, kale, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and cabbage are rich in DIM (diindolylmethane) and sulphur which detoxes harmful estrogen -aim for 3 cups per week.
  • Boost your Bacteria.  Probiotic foods improve hormones, skin, mood, and libido.  Probiotic-rich foods include sauerkraut, kefir, homemade yogurt, kombucha, and kimchi.
  • Add ground flax to your daily diet.  2 tablespoons of ground flax daily has been shown to reduce risk factors to estrogen-related cancers by as much as 70%.
  • Eat protein with every meal to balance your blood sugar which is the secret to happy hormones.
  • Eliminate excess caffeine and alcohol.
  • Reduce or eliminate gluten and most dairy (except plain yogurt, kefir and goat cheese).

4.  DE-STRESS YOUR LIFE

De-stressing your life is the most important step you can take on the road to heal hormone imbalances.  High cortisol levels that are produced in response to chronic stress can wreak havoc in your hormone production.

  • Recognize your stress, and establish boundaries in your life.
  • Mend fences.  Harboring feelings of unforgiveness causes the body to become acidic.  Excessive acidity has been implicated in many health conditions, including hormone dysfunction and even cancer.  Forgiveness means giving up the hope of a better past.)
  • Find an outlet for your stress (exercise, dance, art, music, etc.).
  • Balance your blood sugar by eating every 3 hours.
  • Decrease the top dietary stressors such as gluten, sugar, dairy, caffeine, and alcohol.
  • Take adrenal restoring herbs like Licorice root, Ashwagandha, Relora, Rhodiola, Holy Basil, Siberian ginseng, Astragalus, and Schisandra.
  • Take supportive nutrients such as Vitamin B-complex, Vitamins C and E, Magnesium, Zinc, and Selenium.
5.  DETOX YOUR HORMONES

Detox your hormones by avoiding conventional body care products that are made with potentially-harmful chemicals including DEA, parabens, propylene glycol and sodium lauryl sulfate.  Switch to natural products wherever possible.  Start over or replace products as you run out:

  • Household cleaning products:  laundry soap, cleaning supplies, air fresheners, etc.
  • Skin care products:  cosmetics, hair care, soap, lotions, perfumes, sunscreen, deodorants, toothpaste, etc.
  • Reduce and limit plastics as much as possible.

Beauty4HER | TOP WELLNESS TIPS FOR OPTIMAL HORMONE BALANCING | Holistic Health & Beauty, Summer 2017 Magazine, Teach Me

Dr. Cobi Slater is a Board-Certified Doctor of Natural Medicine, Registered Herbal Therapist, Registered Nutritionist and she also holds a PhD in Natural Health Sciences.

She is the founder of Essential Health Natural Wellness Clinic located in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada.

Dr. Cobi is extremely passionate about helping others heal naturally as well as empowering patients to live a life of optimal health.

Cobi regular guest on many international radio and TV health shows and contributes to numerous publications as a health expert and is an International Best-Selling Author of five books, including:  The Ultimate Hormone Balancing Guidebook, The Ultimate Candida Guide and Cookbook, The Ultimate Metabolic Plan, The Ultimate Gluten and Dairy Free Cookbook and The Refresh, Revive, Restore 10-Day Detox.