People are often not aware of how much of an effect your hormones can have on your mental, emotional, and physical health. Hormones play a central role in controlling our weight and mood, modulating our immune system response, and controlling multiple physical processes. In a perfect world, your endocrine glands should supply you with the right balance of hormones so you can function optimally. But many factors like age and our fast-paced and too often unhealthy lifestyle lead to imbalances, which can have disastrous consequences for our health. Here are a few ways you can help balance your hormone levels.
Protein is one of the most important nutrients for our bodies and one that plays an essential role when it comes to hormone regulation. Proteins are our main source of amino acids our bodies use to regenerate tissue and maintain muscle and bone integrity. Another thing that protein does is regulate the flow of appetite-controlling hormones in the body.
Several studies have shown that eating protein stimulates the production of ghrelin, which is the hormone responsible for regulating appetite. It also increases the production of GLP-1 and PYY, two hormones with appetite controlling effects as well.
Not only that, but studies have also shown that diets high in protein also stimulated the metabolism. According to experts, you should be consuming at least between 20 and 30 grams of protein in each meal to get the benefits.
Having a sedentary lifestyle can have a disastrous effect on your hormonal health, which could lead to a dangerous cycle. One of the greatest benefits of regular exercise is when it comes to managing insulin sensitivity and insulin production.
Insulin serves multiple functions in the body. One of its major functions is allowing you to gather amino acids and sugar from your blood and use it to maintain muscles and energy. However, it only takes a little bit of insulin for it to be effective and overproduction of insulin has been linked to various serious diseases like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
Luckily, there are tons of exercises that have been shown to have a dramatic effect on insulin sensitivity. Higher insulin sensitivity means that your body will need to produce less insulin to do its job. Some of these exercises include strength training, aerobic exercise, and endurance training. Even low impact, mild to moderate exercising like brisk walking can have a beneficial effect on your health as can yoga and dancing.
Refined carbs and sugar, which are staples of the North American diet, could wreak havoc on your hormonal system and lead to all types of disease and disorders. Diets that are too high in refined carbs and sugar have been linked to higher rates of diabetes, obesity, and a whole host of other health issues.
Fructose, in particular, can be extremely dangerous and can lead to spikes in insulin production and resistance, which eventually leads to diabetes. What’s worse is that fructose is found in at least 50% of all the sugary products we consume, including refined sugar, honey, and high fructose corn syrup.
People have been demonizing fats for years but eating the proper types of fats can be great, not only for your hormonal health but also your health as a whole. Adding the right fats to your diet could work wonders to increase insulin sensitivity and control appetite.
Medium-chain triglycerides are particularly helpful for your body and should be part of your everyday diet. These unique fats are processed by the liver and used as a source of energy. Multiple studies have shown that medium-chain triglycerides were able to increase insulin sensitivity in at-risk groups like diabetics and people dealing with obesity.
There are tons of supplements that you can use to promote hormonal balance. B vitamins, for instance, have been shown to not only be great for regulating hormone production, but they can also help with things like chronic fatigue and other metabolic functions. B6 has been shown to promote the production of progesterone in women, which has the effect of counteracting the overproduction of estrogen in the body.
Magnesium is another very important supplement for our hormonal balance, and one many of us are deficient in. Magnesium deficiency reduces the production of critical luteinizing, follicular stimulating, and thyroid stimulating hormones that signal glands in the endocrine system in order for them to perform optimally. Magnesium deficiencies can lead to poor thyroid function and over ovulation, two disorders which could have severe effects in the long run.
Probiotics also play an essential role in hormonal balance and immune system regulation. Probiotics are good bacteria that promote good gut health. The gut is the seat of our immune system and is responsible for regulating a lot of hormones that flow through our bodies. Maintaining a healthy gut is essential for hormone regulation. It allows you to eliminate the excess amounts of hormones we consume on a daily basis. Our food is full of different hormones that could throw our hormonal balance out of whack if not processed correctly, which makes probiotics that much more powerful when it comes to keeping our hormones in balance.
You could also go for supplement blends that combine the benefits of all these in one package for greater results. Supplements like Dynamic Hormone Balance contain ingredients that have been shown to support healthy endocrine and estrogen production. Healthy estrogen levels are essential for maintaining a healthy mood, good energy levels, and tons of different functions in our bodies. If you want to learn more about Dynamic Hormone Balance and how it can help, look at this option from Blue Sky Vitamin.
Few people realize how much our mood, and stress in particular, can take its toll on our bodies. Two of the hormones that are the most affected by stress include adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline is part of our “fight or flight” response and provides us with a boost in energy as a response to immediate danger. Cortisol is a hormone our body produces in order to help us cope with stress and its effects.
But the over production of cortisol has been linked with a wide variety of disorders. Producing too much cortisol could lead to decreases in cognitive function, heart disease, depression, and anxiety. Too much adrenaline can lead to things like rapid heart rates, high blood pressure, and anxiety as well.
That’s why you need to re-evaluate your lifestyle if you’re exposed to too much stress and make the necessary changes. Try to engage in daily low impact activities like yoga, for instance. If you can, try to break up your day with short low-intensity exercise like walking, for example. Just learning how to disconnect from work from time to time and listening to your body can be enough to reduce the amount of harmful hormones your body produces every day.
All these tips will allow you to restore your hormonal balance and start feeling the benefits. Hormonal health is essential to your overall health and neglecting it could lead to severe consequences. So, make sure that you correct the situation today if you want to enjoy optimal health for years to come.
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