How to Take Control of Your Hormonal Destiny – All About Women’s Hormones Pt. 2

How to Take Control of Your Hormonal Destiny

There are several lifestyle factors that affect your hormones, and each lifestyle factor is within your control. Today, we will dive in and help you navigate each one to help you regain control. For the purposes of this article, we are going to explore the top 3 ways that you can control your hormonal destiny daily. These three areas of your health are some of the most critical areas to focus on.

1. Eating a low glycemic index diet, aka a low-sugar diet, will significantly improve your blood sugar levels. When we manage our blood sugar, we are also managing our hormones simultaneously.
2. Skincare products. Our skin is the largest organ in our body. What we put on it goes in We have to look at what we are putting on our skin as food for our skin. This means be mindful of BPA’s that mimic hormones and create imbalances. Phthalates and benzine are also ingredients to be aware as well. Opting for natural ingredients in our skincare, haircare, oral care, deodorant, shampoos, laundry soap, etc., is key to mitigating the hormonal disruptions these products can cause.
3. Skimping on sleep is hormonal suicide. Sleep is the grand restorer. When we sleep, our brain resets, dumps out the buildup it has accumulated all day and resets. When we don’t sleep, we disrupt our hunger and satiety hormones, making us eat more throughout the day and not feel as full. Lack of sleep has also been tied to more food cravings.

Let’s take a deeper look:

Food:

Everything you eat and drink is a message to your body and hormones. How you eat, what you eat, and when you eat affect how you feel on a daily basis. Our biggest rule of thumb is:

1. Every meal should follow this equation. Protein + Fat + Fiber.

• Protein – lean grass-fed, grass-finished, organic, pasture-raised, animal protein, and wild-caught fish.
• Fat – Avocados, avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, grass-fed, pasture-raised butter, grass-fed ghee, flax seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, nut, and seed butter.
• Fiber – low sugar vegetables like dark leafy greens, kale, collards, bok choy, arugula, lettuces, celery, carrots, onions, broccoli, broccoli rabe, cauliflower, artichokes, asparagus, and zucchini.

More on what to eat:

• Whole, natural organic produce that is low in sugar.
• Natural grass-fed dairy (if you eat dairy)
• Natural grass-fed butter (if you eat butter)
• Fermented vegetables like kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles
• Low-sugar fruits like berries in moderation
• Healthy fats
• Monk fruit sweetener in moderation
• Non-GMO goods (look for the label that says “Non-GMO” on your food)

What to eat less of or omit:

• Starchy vegetables like potatoes (eat these in moderation, sweet potato is ok in moderation)
• Simple carbohydrates like white bread and pasta
• Processed, pre-packaged foods
• Additives and emulsifiers
• Inflammatory oils like sunflower and soybean oil
• White refined sugar
• Commercial, non-organic meats
• Farm-raised fish
• Non-organic, non-grass-fed dairy
• GMO’s
• Candy and other sweets
• Sodas

Skincare:

The skincare industry has been under much scrutiny the past few years due to the chemicals found in our everyday products. BPA’s are chief among the noisemakers because they mimic the hormone estrogen. When you mimic estrogen in the female body, they have found that it disrupts the normal development processes for babies and the functions necessary for maintaining an adult body.

Five tips for skincare:

1. Always read the ingredients label.
2. Look for the “BPA-Free, Phthalate-free, benzine-free” statements on labels. Benzine-free isn’t a label yet, so make sure it isn’t listed in the ingredients label.
3. Buy skincare products that come in glass when you can.
4. If you can’t pronounce it, google it. Sometimes there are plant names that are hard to pronounce, so having your device at the ready to do a quick search on a name or word found in the ingredients label can be helpful.
5. If your favorite product only comes in plastic, empty it into a glass container as soon as you get home.

Sleep:

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for your health and wellbeing. Our sleep rule is plain and simple. Get to sleep before midnight. Every hour slept after midnight is processed by your body as half an hour, and every hour slept before midnight is processed as one whole hour. When we don’t sleep well, we are susceptible to weight gain, food cravings, overeating, mood swings, and overall feelings of being “off.”

We hope this was helpful!

Tune in next week where we talk about Over-exercising Exercising and How it Affects Your Hormones

Resources used:

https://www.ewg.org/areas-focus/toxic-chemicals/bpa

Be well,

Dr. Horowitz & Staff