Simple Diet and Lifestyle Tips for Happy and Balanced Hormones
When it comes to feeling your best, balanced hormones play a critical role in everything from energy levels and mood to digestion and sleep quality. However, modern-day stressors, environmental toxins, and poor dietary habits can throw our hormones out of whack, leaving us feeling anything but balanced. The good news? Supporting happy hormones doesn’t have to be complicated! By making small but impactful changes to your diet and lifestyle, you can take control of your well-being and start feeling more vibrant and energized.
In this post, we’re sharing simple, practical tips to help you nourish your body and balance your hormones naturally. From eating enough healthy fats and high-quality protein to staying hydrated, sweating regularly, and managing stress, these habits are the foundation of hormonal health. We have hormone specific meal plans that are packed with nutrient-dense recipes designed to support hormonal balance. Let’s dive in and take the first step toward happier, healthier hormones!
Diet Tips to Balance Hormones
What you eat plays a powerful role in balancing your hormones and supporting overall well-being. By focusing on nutrient-dense, hormone-friendly foods, you can reduce inflammation, stabilize blood sugar, and provide your body with the building blocks it needs for optimal hormonal function. Incorporating organic foods, healthy fats, balanced meals, and sufficient protein at every meal can help you feel energized, reduce mood swings, and promote a sense of calm. Let’s break down why these choices are essential for keeping your hormones—and you—happy!
Eat Organic
Conventional produce is grown with harmful pesticides such as glyphosate. These chemicals are endocrine disrupters and throw off your hormone balance. So eat organic as much as possible. If eating all organic is out of your budget, follow the EWG's 'Dirty Dozen' & 'Clean Fifteen' guidelines.
Eat Enough Healthy Fats
Your body uses fats as the building blocks for hormones. Without enough, your hormone production will suffer. Be sure to eat plenty of healthy fats like:
Avocados
Nuts & seeds
Fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, & anchovies)
Coconut oil
Extra virgin olive oil
MCT oil
Kefir
Keep Your Blood Sugar Balanced
Sugar and refined carbs increase insulin resistance. They also reduce leptin, the hormone that tells you you're full. So to keep your blood sugar (and hormones) balanced:
Eat the protein and vegetables on your plate first.
Eat complete meals with a good balance of protein, healthy fats, and complex carbs
Keep snacking to a minimum
Eat Protein at Every Meal
Protein is made up of amino acids, which your body uses to make hormones. Protein also lowers your hunger hormone ghrelin and helps keep your blood sugar stable. Aim to eat 20-30 g of protein with every meal. High protein foods include:
Chicken
Eggs
Salmon
Grass fed beef
Sardines
Lentils
Turkey
Beans
Edamame
Lifestyle Tips to Balance Hormones
Your daily habits play a powerful role in balancing your hormones and supporting overall health. Small, intentional lifestyle changes—like managing stress effectively, swapping out toxic products for cleaner alternatives, upgrading your cookware, and prioritizing quality sleep can create a foundation for hormonal harmony. These simple yet impactful adjustments can reduce exposure to hormone disruptors, support your body's natural rhythms, and help you feel your best every day. Let's explore how these steps can set the stage for happier, healthier hormones.
Manage Stress
Stress raises your stress hormone cortisol. This can create a domino effect of other hormonal imbalances. So set aside time for daily stress relief. Prayer, meditation, yoga, breath-work, and time in nature are all proven to relieve stress. Aim for at least 10- 15 minutes every day. Simply taking a walk
at lunch can make a big difference.
Go Non-Toxic
Most personal care products like shampoo, deodorant, lotion, toothpaste, and cosmetics are filled with endocrine-disrupting chemicals like BPA, phthalates, parabens, and dioxins. These toxins can disrupt your hormone balance. So choose clean, non-toxic products instead. Check out the EWG's 'Skin Deep Database' if you could use some guidance.
Clean Up Your Cookware
Non-stick cookware is loaded with xenoestrogens. These chemicals mimic estrogen in the body and can mess up your hormone balance. So choose stainless steel or ceramic cookware instead. Plastics can also leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals. So swap out plastic food containers and water bottles for glass or stainless steel.
Get a Good Night's Sleep
Poor sleep can disrupt your hormones big time. So for healthy hormones, try optimizing your circadian rhythm. Here are 3 ways to do that:
Avoid blue light from cell phones and computer screens 1-2 hours before bed
Stick to a regular sleep schedule
Get morning light exposure (even 5-10 min can help)
Breathing Exercises
Making time to pause and take long, cleansing and mindful deep breaths is one of those things you may, like us, underestimate as making a huge impact in our body, mind and spirit. This is why our wonderful yoga, Pilates and breathing leader and expert, Amy Younkman demonstrates 3 breathing exercises for morning, noon and night and all of the wonderful benefits you'll receive.
Balance Hormones By Optimizing Detox
Detoxification is a natural process that helps your body eliminate toxins, regulate hormones, and maintain balance. By supporting your body's detox pathways, you can reduce hormonal imbalances and promote overall health. Simple daily habits can make a big impact, such as eating fiber-rich foods to keep your digestion running smoothly, staying hydrated to flush out toxins, sweating to release impurities through your skin, and incorporating dry brushing to stimulate lymphatic flow. Together, these practices can help you feel lighter, clearer, and more in tune with your body.
Eat Enough Fiber
Fiber keeps you pooping so you can flush out excess hormones. If you're not pooping regularly these hormones can get reabsorbed and throw off your hormone balance. So how much fiber is enough? Women should aim for at least 25 g of a day, while men should aim for 38 g. High-fiber foods include raspberries, pears, apples, sweet potatoes, legumes, and avocado.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking plenty of water helps your body detox excess hormones. Without enough water, all that fiber will just sit inside you. So aim to drink at approximately half your body weight in water every day. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds, your water goal would be 80 ounces a day.
Sweat It Out
Sweating helps your body remove toxins via your skin. This lightens the load on your liver, which helps your body detox hormones. You can sweat it out via exercise or even take in a sauna session.
Dry Brush
Dry brushing exfoliates your skin and reduces the appearance of cellulite. But it also stimulates your lymphatic system, which helps your body remove wastes and toxins. If the lymphatic system gets sluggish, it can lead to a build-up of estrogen. New to dry brushing? Here's my favorite dry brush set.
Balancing your hormones doesn’t have to be complicated. By making simple yet impactful changes to your diet, lifestyle, and self-care routines, you can support your body’s natural hormone regulation and feel your best. Small steps like eating clean, nourishing your body with healthy fats and protein, managing stress, prioritizing sleep, and optimizing detoxification can make a world of difference. Remember, balance takes time, and every effort you make is a step toward a healthier, happier you. Start where you are, listen to your body, and trust the process—you’re worth it!
