How To Balance Your Hormones

In the first article of this series, ‘Conventional Nutrition Is Making You Unhappy, Unhealthy, and Overweight!’ I made the claim that “a healthy and balanced hormonal system will optimize energy and health and ensure you reach and maintain your ideal body weight – regardless of energy consumed or burnt.”

Pretty big claim. So what did I mean by that? And, when it comes to building your BodyIncredible, is learning how to keep your hormonal balance in check truly more important than good nutrition or exercise?

Well, the long answer is that it’s all interrelated. Doh, right. Of course nutrition and exercise are important – but hey, the food you eat and the exercise you perform both have affect your hormones, so really, that brings us right back to square one.

Think of having balanced hormones as being a foundation block in building your BodyIncredible, and as exercise, nutrition, and other lifestyle factors being the tools to build that foundation. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at how your hormonal system works:

Your hormonal system, otherwise known as your endocrine system, consists of the pancreas, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenals, pineal, pituitary and testes/ovaries.

When your hormonal system is working to its optimum, it means that you are functioning and feeling your best. This will include:

• Ideal energy
• Balanced moods and emotions
• Maximum ability to manage and overcome stress
• A healthy metabolism allowing you to reach and maintain your ideal body weight
• Good digestion
• The ability to ‘get up and go’ in the morning, and to wind down at night
• A healthy sex drive
• Optimum response and recovery to exercise

And that’s just the beginning. But how about if we look at what can happen when your hormones are out of whack. Do any of these complaints seem familiar to you or those you know?

• Mood swings and depression
• Physical complaints such as headaches, joint aches, bad breath, mental fog, bad skin, bad period pains
• Panic or anxiety
• Poor digestion; a heavy or bloated stomach
• Weight gain (usually) or sometimes weight loss

Unfortunately many of us have forgotten that all these things are not normal. And I think the reason for that is that they have become the accepted norm. By which I mean that it’s far more common for people to live with one if not all of these symptoms for years on end. And then to wonder why they were unlucky enough to fall prey to one of the dreaded big four (Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Obesity). When they had been ‘eating well’ and working out regularly.

Here’s a clue. If you suffer from more than two of the above complaints on a daily basis, then things just aren’t right. Simply put: you need to invest some time into giving your body the tools it needs to run your hormone system like the Ferrari it is, not an ’87 Corolla.

Build Your BodyIncredible Through A Healthy, Happy Hormonal System

What you need to know:

1. Hormones are made from a combination of small proteins (amino acids), lipids (fats), and cholesterol. They are made in your glands and stem cells. Your body’s cells are at optimum strength when you eat sufficient protein, fat and cholesterol.
2. Healthy hormones rely on adequate fat, protein and cholesterol intake. Yep. It’s true. Your body needs these foods and without them it’s impossible for you to be at your best.
3. Cholesterol: Scared of cholesterol? You shouldn’t be. In fact, if you don’t eat it, your body will use carbohydrates to make it anyway! This is how important it is. You can access healthy cholesterol in organic or free range animal meats, and in eggs.
4. Fats: I’m sure you’ve all heard of good fats – but do you include fat as part of your meal, or is it just a matter of popping an Omega 3 capsule here and there? Well that just won’t do. Fat should be just as much a part of each meal as the protein and carbohydrate content. My studies and practical experience have taught me that you need to eat fat to lose fat. Examples of good fats include fat from organic meat, poultry and dairy, from fish, extra virgin olive oil, organic coconut oil, and fats from raw organic nuts and seeds.
5. Protein: Protein is the building block of not only your entire hormonal system, but every cell in your body. Without adequate protein you have no chance of reaching your potential – physically or otherwise! I recommend some protein at every meal. Animal sources include meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs, while vegetarians and vegans can source protein from fermented soy foods such as tempeh or miso, from nuts and seeds, and from legumes. Bear in mind that plant proteins do not contain a complete amino acid structure, so you will need to look into food combining if you take this path.

A final word. If you’re not convinced that you need to eat protein, fat and cholesterol in order to reach optimal health, just test it. Try using a Food Journal to compare a week without these foods in your diet, and then a week where you eat them at least twice per day. I know where my money lies.

And remember – Life is Now. Press Play.

Kat

Thanks for reading this article in the New Nutrition series. Follow these links to review other articles in this series:

Introduction: Why Conventional Nutrition Is Making You Unhealthy, Unhappy and Overweight

Part Two: The Importance Of Seasonal Eating

Part Three: Eat Fat, Lose Fat

Part Four: Why You Should Be Careful With Carbs

Part Five: How A Lack Of Sleep Affects Your Health And Your Weight

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