Building a Healthy Hormone Routine

promote healthy hormones with five Daily habits!

1. Support your mental health!

   Why is managing mental health and stress so important? For starters, if your mind isn't taken care of, how are you supposed to take care of your body? In addition, your body's hormones respond to your mental state.

   For example, let's talk about stress. If you are chronically stressed this can mess with your cortisol, a.k.a the stress hormone, regulation. When cortisol is not regulated properly, this can lead to reduced insulin sensitivity, a weakened immune system, and eventually lead to adrenal exhaustion/fatigue.

   Additional things that can cause abnormal regulation of cortisol are under-eating, nutrient deficiency, sleep deprivation, and illness.

   Now, I am not going to be one of those practitioners that says “just relax.” We all know that is not helpful or useful. Instead, let's talk about ways to help manage and cope with stress!

   Lifestyle fixes:

   • JOY! Do things that you LOVE! Go for a walk with friends, dance, sing, paint, read, etc. Do this fun activity for AT LEAST two hours per week. Put it in your calendar. Treat it like it is an appointment or meeting.

   • REST! Meditation, yoga, massage, bath-time, reading, something to relax you! Again, make this a DAILY appointment in your calendar.

   • Eat breakfast with PROTEIN! (See the previous email for breakfast ideas!)

   • Give HUGS to those you love. Try to get at least a couple of hugs daily! This has been shown to reduce cortisol levels, boost the immune system, lower heart rate and blood pressure, and elevate mood!

   • MOVE! Move at least 30 mins daily! (The next email will talk more about this one!)

   • TALK! Find someone you feel like you can talk and share with; it could be a friend, parent, doctor, or therapist!

2. Get AT LEAST 7 hours of sleep!

   • I feel like this one seems obvious, yet most people do not get over 7 hours of sleep each night. 

   • Sleep is so important for hormone health and balance. This is because it stabilizes your HPA axis, a.k.a your hormone center in the brain. It also improves insulin sensitivity and regulates estrogen, progesterone, and LH release. 

   • Possible causes of insomnia: chronic stress, elevated cortisol, low blood sugar, lack of evening wind-down time, too much caffeine, magnesium deficiency, thyroid disease, perimenopause, grief, anxiety, depression, evening exposure to blue light. 

   • Ways to improve sleep:

     • Treat the root cause of sleep issues

     • Establish good sleep habits a.k.a sleep hygiene:

       • Have a consistent bed time. Going to sleep before 10pm is ideal.

       • Make your bedroom cozy! Comfy sheets, cool temperature, sound machine, and a dark room.

       • Have a night time routine.

         • Decide on a set bedtime

         • Have a small snack like nut butter and apples, have some tea

         • Turn electronics off

         • Take a bath

         • Listen to calm/smoothing music

         • Breathe and stretch

         • Practice meditation

         • Read a book

         • Journal

         • Prep the bedroom

       • Avoid having caffeinated drinks, sugar, alcohol, and large meals meal an hour before bedtime.

       • Exercise throughout the day but not too close to bed time.

       • Remove electronic devices from the bedroom like computers, TVs, and smart phones.

3. Movement:  

   • Why is movement so important?

     • Modulates your response to stress and reduces cortisol

     • Improves insulin sensitivity

     • Reduces inflammation

     • Improves blood circulation

   • You should be moving AT LEAST 30 mins each day and exercising 2 hours each week!

   • Daily movement and workout ideas:

     • CHOOSE SOMETHING YOU ENJOY TO DO!

     • Walking, running, dancing, yoga, HIIT, pilates, rollerskating, biking, hiking, gardening, cleaning the house, group fitness, etc.!

4. Nutrition

   • Mediterranean diet focused, eating organic whole foods.

   • Focus on ADDING foods. Add in lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, and protein.

   • Remove sugar, alcohol, wheat (if you have an allergy or celiacs), dairy (if sensitive), vegetable oil. 

   • Incorporate phytoestrogens: nuts, soy, seeds, whole grains, legumes, flax seeds. Eat moderate amounts to help balance your estrogen levels!

   • Eat about about 20-30 grams of protein in the morning with breakfast! 

5. Eliminate Toxins:

   • Invest in clean beauty and cleaning products: https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

   • Buy organic: “Clean 15” and “Dirty Dozen” 

   • Filter your water: Berkey water filter

   • Use glass containers to store your food

   • Turn your phone on airplane mode at night to eliminate your EMF exposure

   • For more tips on eliminating toxins, see my blog post: Eliminating Toxins 101

For more details on specific foods to eat, download my fertility foods list: