Food can Fix Your Hormones
Making food and lifestyle changes was all it took for me to eliminate my constant breast Pain, PMS and monthly period cramps. Who knew a packet of nurofen wasn’t the only answer? Here’s what I know - you can use food to support your hormonal health and in turn eliminate your Period Problems.
Fat, carbohydrates and protein are called macronutrients - listen up ladies because macros are not just important for the muscle heads at the gym. When you’re not consuming an ideal amount or an ideal type of macronutrient your hormones can go haywire and you can experience symptoms like Period Pain and PMS. Your hormones are made from fats, your body runs on the energy from carbohydrates (mostly) and you need protein to build and repair muscles, repair bones, make enzymes and hormones.
Your hormones also rely on your organs and organ systems to be functioning properly, in order for this to happen we need a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals - also know as micronutrients. Some systems are responsible for eliminating used hormones while other organs are responsible for making hormones and when our supply of micros is low these systems cannot function optimally.
Food = Macro & Micro Nutrients
Our body is made up of cells, about 37 trillion of them (1). When our cells come together in huge numbers they form tissue, when tissue cells come together they form organs, when organs come together they form organ systems and when you add them altogether we call it a body. At a basic level our organs and organ systems work together to maintain homeostasis - the body's natural state of equilibrium.
How do we maintain that equilibrium? The air we breathe, water we drink, the environment we live in, the relationships we have and food we eat all contribute to our bodies' equilibrium. Today we’re going to focus on how food effects the body and how we can eat to support our hormones.
The digestive system or GI tract is responsible for breaking down the food we eat into tiny little pieces we call nutrients. These nutrients are used by the body to make energy and to keep our organs functioning. The digestive system is one of the largest organ systems in the body. From the moment you see or smell food your digestive system starts working because your brain tells your stomach to start producing digestive enzymes. After you’ve chewed and swallowed your food it travels down your oesophagus, into your stomach, eventually into your small and then large intestines. Through this process nutrients are extracted and can be used by the body.
Key takeaway: the digestive system breaks down our food into nutrients. Nutrients have two purposes #1 they give us energy to move through our day and #2 they are necessary for our organs to function (2,3).
In order for your female sex hormones to function properly you need to consume a good amount of macronutrients; cabs, fats and proteins at every meal. What? We need carbs? Yes! By focusing on eating complex carbohydrates, good fats and clean proteins you’ll be on your way to happy hormones and a healthy body.
If you’re living in hormone havoc and want to use food to support your hormones, each meal should be made up of a macronutrient breakdown that looks something like this:
Complex carbohydrates - around 50% of each meal - this means veggies, fruits and whole grains. Think sweet potato, broccoli, spinach, apples, berries, legumes and whole grains. It’s important to note simple carbohydrates like refined sugar and refined grains found in bread, pastries and pasta don’t help your hormones and should be avoided.
Good fats - around 25% of each meal - think avocado, wild salmon, nuts, seeds, olive oil and coconut oil. Avoid fried food and baked goods containing vegetable oils and trans fats.
Clean proteins - around 25% of each meal - think grass fed, free range and antibiotic free meats, also beans, quinoa, nuts, seeds and GMO free soy are great sources of protein.
Micronutrients are also super important for the function and balance of your female sex hormones. For example if you’re not getting enough vitamin A, C, E, D3 and the B vitamins your liver can’t function properly. When your liver isn’t working estrogen recycles in your body, causing it to build up resulting in PMS symptoms and it can also lead to breast cancer(4). You can get all the vitamins and minerals you need by eating lots of veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains and animal protein*. These foods support the complex functions of every organ and system in your body.
The food you eat everyday plays a big role in your overall hormonal health. Whether you’re suffering from acne, headaches, sore boobs, Period Pain, PMS or the more serious endometriosis or PCOS you can use food to support your body to heal itself.
How do you get enough micronutrients? Eat a rainbow! Eat as many different fruits, vegetables, nuts, seed, beans, legumes and animal protein as you can each day. Every meal and snack is an opportunity for you to load up on micronutrients.
Key takeaway: to support your hormones you should eat balanced meals containing all 3 macronutrients and ‘eat the rainbow’ to ensure you get a variety of micronutrients.
If you’re looking for a quick fix or magic pill to help your hormones - sorry - there isn’t one. And just in case you’re thinking “hello, the Pill fixes hormones” I’ve got some news for you - the Pill doesn’t fix hormonal issues. The Pill puts your hormones into a holding pattern. No hormonal fluctuations means no ovulation, which means your body thinks you’re in menopause / pregnant and that’s your Period Problems can lessoned. But the Pill does not address the cause of the hormonal disfunction.
If you’re happy to stay on birth control please do yourself a favour and first read my blog on The Pill and What it’s Really Doing to Your Body. Because - spoiler alert - you can’t absorb nutrients properly when you’re on the Pill, meaning your body can’t function optimally and you’ll never truly be in a state of homeostasis.
If you want to say goodbye to Pain, wasted days cured up on the bathroom floor, bloating and embarrassing skin - you can! You have the power to change the way your body feels during your cycle. You have the power to affect your energy levels. You have the power to climb out of hormone induced anxiety and depression. The food you choose everyday can give you that power.
What to do now?
If you want to start using food and lifestyle changes to fix your hormonal issues I can help. I’ve been helping women change their relationship to food and fix their hormones for a while now and I love it!
There are a few ways I can help you CLICK HERE to find out more.
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*Due to the degradation of our solids and other compounding factors related to industrialization it’s now hard to get some vitamins and minerals through diet alone. Magnesium is the biggest loser here and you may need to look for alternative ways to get what your body needs. And if you’re vego or vegan you’ll most likely need to look for good sources of B12, omega 3’s and iron - consult a nutritionist, naturopath or functional medicine doctor for specific help in this area.
References:
Bianconi E, Piovesan A, Facchin F, Beraudi A, Casadei R, Frabetti F, Vitale L, Pelleri MC, Tassani S, Piva F, Perez-Amodio S, Strippoli P, Canaider S. An estimation of the number of cells in the human body. Ann Hum Biol. 2013 Nov-Dec;40(6):463-71. doi: 10.3109/03014460.2013.807878. Epub 2013 Jul 5. Erratum in: Ann Hum Biol. 2013 Nov-Dec;40(6):471. PMID: 23829164.
Huskisson E, Maggini S, Ruf M. The role of vitamins and minerals in energy metabolism and well-being. J Int Med Res. 2007 May-Jun;35(3):277-89. doi: 10.1177/147323000703500301. PMID: 17593855.
Goodman BE. Insights into digestion and absorption of major nutrients in humans. Adv Physiol Educ. 2010 Jun;34(2):44-53. doi: 10.1152/advan.00094.2009. PMID: 20522896.
Nseir W, Abu-Rahmeh Z, Tsipis A, Mograbi J, Mahamid M. Relationship between Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Breast Cancer. Isr Med Assoc J. 2017 Apr;19(4):242-245. PMID: 28480679.
