How bad do you want to balance your hormones?

Hello everyone, trust you are enjoying the summer, I would like to talk about the endocrine system, how it affects many women and how we can avoid some of the symptoms by making some different life style choices.

Many women struggle with an imbalanced endocrine system from the time of their first menstrual cycle to the final days of menopause.  Some of the symptoms that indicate an imbalanced within the female’s endocrine system are depression due to hormonal imbalance, moods swings, PMS, hot flashes and menopause.  Also, irregular menstrual cycles, heavy menstrual cycles, headaches, pain, low libido, fatigue and irritability.  We must not ignore an under active thyroid, but this is a whole other topic to elaborate at another time!  These symptoms are letting you know that your endocrine system is not producing the required level of hormones that are necessary to create a healthy functioning body.

The good news is that theses symptoms can be positively decreased and can even be eliminated when you provide the necessary nutrients to balance the endocrine system.  There are many superfoods and supplements that can be very helpful, one example is Maca.  Maca belongs to the cruciferous family whom is a healthy food as they naturally contain high levels of vitamins and other nutrients with anti-cancer properties (Wikipedia,2018). Maca can be worth trying since it is a hormone balancer and regulator.

In addition to maca, consuming the right foods will help provide hormonal balance, such as quality foods, whole grains, sufficient protein per day, lots of fruits and vegetable and quality fish oil. Some people have a hard time digesting some raw foods, I suggest consulting a health consultant or have an allergy test done to individualize their diet. This diet approach will bring you on a path of balance and energy. Now, promoting healthy foods in your body is just has important as being aware of the foods that will hinder or support balance in your body.

There are several categories of foods that are not beneficial to your hormonal health and should be eliminated or reduced from our diet (Ingram, 2010);

1. Packaged food or processed foods
2. White flour
3. Sugar (unnatural sweeteners like aspartame)
4. Wheat pasta (limit wheat pasta to 1x a week)

Always remember our bodies are made up of vitamins and minerals and that it is the nutrient content that we require to function optimally. When we suffer each month with intense cramps, hormonal headaches and general feelings of unwellness or an imbalance in our systems, we are not deficient in white flour, aspartame or preservatives- we are lacking nutrients.  The symptoms we experience is our body’s way of giving us signal that we are deprived of nutrients.  It is our responsibility to listen to our bodies and take appropriate action with quality nutrition and sensible supplementation to correct this imbalance.

I wish you Good healthy Living,

Anna

(https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientreview-555-MACA.aspx?drugid=555&drugname=MACA, 2005-2018)