Our hormones are the master key to our emotional wellbeing and health. Estrogen, testosterone, adrenaline, insulin...these are all role players in sending chemical messages to the brain, which regulate much of how you operate. There are a lot of working parts, and they’re all connected to each other through the endocrine system, the overarching system that regulates your
hormone levels within the body. If one dips or another rises beyond the normal level, even just slightly, your health will feel the impact in a serious way.
When these hormone imbalances occur, the easy solution might be to take prescription medicine like hormone replacement therapies, birth control, insulin and thyroid medications, and a long list of others. The problem with those is that they are primarily synthetic and relying on those while battling a hormone disorder can make you dependent on the drug. Not only that, it can also only serve as a cover for your serious symptoms without truly resolving them.
Thanks to communities backing natural health and remedies, there are plenty of natural means to balancing your hormones. But first, let’s look at the symptoms and causes of irregular or imbalanced hormones, so you can identify if you’re dealing with any of them.
Here are the most popular symptoms of imbalanced hormones to watch out for:
- Infertility and irregular periods
- Sporadic weight change
- Depression and anxiety
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Low sex drive
- No or overactive appetite
- Digestion problems
- Hair loss or thinning
Now, onto the natural solutions we can find that don’t weigh us down with the negative effects of synthetic options…
Eat Healthy Fats
The first thing most people do when they hear the word “fat” is go running in the other direction. But, keeping a variety of fatty acids present in your diet is key to balanced hormones. Fats are used to
create hormones in your body, even the fats like cholesterol and saturated fat that don’t sound too healthy. The various types of fats act as a foundation in hormone production, regulate inflammation levels, promote better metabolism and even help with losing weight. So when you’re ignoring the important fatty parts of a well-rounded diet, you’re risking stunted hormone production. A regular American diet can be carb-heavy, which will have the opposite effect of some healthy fats. Carbohydrates will cause inflammation, higher insulin levels, and in turn, affect the regulation of other important hormones. So keep your healthy fats up and your simple carbs down if you want to have an ideal hormone state.
Some healthy fats to consider in your diet: coconut oil, avocados, all-natural butter and salmon.
Try Belly Button Healing Exercise
The gut is immensely important to your health, especially hormones. It produces 90% of the body’s serotonin and 50% of the body’s dopamine. So when you’re feeling glim or overall very low energy, there’s a good chance your hormone production in the gut is being thrown off due to bad gut health and circulation. A simple stimulation of the gut area can reawaken flow and production—the best exercise for such stimulation is called
Belly Button Healing.
This is an exercise that anyone can do at any time. If you have a
Belly Button Healing wand, you can use that. If not, your hands will do the trick. Simply apply pressure to the navel area, in and out, for just five minutes. The way it works is by creating a flow in your gut and stimulating the vagus nerve, activating the blanket of nerves across all of your major organs and sending the stress-relief response to your brain. The regular stimulation of the gut area keeps a healthy flow so that your gut microbes and good bacteria like probiotics can promote the appropriate secretion of serotonin and dopamine. In addition to that, the stimulation of the vagus nerve will aid in reducing excess levels of the stress hormone cortisol, helping you stay at peace and relaxed.
Use Essential Oils
Your hormones can’t be well-balanced when toxins are present in your body, so cut down regular body care items that are stuffed with toxic chemicals that seep into your system through the skin. Instead, try using essential oils as a natural component in your beauty routines, diffusers, baths, massage oils, and a number of other sources. They’re more than just topical skin care: they can be used in fragrant aromatherapy, ingested in some cases, and even added to hygiene and self care products.
Here are how a few essential oils specifically contribute to balanced hormones:
Clary sage: Clary sage is full of phytoestrogens, which aid in balancing estrogen levels in the body. This oil serves as a natural solution and remedy to PMS issues, infertility, stress, and even depression and anxiety.
Fennel: Your gut is directly connected to health and hormones in the body. Fennel is a great natural supplement to aid in relaxation, boost digestive process and gut health, and overall decrease inflammation and take care of the gut region. When your gut health is boosted, the good bacteria in your stomach can actively recycle and aid in the secretion of the main hormones made in the gut, like serotonin and dopamine.
Lavender: Lavender oil has long been used to level emotions, help with anxiety, and otherwise support mood dips and stress. These boosts will also go a long way in better, longer sleep, which is vital to healthy growth hormone production and the regulation of cortisol levels.
Bird of the Soul Oil: This is a
powerful healing blend of 17 different essential oils and carries a very cozy, soothing, and comforting fragrance that is perfect for deep meditation, calming anxiety, and even
activating your 7 chakras. It contains many of the same ingredients (lavender, sandalwood, etc.) of the other listed essential oils, which are all used for hormone balancing therapies. It combines the effects of those other oils in one punch, namely promoting better relaxation and sleep for balanced cortisol levels. It’s like an all-in-one superpowered essential oil.
Get More Sleep
You know the rule: 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. Why? When you ignore your body’s needs for sleep, you can really upset your hormone balance. That’s mainly due to the fact that your hormones are on a schedule and a lot of hormone-related activity occurs at night when you’re sleeping. Growth hormone is one of the more important hormones that is released during REM sleep, important for growth in the muscles and bones, body fluid regulation and fat metabolism. Cortisol, on the other hand, is regulated around midnight. During the day, your cortisol levels are higher, so you can have an active fight or flight response for survival. At least, that’s how your body sees it, even if your day is mundane. When you sleep, the cortisol levels are lowered and your stress response levels reboot so that your body is not under constant stress. Cortisol levels rise once again when you wake up in the morning, ready for the new day. But if your sleep is irregular, that
cortisol rhythm can be interrupted.
High cortisol levels are actually a direct result of a lack of sleep. One study even showed that high stress (cortisol) can change the levels in the growth hormone, which if produced irregularly, can stunt your growth. Your health and hormones are a lot better off with better sleep, so get your recommended amount every night and you’ll benefit from more balanced hormones and not skimp out on proper release of others. The more you stick with a regular sleeping schedule, the better you will feel long term.