Hormone Health

Our hormones majorly effect our mental, physical and emotional health. The chemistry plays a major role in controlling our appetite, weight and mood, among other things.

When our hormones are working normally, our endocrine glands produce the precise amount of each hormone needed for various processes in your body. However, hormonal imbalances have become increasingly common with today’s fast-paced modern lifestyle. In addition, certain hormones decline with age, and some people experience a more dramatic decrease than others.

We can influence these inbalances favourably by having a nutritious diet and making other healthy lifestyle choices this can help us to feel and perform at our best.

Eat Adequate Protein, Avoiding Sugar and Refined Carbs

Dietary protein provides essential amino acids that your body can’t make on its own and must be consumed every day in order to maintain muscle, bone and skin health.

Protein influences the release of hormones and research has shown us that appetite is decreased with an adequate amount of protein intake.

  • SUMMARY: Consuming adequate protein triggers the production of hormones that suppress appetite and help you feel full. Aim for a minimum of 20–30 grams of protein per meal.

Sugar and refined carbs have been linked to a number of health problems. Indeed, avoiding or reducing sugar and carb intake may improve hormone function and potentially avoid obesity, diabetes and other diseases.

  • SUMMARY: Diets high in sugar and refined carbs have been shown to drive insulin resistance. Avoiding these foods and reducing overall carb intake may decrease insulin levels and increase insulin sensitivity.

I am a big fan of Pharmanex® Metabotrim® is a dietary supplement that provides essential vitamins and minerals for the normal conversion of food to usable energy.

Metabotrim® includes specifically formulated ingredients to help regulate carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. This product works best in conjunction with a fitness plan.

Regular Exercise

It’s no surprise that exercise and physical activity in general is good for you but did you also realise that it can strongly influence hormonal health. This major benefit is because it reduces insulin levels and increase insulin sensitivity.

Insulin has several functions; it allows cells to take up sugar and amino acids from the bloodstream, which are then used for energy and maintaining muscle. Too much insulin can be dangerous; can be linked to inflammation, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

  • SUMMARY: Performing strength training, aerobics, walking or other forms of physical activity can modify hormone levels in a way that reduces the risk of disease and protects muscle mass during the aging process.

Managing Stress

Stress can wreak havoc on your hormones. Two major hormones affected by stress are cortisol and adrenaline, which is also called epinephrine.

Cortisol helps your body cope with stress over the long term. Adrenaline is the provides our body with a surge of energy to respond to immediate danger.

However today these hormones are mainly triggered by people’s busy, often overwhelming lifestyles rather than running from a predator.

Elevated cortisol levels can lead to excessive calorie intake and obesity, including increased belly fat if they remain high over a period of time. Adrenaline high levels can cause high blood pressure, rapid heart rate and anxiety.

Yoga, massage and listening to relaxing music has been shown to reduce cortisol levels. A 2005 review of studies found that massage therapy not only reduced cortisol levels by an average of 31%, but also increased levels of the mood-boosting hormone serotonin by 28% and dopamine by 31%, on average. This is no surprise to us in our clinic.

I love recommending Cortitrol also by Pharmanex to our clients. Cortitrol helps balance all those feelings of worrying yourself sick dealing with stressful situations, restlessness, tiredness due to lack of sleep, feeling generally run-down, or if you are trying to lose weight, or lacking mental focus and performing at sub-optimal levels, Cortitrol can definitely help. Feeling stressed not only takes away our ability to enjoy life optimally but is downright detrimental to our health.

  • SUMMARY: Engaging in stress-reduction behaviors like meditation, yoga, massage and listening to soothing music can help normalize your levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Taking this gentle supplement can help too.

 

Are you tired of feeling tired?
Do you suffer from pain & stiffness?
Do your energy levels run out before your plans do?
Are you happy with who you se in the mirror?
Are you feeling as young and vital as you would like?
Do you look and feel older than seems fair to you?
Do you suffer from stress?
Does life feel overwhelming to you?
Would you like your skin and/or muscle tone to be more vibrant and radiant than it is right now?
Would you like a stronger immune system?

If any answer was yes … contact Catherine on 0437 018 334 for a chat on how she can help!

We will continue in our next article about more things you can do to improve your hormone balance,
in the meantime take care and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Catherine