The main hormones at play in the female body are estrogen and progesterone. They should always be in a constant state of balance. Too much or too little of either of these and related hormones may cause ongoing fatigue, mood swing, depression, cramps, chronic acne, sleep problems, irregular periods, hair on your face, cold hands, among others. To test your knowledge on hormonal imbalance, you can take our quiz here.
The following are 4 home remedies for hormonal imbalance in females:
- Avoid or reduce dairy products
The thing about dairy is that farming practices have changed overtime. This means that cattle are fed different feeds with the aim of maximizing production and profits, not maximizing nutrition. They are also injected with a lot of antibiotics these days. When the milk gets to the factory, it is also processed. Processed milk is in a form that your body cells can not recognize so this becomes a form of ‘stress’ to the cells. All these things are what cause inflammation in the body. Imagine taking 2 cups of that twice daily. Your body is in a constant state of inflammation which is not good.
You can opt for goat’s milk and cheese. Camel milk is also a good option if you are into that sort of thing. Nut milks are another good option. Otherwise, reduce or eliminate dairy altogether.
- Say NO to sugar (just try)
I know! I know! But hear me out. I am a sweet tooth so I know how hard it is. This was difficult to type. Sugar is another inflammatory product. According to Health Line, ‘When you’re living with chronic inflammation, your body’s inflammatory response can eventually start damaging healthy cells, tissues, and organs.’ Stay woke. Here are some substitutes for that sweet taste:
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- Eat fruits but minimize dried fruits like dates, raisins, and sultanas
- Roast your vegetables instead of steaming them. This increases sugar content. Yum. [Tip, roast vegetables separately so that they maintain their individual tastes & flavors. Mix them when cooked]
- Have an adequate intake of complex carbs to stabilize blood sugar & reduce cravings
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- Go green… & eat fruits
When you keep trash in your room, it starts rotting and smelling. This is obviously very unpleasant. Let’s not even talk about the maggots that come out of that mess. The same thing happens when you do not effectively eliminate ‘trash’ from your body. When hormones finish their job, they become harmful in the body, and they need to be eliminated. The liver is one of the organs of elimination in the body. Greens and fruits support the liver to eliminate toxins.
Elimination also helps to reduce symptoms of excess estrogen. Excess estrogen contributes to symptoms such as:
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- a heavy bleed
- breast tenderness
- bloating
- headaches
- water retention etc.
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Picture this: the wall of your large intestine is osmotic. This means that if stool stays there too long, it starts being REABSORBED back into your body. WHAT??? This is why we drink enough water ladies and gentlemen. So that when the greens & fruits have helped the liver to eliminate toxins, the water helps the stool to be eliminated from the large intestine in form of poop. Elimination may also help improve acne.
- Minimize stress
I’m sure you know about ‘the attitude of gratitude’ so I will not bore you with that. We cannot 100% avoid stress. It is part of life. However, stress can be reduced in females by increasing the levels of the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin is one of the four feel-good hormones. According to an article in Harvard Health Publishing, Click here low oxytocin levels have been linked to symptoms such like depression, including postpartum depression. Increasing levels of oxytocin can be done through:
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- Massages
- Cuddling
- Bonding with friends
- Touch or hugs
- Petting animals
- Music
- Exercise (I also enjoy gardening)
- Foods like fatty fish, eggs, pumpkin, dark chocolate, broccoli, bell peppers, spinach, avocados, citrus fruits, tomatoes, and nuts & seeds increase/optimize macronutrients that support oxytocin production
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Journaling is another way to reduce stress. There is something about putting pen to paper. When thoughts are in your head, they’re all jumbled up. But when you write them down, you must formulate a cohesive story. During this process, you’ll find out that some thoughts you have been ruminating on do not quite make sense. You may also be able to come up with solutions when you engage in this process since the story has to be organized and have logical flow.
There are quite a number of remedies for hormonal imbalance in females. However, these 4 can be a starting point. I am speaking from experience. I wish you happy hormones 😉
One last thing, Young Jewels Foundation helps educate young girls on adolescent health and menstrual health. They say knowledge is power and knowledge plus experience is wisdom. Imagine if you had access to knowledge on what a healthy menstrual cycle looks like when you started your period! You can help support a child to get this knowledge by purchasing the Zara Kit for them. The Zara Kit is an intentionally designed pack that contains a Zara story book touching on menstrual health, a full-term supply of sanitary towels among other goodies for the girls. You can purchase one here.
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