1. Diet
Diet plays a huge part in your hormone balance because many of them are created from the foods we eat. That is why eating more healthy fats such as avocados, coconut oil, olive oil, walnuts, fish, chia seeds, and flax seeds is important. When the body metabolizes these fats, a hormone called pregnenolone is formed. Pregnenolone is a precursor to estrogen, progesterone, DHEA, testosterone, and cortisol. Our functional medicine practice usually recommends having at least 20-30 grams of healthy fats daily to ensure optimal hormone health and boost overall wellness.
Eating regularly throughout the day is also important. Our holistic primary care physicians recommend starting the day with at least 10 grams of protein every morning and every four hours to stabilize healthy insulin levels. So, reduce carbohydrates and add in the protein and healthy fats! And, when eating carbohydrates, make sure they are coming from a vegetable source — especially from cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, radish, watercress, bok choy, arugula, and rutabaga. You want to have a well-balanced diet and rotate foods, so you know you are getting all of the vitamins and minerals needed for a healthy hormone balance.
2. De-stress
Emotional health can affect your hormones, so take part in some self-care daily! Yes, we are giving you a reason to relax and pamper yourself. When we are stressed, cortisol is created in the body. Over time, too much cortisol can throw off normal hormone reactions in the body and eventually deplete your other hormones. This is called adrenal fatigue or dysfunction.
We recommend getting a spa service done at least once a month. In addition to practicing integrative medicine, CentreSpringMD has a spa providing treatments like acupuncture, massages, facials, craniosacral therapy, and anti-aging therapies. In thinking about your holistic health, multiple studies prove that acupuncture can balance your hormones and help with many of the previously mentioned conditions.
When you relax and take deep breaths, your parasympathetic nervous system is stimulated, and cortisol is reduced. So, don’t forget to take deep breaths throughout the day! There are many applications out there that help you relax the mind, such as Mindful, Headspace, and Insight Timer. If meditation isn’t your thing, try adding at least five minutes a day of some activity where you forget the stressors in life. Our functional family medicine practice recommends art therapy — you are never too old to color!
3. Limit Toxins
Toxins are substances that alter regular metabolic activity in the body. The liver is in charge of detoxing the body from these harmful substances when they are introduced. The liver also assists with metabolizing hormones. Therefore, if it is overwhelmed with toxins, it starts to forget about its other job, which affects hormone levels in the body.
For example, estrone is a type of estrogen that can be stored in the body’s fat cells if the liver is not metabolizing properly. High estrone levels can lead to increased weight gain and even cancer (specifically breast and ovarian cancer).
Some good ways to limit toxins are to avoid drinking from plastic bottles, washing your fruits and vegetables well, buy organic foods, and use low-toxin cleaning supplies and products. I recommend eating plenty of greens, such as cilantro and parsley, because these are natural detoxifiers. At CentreSpringMD, we offer glutathione IVs to help your liver detox. Glutathione is also great for fertility!
4. Other Considerations
If you have questions about how to increase pregnenolone naturally or how to lower pregnenolone levels based on existing or potential imbalances, examine your life from a holistic level. Especially regarding pregnenolone and weight loss, you may be seeing fluctuations in response to:
- Menopause-related changes
- Adrenal fatigue
- Sluggish or malfunctioning adrenal glands that no longer convert cholesterol to pregnenolone.
In addition to addressing your diet, reducing stress, and getting enough sleep, consider incorporating supplements like vitamins B5 and B6, vitamin D3, and vitamin K to increase your levels of this hormone. For how to balance estrogen naturally, realize that here, too, hormonal fluctuations often occur in conjunction with menopause or may be influenced by a high body fat percentage. In addition to diet and addressing your birth control, you can lower your estrogen levels by increasing exercise and physical activity and losing weight.
Want to Dive Deeper?
While these tips can help you balance your hormones in the short term, if you want to get to the root cause of your health issues, make an appointment with one of our providers.
With a unique diagnostic process, we guide you to your best self by connecting the dots of your health and history to shape a unique treatment plan because no two people are the same. We lead you in the implementation and monitor the results to optimize the plan according to your body’s needs.
So, what will you find as a patient at our functional medicine practice?
- Testing for hormonal imbalances and related issues
- Longer appointments with your provider
- Advanced technology and integrative lab testing
- Conventional and holistic treatment options
- Personalized treatment plans
- Direct access to your provider
- A complete menu of traditional and holistic health and spa services
As you can see, at CentreSpringMD, we are committed to a new model of medicine with true patient-centered, collaborative care — a safe place to refresh, relax, and rejuvenate.
