Hormones are chemical messengers that travel throughout the body coordinating complex processes like growth, metabolism, fertility and even mood.
Hormone balance is an essential part of wellbeing, especially for us women. Our hormones fluctuate a great deal throughout the month, and because they play such an important part in our bodies, when one hormone is out of whack we can feel its effects on the rest of our body.
Hormonal imbalance could look like thyroid issues, irregular periods, sudden weight gain or loss, hair loss, fatigue, low libido and bloating.
The good news is that there is plenty you can do to influence your hormones and diet is one of the most powerful ways. Here are our top 4 types of food to eat to help balance hormones and some smoothie hacks to help you make them a part of your daily routine.
- Consume More Healthy Fats
Fats are important for hormonal balance (mic drop and a yay!). If you are not consuming enough fats:
- your body will not absorb fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K, and this nutrient deficiency can lead to hormonal imbalance.
- your body will not be able to make enough cholesterol that is needed to produce certain sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, which can also lead to hormonal imbalance.
Now before you make hot chips an everyday staple food, when it comes to balanced hormones and fat consumption, we need to focus on healthy fats like Omega-3 fatty acids that we get from foods such as olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds, coconut oil and eggs. These are the fats we should consume more of.
Smoothie Hack: Don’t be afraid to add some healthy fats to your breakfast smoothie like a spoon of coconut oil or half an avocado. You can also find some fantastic Omega-3 fatty acid sources in our Glow Proteins Vegan Protein Powder from Hemp seed and Sacha Inchi.
- Don’t Underestimate The Power Of Vitamin C
Vitamin C regulates your progesterone levels, particularly during the luteal (days after ovulation) phase of your cycle. If you suffer from PMS, you may have a progesterone imbalance. Vitamin C rich foods such as berries, sea buckthorn and snow peas may assist in relieving you of your symptoms.
Smoothie Hack: Try adding some frozen berries to your smoothie mix in the days leading up to your period (organic if possible). Our Glow Proteins Vegan Protein Powder is also an excellent source of Vitamin C that we get from real Sea Buckthorn. It provides you with 100% of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C. We have also included Macqui Berry, and Maca that are jam packed with polypehnols to help decrease inflammation and protect your cells from stress.
- Eat More Lignan-Rich Food
If you have low energy, mood swings or sudden weight gain, you may have a estrogen imbalance. Seeds like flaxseed, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower contain a compound called lignan that works to normalise your estrogen levels by both getting rid of excess estrogen and stimulating estrogen production when you don’t have enough.
Smoothie Hack: Try adding flaxseeds to your morning smoothie. Flaxseeds have the highest source of lignans and may help stablisise your estrogen levels and correct hormonal imbalance. Our Glow Proteins Vegan Protein Powder contains pumpkin seeds, another good source of lignans.
- Eat Cruciferous Vegetables
Broccoli, kale, spinach, cauliflower, bok choy, brussel sprouts, cabbage, and kale all contains phytoestogenic compounds which may promote beneficial estrogen metabolism, helping to rid environmental, or 'bad' estrogens from the body.
Smoothie Hack: Add a cup or two of kale or spinach to your smoothie mix, we promise if you add bananas or berries also, you won’t taste a thing.