11 Ways to Have Healthy Hormones
Most of us were never taught how our cycle works, or what our hormones do, and may have been brought up to think we just had to put up with whatever hormonal issues we experienced. So in this article I’ll be talking all about hormones and the menstrual cycle, with some specific tips for the teen years and perimenopause, and giving you my top 11 tips for hormone health at any age.
Let’s go!
The main hormones that control the menstrual cycle are estrogen and progesterone.
Estrogen is produced by the ovaries, fat cells and adrenal glands. In addition to regulating the menstrual cycle, estrogen influences mood, sleep, brain function, memory, and plays a crucial role in bone health.
Progesterone is produced in the ovaries and adrenal glands, and works in tandem with estrogen to regulate the menstrual cycle. Progesterone is calming, promoting sleep and muscle relaxation.
Estrogen and progesterone both affect thyroid function, and they influence, and are influenced by, many of the other hormones in the body like cortisol and insulin.
A typical 28-day menstrual cycle has four phases; menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, and luteal.
Phase 1 - Menstrual Phase - 5-7 days
The menstrual phase is when you have your period, which is triggered by low levels of progesterone and estrogen.
Phase 2 - Follicular Phase - 7-10 days
This phase lasts 7-10 days after your period, and is the lead up to ovulation. This is still a low hormone phase, but estrogen and progesterone are both increasing.
Phase 3 - Ovulatory Phase - 3-4 days
Over 3-4 days estrogen peaks leading to ovulation. The cells that release the egg then begin to produce progesterone.
Phase 4 - Luteal phase - 10-14 days
In the final 10-14 days of the cycle, estrogen and progesterone both peak then start to decrease, leading to menstruation. So this phase has two distinct halves; when estrogen and progesterone are peaking, and then when they almost completely drop off and the body is removing excess estrogen.
Generally, the low-hormone luteal and menstrual phases can be characterised by low energy, and premenstrual symptoms like food cravings, headaches and brain fog, while the high-hormone follicular and ovulatory phases can be times of higher energy and mental clarity.
Teen concerns
In the teen years estrogen is the more dominant hormone between estrogen and progesterone, so teens can experience many of the effects of high estrogen including heavy and painful periods, acne, and mood swings. And because teen hormones tend to fluctuate more than adults, teens can experience these symptoms more severely.
Teens can benefit from all the measures we’ll talk about below to help regulate their hormones, especially getting plenty of fibre and an overall nutritious diet, while getting lots of sleep and managing their stress.
Perimenopause
Menopause is defined as 1 year since your last period, and perimenopause occurs in the years leading up to menopause. Perimenopause is our body winding down the monthly ovulation cycle.
In our pre-perimenopause years, each cycle our brain releases hormones that tell our ovaries to release an egg. By the time we reach our 40s, our ovaries become less sensitive to these hormones, we produce less of these hormones, and we have a lot fewer eggs, and as a result we can start to have cycles where we don’t ovulate.
In a normal cycle, the released egg produces progesterone; and progesterone is the hormone that maintains a pregnancy if one occurs. In a cycle where we don’t ovulate, we'll have less progesterone. Progesterone balances estrogen, so when we have less progesterone, we may have higher estrogen levels.
This low-progesterone, high-estrogen situation causes many of the typical perimenopause symptoms including disturbed sleep, heavy periods, mood swings, anxiety, depression, weight gain, difficulty regulating temperature including hot flashes, food cravings, shorter cycles and spotting, headaches and migraines, and more.
It’s also possible to have low estrogen especially later in perimenopause, which can lead to many of the same symptoms. In addition, low estrogen can negatively impact bone health - because estrogen helps to regulate calcium in our bones, our bone health can suffer with the loss of estrogen in menopause. We can counteract this by taking care of our bones as early in life as possible, with adequate calcium and Vitamin D consumption, and weight-bearing exercise.
Whilst there is no way to stop perimenopause and menopause from occurring, nurturing our hormones in the ways I talk about below can help smooth this transition.
11 Tips for Feeling Good All Month
Our hormones are complex and interconnected with so many other parts of our body. If you experience pain and premenstrual symptoms that interfere with your life, or you suspect you have a hormonal condition like PCOS or endometriosis, please see your doctor.
If you experience milder hormonal symptoms, there are some simple ways to support your hormones with food and lifestyle:
1. Eat Plenty of Fibre
Excess estrogen is eliminated through your gut, so having a healthy gut is important for keeping estrogen in check, especially if you experience symptoms of high estrogen which can include heavy periods, clotting, fatigue, food cravings, and headaches. Estrogen that sits in your gut can be reabsorbed into your body, making high estrogen worse, so it’s important to not be constipated, especially in the luteal and menstrual phases.
The best thing you can do for your gut is to eat plenty of fibre from vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, legumes, and grains. We have a Guide to Gut Health here.
If you experience diarrhea during your period, this is due to prostaglandins which make the uterus contract - it can help to increase soluble fibre before and during your period. Soluble fibre is found in oats, sweet potatoes, berries, kiwi, apples, beans, and peas.
If you experience constipation before your period, this can be due in part to progesterone being highest in the middle of the luteal phase. Progesterone causes constipation because it relaxes your muscles, which slows your digestive system. So fibre and drinking plenty of water will help with this too.
2. Get plenty of antioxidants
The liver helps to break down excess estrogen, and antioxidants are important for liver health. There are thousands of antioxidant compounds including vitamins A, C, and E, and an easy way to get lots of them is to eat a wide variety of brightly coloured vegetables and fruit like berries, citrus, and green leafy veg. You can also find antioxidants in tea, chocolate, and nuts.
3. Limit alcohol and caffeine
Further support your liver by limiting alcohol and caffeine, especially before and during your period, and not drinking either on an empty stomach. This will also help with fluid retention (bloating).
4. Eat cruciferous vegetables
A substance in cruciferous vegetables (that’s kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and others) has been found to help regulate estrogen so include these vegetables in your weekly meal planning. If you have any thyroid issues, don't eat them raw.
5. Do moderate exercise
Movement is important for gut health, for reducing cortisol and managing stress, and for balancing blood sugar which all have a direct impact on hormone health.
6. Get plenty of good sleep and manage stress
The positive effects of sleep and negative effects of stress are felt widely in our body, impacting our mental health, energy, gut health, and hormone health.
7. Get enough calcium, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids
These nutrients all help reduce period pain, and omega-3s also help reduce inflammation that can exacerbate acne.
Calcium is found in dairy, tofu, nuts, seeds, and green leafy vegetables.
Magnesium is found in pumpkin, sunflower and chia seeds, tofu, avocado, lentils, chickpeas, bananas, black rice, kale, and spinach.
Omega-3 fatty acids are found in salmon, chia seeds, walnuts, and flax seeds and oil.
8. Get enough magnesium
Getting enough magnesium can help to counter the mood-lowering and sleep-disturbing effects of low progesterone in the luteal phase. Magnesium is also important for proper digestion, muscle function, and more.
9. Keep your blood sugar balanced
This helps to balance insulin, cortisol, and estrogen, and counteracts fatigue. Eat low-GI carbs, have protein and fat with carbs, and eat small meals more often rather than large meals.
10. Replace lost minerals
During and after your period, increase your intake of mineral-rich foods, because you’re losing iron, calcium, and zinc in your menstrual blood. Lentils, chickpeas, green leafy vegetables, are great sources of iron, zinc is found in oats, tofu, sunflower seeds, cashews, and chickpeas, and calcium sources are listed at #7 above.
11. Raise Your Serotonin
Food cravings and increased appetite in the luteal phase happen because of increased cortisol and decreased serotonin. We’ve talked above about a couple of ways to lower cortisol, which will help raise serotonin - including sleep, managing stress, moderate exercise, and keeping your blood sugar balanced. It’s also helpful to get plenty of tryptophan (an amino acid) from salmon, poultry, eggs, nuts, seeds and soy, and vitamin B12 from meat, dairy, eggs or supplements.
Should you work your diet and exercise around your cycle?
You may have heard the idea that there are times in your cycle when it’s more effective to do higher or lower intensity exercise, but evidence for this is mixed. It’s been fairly well studied, but most studies find that there is just too much variation between people to make any conclusions. If you find that you are more fatigued before and during your period, that may be the time to do less intense exercise. But if you don’t feel fatigued, there’s no reason to dial it back. It’s more about listening to your body and doing what feels good rather than following any particular prescription for times of the cycle.
