
3 Things I can’t un-know about hormone health … and the changes I’ve made bc of it!
1. Dysregulated blood sugar = a dysregulated body
Regulating your blood sugar is work for the body. The more often your blood sugar spikes (which happens every time you eat a carbohydrate), and the faster it happens (hello simple sugars and ultra-processed foods), it leads to an inflammatory response in the body. Every you eat a carbohydrate of any kind, the body produces insulin to help remove the glucose from the bloodstream. The more refined the sugar molecule is, the faster and often higher the blood sugar spike is and the harder the body has to work to get levels back down.
This rollercoaster and constant emergency of regulating glucose from the bloodstream can lead the body to a heightened immune response which can impair hormone production and hormone receptor function, impacting the body’s ability to uptake nutrients from the food you’re eating, triggering cellular inflammation causing leaky gut and other metabolic issues, and increasing hormones leading to issues such as estrogen excess and PCOS.
Changes I’ve Made to Support Blood Sugar
Eating a protein breakfast within the first 60 minutes of waking
Having protein+fat+fiber at every meal and snack to minimize the spike of blood sugar
Eating enough at each meal to keep me full 4-5 hours
Movement of some kind ~30 mins after a meal to help minimize blood sugar spike
2. Cortisol dominance has the ability to derail almost every system in your body.
When the body has a high demand for cortisol, because of blood sugar dysregulation, insulin resistance, the stressful work deadline you have coming up, or the toxins in the personal care products you use on a daily basis - they all are perceived by the body the same - as a stress. Stress triggers a cortisol response from your adrenals to try and clean up the stressor.
When cortisol becomes the preferred pathway, this can lead to lower levels of steroid sex hormone production (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone etc) impacting menstrual regulation, can impact the production of HCl lowering stomach acid production which impairs proper digestion, and this can lead to nutrient deficiencies. Lower nutrient and mineral levels can derail quality sleep, in turn, your hunger hormones are impacted by disrupted sleep and can lead to irregular food choices and weight gain… and much much more.
Changes I’ve made to support Cortisol regulation
Eating in a calm state without distractions
Chewing food slowly and until mushed
Having a variety of stress management tools like walks, meditations, quiet time, journaling
Adding in anti-inflammatory foods such as berries, omega 3s, spices like turmeric
Waiting to consume caffeine 60-90 mins after waking & after eating a balanced meal
3. Supporting Detoxification is different than going on a detox
Your body is detoxing all day, every day, 24/7. This is the job of the liver and isn’t something that you need to start and commit to a 7-day reset or buy a brand's detox kit in order to support. And in actuality you are probably adding more work instead of lightening the load when engaging in the commonly marketed detox plans.
Detoxification is something your body is doing all the time but can get backed up and has to pick and choose priorities based on what all the body is being inundated with at once. Supporting detoxification is something you want to do regularly and you can use lifestyle choices to help avoid overburdening the body with toxins, excess hormones, and more.
Changes I’ve Made to Support Detoxification
Removing EDC from personal care and household products
Supporting liver burden by removing alcohol from my consumption
Shopping organic when I can to minimize pesticide exposure
Brazil nuts for source of selenium (needs to support thyroid hormone)
Regular fiber consumption (binds to excess estrogen & bile)
gut support with probiotics
saunas
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