Hormone health and wellness

Hormone health and wellness are directly related.  Whether it be bloating or having a period twice in one month, getting our hormones balanced is essential.  Following are my suggestions…

Eating and life demands

We all know that we should eat a balanced diet but it’s not always easy to do.  Stress is all around us:

• Life, in general – sometimes it’s just hard and we get overwhelmed with everything.
• Family – whether it be children and the demands we have because of their needs (including ensuring we have money for food and shelter) or our parents and extended family.  If you’re parents are aging and you are trying to navigate the different health issues they are facing, this adds a lot of stress.  And, if you are part of the sandwich generation, this is even harder on you.
• Work – demanding jobs.  For those of you that are trying to build your career, there’s the added stress of doing the best possible job you can so that you can move up the corporate ladder.  That is important to a lot of people but there are also a lot of people that aren’t looking to further their career – they’re just looking to do a good job and get paid well.  Either way, our jobs are demanding.

At the end of the day, life is hard and when we bring everything together, it’s hard to take the time to go grocery shopping, make meals and actually sit down to eat them.

Let’s strive to do better

Since hormone health and wellness are necessary to have in balance, we do need to do better.  But, we need to take one step at a time.  It’s hard to make changes and when everything is coming at us, we can’t just stop.  (Well, we can – but often, that’s just not possible for so many reasons.)  But, making small incremental changes, we can make a difference in how we feel.  It’s essential if we want to take back our health.

What to eat

• Carb’s – yes, we need carbohydrates but they need to be the proper carb’s and again, in the right amounts.  If you suffer from low progesterone , you will definitely want to make some changes in your high carb diet.  Carbs should be half of your plate but they should be in the form of dark leafy greens (like salads) and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and even broccoli sprouts.  Beans are also a good source of ‘good’ carbs.  Lastly, fruit – but not a ton of fruit because they do contain sugar (albeit natural sugar, but still!).
• Fat – we need about 25% of our plate to be good fat.  Look for good sources of fat taht includes omega 3 fatty acids.  Plus, less trans fat or zero trans fat is really what you should strive for.  Avocados and pumpkin seeds are a great choice here.
• Protein – the last 25% of our plates should be proteins.  Protein is important for our muscles and nerves.

I know it’s hard to do this every day because life is just too demanding sometimes.  But, the more we make strides in this direction, the better we will feel.  Will we fail sometimes?  Sure.  But, that doesn’t mean we have to beat ourselves up about it.  Little by little you will start to see positive changes in your body and your mind and this will motivate you to do better.  It’s important for your hormone health and wellness.