.png)
Looking for ways to clean up your hormone rollercoaster today? These are some of our favorite tips that apply to pretty much all of our patients and require NO pills!
Ground Flaxseeds Every Day
1 tablespoon will help bind up and detox all the extra estrogens your body doesn’t need. Flaxseeds are full of lignans. These lignans are important because they are a type of phytoestrogen that affects estrogen metabolism. There is also evidence that lignans help the body produce less active forms of estrogen, which become protective in a range of health conditions including reducing breast cancer risk. In the fertility world, flaxseeds are especially helpful for creating an estrogen and progesterone balance. Make sure to buy whole flax and grind at home. You just never know how long ground flax has been sitting on the shelf and the oils go rancid pretty quickly. We recommend trying to grind a week’s worth at a time and store in the fridge in a glass jar. (Make sure you are drinking enough water whenever you increase fiber in your diet, or you might experience some constipation or bloating.)
Go to Bed (And Then Get Up):
Having a regular sleep schedule is a miraculous way to reconnect your brain with your other hormone producing organs, a big part of this is due to the Growth Hormone that is released when you sleep deeply. This growth hormone repairs damaged cells throughout the body, reduces reactive oxygen species, and helps us process emotional stress. This regular sleep schedule is especially important for those with low morning cortisol. We can’t expect anyone’s hormones to have consistency if their schedule can’t remain mostly consistent.
Exercise in the Morning:
If your schedule allows, exercising early sends a signal to your body to release Cortisol early in the day when it should be at its’ highest (#2 biggest hormonal imbalance). In practice, we see low morning cortisol levels all the time! This is why people crave caffeine in the morning to get going. Everyone we treat for low morning cortisol starts with some kind of morning exercise routine, which helps to mimic their body’s normal cortisol start for the day. This routine could be anything from yoga stretches to a short 6 minute high intensity routine.
Eat More Greens:
Dark leafy green veggies contain compounds that support liver to detox hormones, so add that side of broccoli or a kale salad or a handful of spinach in your morning smoothies (along with #1’s flaxseeds!) to get that extra detox boost.
Breathe:
Everyone’s adrenals are overworked thanks to the excess stimulation to which we are constantly exposed. Our favorite breathing exercise is called 4 Square Breathing, and the slow inhales and exhales send messages to your brain that you’re calm and relaxed, which allows your biochemistry to move out of the constant Fight or Flight situations we are all living in.
Once you’ve made a solid effort in incorporating these 5 steps for at least 1 menstrual cycle (or 30 days), you should see some shift in your day to day experience. Your energy should be better, your sleep should be deeper, and your digestion will definitely be easier. If you aren’t seeing these changes, now is the time to see a Naturopathic hormone specialist like Dr. O or Dr. Lyon so we can figure out what kind of hormone imbalance you’re dealing with and have a more individualized plan to get you fixed up!
Are you ready to kickoff your fertility journey?