Balancing Your Hormones Naturally

Confused by HRT and “bio-identicals”? Still trying to memorize which hormones do what? Nervous about the slippery slope of taking drugs, the expense and inconvenience of constant medical monitoring, or side effects that are even worse than the problem?

Unless you have a keen interest, it’s not necessary to know all about physiology or the medical terminology in order to stay hormonally balanced. Basically, the same advice your grandmother gave you is still correct except now we have the science to back it up.

The foundation of health, including hormonal balance, is still the same – a nutritious diet, exercise, rest and managing stress effectively.

In every stage of life, including menopause, a healthy body is capable of compensating for changes. For example, when the ovaries slow down the production of hormones (like estrogen, DHEA, testosterone and progesterone), other glands, particularly the adrenals, can take over that job.

We humans are dynamic creatures who experience a wide range of emotions, engage in many diverse activities and eat various diets. Throughout it all, every aspect of our being engages to keep our bodies in homeostasis (constant balance). Sometimes we over-extend or neglect ourselves for long periods of time, even years. Over time, the body is unable to continue compensating and we develop symptoms.

What can you do right now to reverse this trend?

· Be diligent with diet. Eat a wide variety of wholesome foods in their natural, organic state. The more processing you do to your food, the more de-natured it becomes. Many plant foods and herbs have the raw materials to produce hormones on demand. If not needed, they simply pass through the body. Consider adding whole food supplements and superfoods such as spirulina, chlorella, wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa, etc. to your diet.

· Exercise and get outside air everyday. Exercise makes every aspect of life better. Begin where you are – even if all you can do is go outside and breathe. Continue to add more challenge.

· Rest will be aided immensely by getting exercise and eating well. If this is a problem for you, ease yourself to sleep by starting to wind down several hours prior to going to bed. Avoid late night eating, drinking and news. Consider taking an old textbook to bed with you (it always worked in school!).

· Manage your stress. Stress can be a good thing and we all experience it. Find ways to make it work for you.

There is no substitute for any one of these 4 elements of health – diet, exercise, rest and managing stress. They work together and when you offer your best effort in one area, the others become easier too.