I am often asked ‘do you work in female hormones’? Since qualifying in 2010, I have helped 100’s of clients to achieve a better quality of life, 90% of these have been women so the answer is – yes, absolutely.
Hormones such as oestrogen, testosterone, progesterone, adrenaline, thyroid hormones and insulin — are extremely important chemical messengers that affect many aspects of our overall health. When hormonal imbalance occurs, we see issues such as infertility, PCOS, endometriosis, weight gain, acne, fertility issues and PMT (to name just a few).
My job is then to assess the client case and work out WHY hormones have become imbalanced. I find that the main reasons generally surround the following of which there are usually a collective of culprits:
· A poor, processed, low nutrient diet
· Poor sleep quality
· High levels of exposure to stress with low down-time
· Exposure to xeno-oestrogens (in plastic for e.g)
· Obesity
· Poor liver detoxification
· Gut dysbiosis
I will touch on just a few of these in my blog.
BUILDING BLOCKS
I am fond of taking a step back and considering what the building blocks of hormones involves – let’s consider pregnenolone. This hormone synthesised from cholesterol is the precursor of hormones such as DHEA (a pro-hormone tied to longevity), testosterone, oestradiol, progesterone and cortisol. Supporting pregnenolone is therefore vital. When this hormone is low, symptoms such as loss of energy, memory, and libido may occur. Suffering from hair loss, joint pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression are also common. Low pregnenolone may also hasten the aging process.
So, of interest here is cholesterol which is made in your liver but is also derived from your diet. Do we have enough dietary fats in order to support the production of this hormone?
TIP 1 - Good fats are found in coconut oil, avocado, fatty fish (source this carefully looking out for ‘Wild Caught’, nuts, certain seeds, and olive oil, to name but a few. They provide healthy fats that ultimately help increase pregnenolone naturally.
SLEEP AND STRESS RESILIENCE
Sleep is a key pillar of health and an area which I am keen to assess in any consultation. How can sleep be such a factor in hormone balance? Poor quality sleep is recognised by the body as a ‘stressor’ which requires a boost in production of a stress hormone called cortisol production thereby reducing your pregnenolone levels. This is known as the ‘pregnenolone steal theory’ in which the body prioritises the creation of cortisol at the expense of pregnenolone. Therefore, working on building stress resilience is vital to achieving long term hormone balance.
TIP 2 – Work on both your sleep hygiene and stress resilience. Practicing meditation or calming yoga can be extremely beneficial, and so can deep breathing exercises, spending time outdoors and exercising gently every day.
THE LIVER
The topic of cleanse and detoxification has been a firm favourite of mine since I began my nutrition journey in the 1990’s. I regularly take client’s away to fasting retreats in Portugal or Gozo (Malta) as I am a firm believer that poor detoxification due to modern living in a root cause of many conditions.
One of the liver’s roles is to help regulate the balance of sex hormones, thyroid hormones, cortisone and other adrenal hormones. The liver metabolises hormones in order to render them harmless. They are then excreted via the bile. For this complex biotransformation to take place effectively we require optimal liver function with the engagement of an array of liver enzymes. When the liver is not supported with the correct nutrients or is distracted by the processing of high alcohol consumption this may contribute to hormone imbalances. Certain medications, infections, accumulation of fat in the liver and genetic factors can contribute to this issue.
TIP 3 – Support metabolism of hormones by including cruciferous vegetables, allium vegetables, magnesium rich foods and supporting methylation (a detoxification pathway) with B vitamins.
Vegetables high in magnesium include spinach, Swiss chard, artichokes, kale, peas, okra, sweet corn, and potatoes. For B vitamins try a healthy combination of eggs, legumes, leafy greens. So, a green pea spinach frittata would be a great choice.
THE GUT
The gut has many roles to play in hormone balance. One gut aspect we can consider is the part that our microbes have to play in the metabolism of oestrogen. However, there are many more.
This is known as the oestrobolome.
The oestrobolome is the part of the gut microbiome involved in oestrogen metabolism.
Various bacteria produce an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase. Beta-glucuronidase deconjugates oestrogens into their active forms. Such activity produces active, unbound oestrogen that is capable of binding to oestrogen receptors and influencing oestrogen-dependent physiological processes.
Another way of understanding this is that this enzyme changes the structure of oestrogen, allowing it to be reabsorbed into the body.
Too much beta- glucuronidase will lead to high levels of circulating active oestrogen which is often a problem for conditions such as endometriosis.
In PCOS, low levels may be an issue enabling us an understanding that BALANCE is what we are seeking to achieve and the importance of seeking out individualised professional help with achieving such balance.
TIP 4 – consume foods which feed a healthy microbiome, these are know as prebiotics and include an array of different plant-based fibres. If attempting to reduce circulating oestrogen then using glucaric acid rich foods such as mung bean sprouts, apples and cruciferous vegetables would be ideal. Fibre is also useful for encouraging the bowel to eliminate ‘used’ hormones. Another vital aspect of hormone balance.
So, we can gain an understanding of the complexities of achieving balanced hormones. It is a complicated process.
Restoring hormonal balance at any life stage requires an individual approach but for some general hormone hacks it is useful to consider the areas described and aim to keep on top of good fats, sleep, stress resilience, liver love and gut care.
For any in-depth explorations of hormones please drop me an email. bellenutrition@gmail.com