⑥ Steps To Balance Your Hormones
Hormones play a key role in many basic physiological functions within our bodies. They act as messengers telling our body how to respond to the external stressors we are exposed to each and every day.
Image cred: @namegoeshere
In Traditional Chinese medicine, hormone balance is closely tied to the concept of Yin and Yang balance. Yin and Yang are opposite in nature, yet - just like our hormones - they rely on each other to function properly. If there is too much or too little of either Yin or Yang, imbalances arise, which effect our hormone levels.
Here are some tips that I give all my patients when they come in for any hormonal concerns. Incorporate these if you have been feeling like your energy levels, mood, menstrual cycles, and premenstrual symptoms are feeling out of whack!
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① Prioritize SLEEP
The nighttime is Yin in nature. This is the time when our bodies rest and restore the blood and body fluids that we used to carry out the actions of our day. Going to bed past 11pm every night starts to eat away at our body’s blood, body fluid, and yin stores causing deficiency down the line. Blood and body fluid deficiency can look like fatigue, hair loss, dry skin, wrinkles, dizziness, headaches, scanty periods, pale complexion, numbness, and poor circulation.
Around 10pm our bodies release melatonin — a signal to make us feel drowsy enough to start to wind down for bed. If we deny this melatonin peak in exchange for bright blue light, dopamine hits from doom scolling, starting creative projects, working, etc. our bodies will start to secrete cortisol and adrenaline which will increase the glucose in the blood to keep us awake…not what we need.
This is why its so important to forgo bright, blue lights from LEDs and screens, light pollution, loud noises and become extremely mindful of our bedtime. By mindfully winding down, turning the lights down low/using orange bulbs or candles, getting into bed by 9:30-10, we usually can get to sleep BEFORE our second wind of stress kicks in.
This equals deeper, more restorative and restful sleep + feeling more rested when you wake up.
② Support metabolism with nourishing foods
I’m a firm believer that there is no one perfect diet to follow. Traditional Chinese medicine is rooted in balancing the body’s natural constitution and everyone’s constitution is different. That is why I would never give the same dietary recommendation to all my patients. However, I will have them consider how they FEEL after they eat what they choose to. Do they feel satiated, wired, heavy, energized, sleepy, cold, or warm?
The goal is always to feel warm, satiated, grounded, & nourished after meals. If you are feeling otherwise, then it is time to bring it back to the basics with seasonal whole foods that are cooked well and eaten slowly.
Eating to support your metabolism has everything to do with intentionality and awareness and very little to do with perfection and restrictions.
③ Balance blood sugar
Eating within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning and eating every 3-4 hours throughout the day does wonders for our hormone health!
Our bodies literally run on glucose. The minute blood sugar drops, cortisol rises - you may feel hungry, you may not (stress suppresses your hunger signals). But you definitely start to feel anxious, irritable, snappy, tired, emotional, get a headache and unable to regulate your temperatures.
This, my dear, is/was the beginning of all your hormonal imbalances.
The fix? Stop forcing your body to make its own sugar (aka starving yourself). Eat balanced meals that contain protein and carb every couple of hours from within 30 minutes of waking until 30 minutes before bed. Watch your body shift in front of your very eyes.
④ Move your body daily
Our bodies have the incredible ability to detox harmful environmental pathogens such as xenoestrogens (estrogen mimickers) which can have a negative impact on our hormones. It can do this by way of the Lungs, Kidneys , and Liver. If we are not regularly sweating, then we are placing all the burden on the Lungs, Liver, and Kidneys to carry out this function. By regularly sweating, you will help the overall toxic burden on the liver & support xenoestrogen detoxification. If our exits are backed up, then these harmful estrogen metabolites continue in circulation in the body leading to hormonal symptoms such as breast tenderness, heavy periods, fibroids, endometriosis, water retention, depressed mood, anxious thoughts, sleep disruption, low libido & fatigue. Sweating helps get toxins out via the skin & reduces the burden of toxic overload to the liver & kidneys.
⑤ Do more of the things you love!
Doing more of the things that bring your joy and less of things that deplete you emotionally can naturally reduce stress and cortisol levels, therefore making your hormones very happy — hello dopamine, serotonin & oxytocin!
Maybe its time you start that new hobby or visit that new restaurant you have been meaning to try! Or maybe you finally decide to set a boundary in a relationship that has no longer been serving you in a positive, uplifting way. Continuing to say no to the things that you know are not good for you and your mental health can instantly shift the trajectory of you physical health onto a better path. Just watch and see!
⑥ Get acupuncture.
Okay, you know it’s no surprise that I would recommend acupuncture. But I will explain why! Not only does it work on a nervous and musculoskeletal level, but it also has a profound effect on the endocrine system! One of the ways acupuncture helps restore and regulate gynecological and endocrine function is by modulating the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Ovarian axis (HPO axis). The interrelationship between these glands and the hormones they produce play a key role in menstruation, fertility and the menopause.
A 2011 study found that acupuncture worked as well as bioidentical hormone therapy for balancing follicle-stimulating hormone in menopausal women [1].
Acupuncture can help with fertility issues caused by hormonal imbalance by supporting healthy sex hormone levels [2].
Acupuncture can balance cortisol levels to relieve stress, regulate adrenal function, and normalize your stress response [3].
In a case study, a woman with infertility caused by endometriosis saw a significant decrease in her endometrial cysts and became pregnant after starting acupuncture [4].
A 2018 study of 30 women found that acupuncture relieved symptoms of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and decreased insulin resistance [5].
Acupuncture is a natural, drug-free, fairly noninvasive approach that can support healthy hormone production and get you feeling like your best self again. If you have a hormone imbalance, I suggest trying a few acupuncture sessions.
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Azizi, H., Liu, Y. F., Wang, C. H., Du, L., Bahrami-Taghanaki, H., Ollah Esmaily, H., … & Xue, X. O. (2011). Menopause-related symptoms: traditional Chinese medicine vs hormone therapy. Alternative therapies in health and medicine, 17(4), 48. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22314633
Zhu, J., Arsovska, B., & Kozovska, K. (2018). Acupuncture Treatment for Fertility. Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences, 6(9), 1685. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6182526/
Yang, J. W., Li, Q. Q., Li, F., Fu, Q. N., Zeng, X. H., & Liu, C. Z. (2014). The holistic effects of acupuncture treatment. Evidence-Based Complem https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3913204/
Zhu, J., Arsovska, B., Sterjovska-Aleksovska, A., & Kozovska, K. (2018). Acupuncture Treatment of Subfertility and Ovarian Endometrioma. Open access Macedonian journal of medical sciences, 6(3), 519. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29610611
Shen, L. Y., Liang, C. M., Yang, W. J., Pan, L., Li, H., & Hu, H. (2018). Acupuncture treatment of polycystic ovarian syndrome patients with abdominal obesity by regulating dai meridian: a randomized controlled clinical trial. Zhen ci yan jiu= Acupuncture research, 43(4), 255-259. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29888581
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