The misery of hormone imbalance
Tomorrow sees the start of two UK-wide, health awareness campaigns which will run throughout March. The campaigns will aim to highlight ovarian cancer and prostate cancer – both known as silent killers – and raise awareness of symptoms which are often not spotted early enough.
Current research suggests that hormone imbalances may sometimes play a role in the development of both these cancers but such imbalances can go unnoticed for years. Women in particular have become conditioned to accepting the misery of premenstrual symptoms and/or a difficult transition through menopause, believing this is normal.
It’s easy to understand feelings of helplessness and see why some believe the answer to proactive cancer avoidance is preventive surgery (e.g. a la Angelina Jolie!). But, we can take less radical steps to reduce our risks and improving hormone balance is top of my list!
A good starting point is improving the health of our gastro-intestinal tract – eating plenty of vegetables will provide soluble fibre and help ensure old hormones, such as oestrogen, are excreted, not recycled. And magnesium-rich foods (leafy greens and dark chocolate!) can also help to improve gut motility.
Liver health is also crucial; the liver plays a vital role in removing old hormones and toxic environmental xenoestrogens. Cutting down on alcohol and, instead, eating sulphur-rich proteins helps our liver do its job – this can make a huge difference to hormone balance.
Balancing blood sugar is often the “lynchpin” to improving hormone balance. Unstable blood sugar can lead to elevated stress hormones. Fatigue, menstrual irregularities, frequent infections, insulin resistance and weight gain are just a few of the consequences. Eating protein and healthy fats with each meal and choosing carbohydrates wisely can go a long way toward keeping stress hormones in check!
So, simple diet and lifestyle modifications can really help us to maintain equilibrium and reduce our risk of illness.
Need more help? Why not join me for a 3 month total rebalance programme?
