All About Hormones - Part 4
Hormone Balancing Pathway
Blood sugar -> Adrenals -> Elimination (liver, colon, skin, lymph)
If you’re feeling perimenopausal symptoms or can’t seem to lose any weight and feel it might be hormone related, you’re in the right place.
If you’re not sure, that’s a-okay too. This process is good for the body even if your hormones are totally balanced. This process creates a healthy body that’s able to handle all of the chemicals and pollution we have to deal with throughout the day without getting overwhelmed.
Overall, each step will be guiding you toward a healthy, whole food diet. And each step will add some healing foods. If you’re unsure how to combine the steps, hop over to our group and I’m happy to help :)
IMPORTANT NOTE
This process MUST be followed in order. If you skip ahead and miss a step or two you probably won’t have the results you’re looking for. Each step helps the next step, so the order is key.
And, the best news is, you don’t have to get to the end of this process to feel a difference. Your body may have needed just the first step or two to find balance, so feel free to stop whenever you’d like. Just don’t skip past anything and take it one step at a time :)
Step 1 – Blood Sugar Balancing –
Do you ever feel hangry or angry-hungry when you’re hungry?
Does your energy dip a lot before meals?
Do you have screaming sugar cravings?
Do you feel tired and hungry around 3:30pm every day?
Do you wake up hungry in the morning? Ever wake up hungry in the middle of the night?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then your blood sugar could use a bit of balancing. Happily, it’s easy to do and you can feel a difference within a few days.
Check out the Blood Sugar Balancing Masterclass for the step-by-step instructions.
Step 2 - Support Your Adrenals –
During the years of Perimenopause, the adrenals slowly take over for the ovaries and produce enough estrogen and progesterone to keep your body balanced. It’s not enough for you to be fertile, but in the past, it was enough to bypass any menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats.
The problem is, today our adrenals are usually too burned out to add this job to their roster. When we’re in a high stress state all day we can’t expect our adrenals to have enough energy left over to produce these hormones.
Plus, progesterone and cortisol share the same precursor, and it’s our adrenals that determines which one is made. If we’re under a lot of stress it makes cortisol, if we’re relaxed more often it makes progesterone. Many perimenopausal symptoms feel like they’re caused by high estrogen, but sometimes, estrogen looks and feels high because progesterone is low.
Make your adrenals happy again with the Adrenal Support Masterclass :). Take your time with this one, if your adrenals are really tired then it might take a few months. It’s worth it, when your adrenals are rested EVERYTHING works better :)
Also, check out the herbs that help Perimenopause if you feel your body could use some extra progesterone support <3.
Step 3 – Optimize Your Elimination Pathways –
Once your blood sugar is balanced and your adrenals are happy, it’s time to make sure you’re eliminating properly.
Your body is detoxing chemicals, toxins, by-products of digestion, and hormones every day. This is a very natural process that our body does easily…if it has the right nutrients to do so.
If any detox pathway is blocked, then the body has a back-up plan. It stores any excess hormones, toxins, and chemicals in our fat cells until it can deal with them. While this is an effective solution and stops us from feeling toxicity symptoms like chronic headaches and rashes…most of us would prefer our body not to use our fat cells as a garbage bin.
Your body won’t let any of that fat be released UNTIL it can deal with whatever has been stored there. So, no matter how hard you try, moving that extra weight is impossible until your detox pathway is opened up.
There are 4 main organs of detoxification – liver/kidney, colon, lymph, and skin. In this section we’ll be looking at all four :). First, we’ll go through what each detox organ does, and then I’m going to sum it all up with some dietary recommendations to help open up your elimination pathway <3.
Colon & Liver & Kidneys –
The majority of the toxins and hormones that leave our body exit through colon via the liver. Some water-soluble toxins head out through the kidneys and the bladder.
If your colon isn’t moving properly, then those toxins and hormones can get reabsorbed and sent back into the liver. Think of the colon like the entryway in your house. You can clean out a bedroom, but if the entryway is blocked or congested, then there’s a very good chance that eventually all of that junk will end up right back where it started.
To have a smooth moving colon, you need to have at least 1 bowel movement every day, preferably in the morning. Any less than that is a sign that your colon might be a bit congested. Check out the Digestion Masterclass for tips on getting your colon moving!
Supporting the liver -
The liver is an incredible organ and has so many jobs. It plays an important role in eliminating both toxins and hormones.
Your liver needs specific nutrients to work properly, especially to detoxify. Your liver loves the cruciferous family of veggies (broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower), onions, garlic, and eggs. Turmeric and digestive bitters also support the liver.
…all of these foods are in the Hormone Balancing Diet section below :)
Lymph –
Our lymph system is a huge, amazing, and usually forgotten part of our body. Well, it’s forgotten unless we’re dealing with lymphedema and one of our limbs swells up to 4x its size!
Our lymph system is a network of vessels and organs that act as a garbage disposal system for our cells and blood. Our network of lymph vessels is a large network, similar to our cardiovascular system except it doesn’t have the heart to pump the fluid. Instead, the lymph system uses our muscle contractions to move, and moves best when we’re exercising.
Being sedentary or even just sitting for a few hours at a time can cause the lymph to get stagnant. This can cause swelling in the legs and ankles for some and can cause cellulite in others. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that cellulite tends to pop up on the back of our thighs and our rear…we’re sitting on our lymph all day.
Lymph can be moved through exercise and through dry brushing. Check out this video for a how-to for dry brushing.
Skin –
Our skin is our largest organ and an important place for elimination. It releases anything our liver & colon can’t, mostly through sweat.
The smellier your sweat, the more your body is trying to release through your skin. By optimizing your colon elimination and by sweating more, you can reduce this annoyance.
This is also the last place detox symptoms will show up, so take them very seriously. Symptoms like cystic acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis, and other skin inflammation can be a sign of detox issues.
You can help your skin by helping your colon elimination, that’s really helpful for your skin. Saunas, steam rooms, and infrared saunas are really helpful for moving out any toxins your skin is looking to remove. Hot/cold/hot/cold showers are also helpful at opening your pores.
Hormone Balancing Diet/Lifestyle –
These are food & lifestyle options that help with your elimination pathway. First, let’s talk about a controversial food for hormones – soy.
Soy and hormones –
Soy is full of phytoestrogens. These are plant compounds that look very similar to estrogen to the body. Many foods contain phytoestrogens, including apples, coffee, and oats, but soy is definitely the richest source.
It’s the phytoestrogens in soy that have given it a bad name, mostly because we already have a lot of estrogen in our life. BUT! Phytoestrogens are 1000x WEAKER than our body’s estrogen and this is a very powerful difference.
If your body has too much estrogen floating around - these phytoestrogens take up a receptor site, blocking the stronger estrogen from affecting the cell. This can reduce hormonal symptoms.
If your body doesn’t have enough estrogen - phytoestrogens can help increase your estrogen level gently.
Research has found that phytoestrogens are safe, even for people with hormone sensitive breast cancer. I was VERY surprised by this myself but I’ve seen the positive effect many times.
Using soy medicinally can reduce hot flashes (sometimes in just a few days) and could possibly bring back your period (sometimes unintentionally)
How to use soy –
There’s A LOT of highly processed soy which can be harmful to your thyroid, so the type of soy food really matters. Always choose organic or non-GMO soy products that have been fermented. The fermentation of the soy makes the food much more digestible and reduces any issue with your thyroid.
Miso and tempeh are a great source of fermented soy, and they’re safe to enjoy up to 3x per week. Fermented soy milk (EdenSoy is a great brand) is another good choice.
Food to support your Elimination Pathway
Morning –
Drink a glass of room temp water with the juice of a ¼ to ½ lemon squeezed into it. (Liver & Gallbladder)
Before your shower – Dry brush your skin (Lymph). Try a hot/cold shower (Skin)
Enjoy more of –
Cruciferious Family – broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts
Helps the liver detoxify, full of fibre to make your colon happy
Enjoy 3 – 5 servings per week
Onion/Garlic Family – onions, garlic, shallots, leeks
Helps the liver detoxify, supports glutathione production (impt for detox and anti-aging)
Enjoy as much as you’d like :)
Fermented Soy (miso & tempeh)
Helps with hormone balancing – magically lowers estrogen if it’s high, raises it a wee bit if it’s low
Enjoy up to 3 times per week
Ground Flax Seeds
Great source of phytoestrogen, binds to excess hormones in the colon, and helps to promote a proper bowel movement
Add 1 tablespoon to breakfast (easily added to a smoothie, oatmeal, or sprinkled on toast. Doesn’t go well with eggs…)
Turmeric
Supports the liver, reduces inflammation (a nice bonus :)
Aim for about a ½ tsp per day in your food. Sprinkle on eggs, add to any tomato-based sauce, add to soup and stews.
Blood Sugar Balancing Diet –
Overall, the food you’ve been eating to keep your blood sugar balanced are key to open up your elimination pathways. Keep that up, while adding the elimination supportive foods listed above <3.
Also, check out the Recipe Section for a bunch of hormone supportive recipes!
Lifestyle
1. Get moving – your lymph moves with exercise. Any movement is great! If you’d like some ideas, yoga is a great way to move every muscle, your lymph, and it even massages your organs. Getting sweaty while exercising will also help your skin.
2. Limit Alcohol – give your liver a hand by cutting down or eliminating alcohol for a few weeks (or a month).
3. Get some sleep! (I know, easier said than done) – focus on getting to bed early and whatever your body needs to sleep well. Check out the sleep masterclass if you need some help <3
4. Stay hydrated – Your colon, skin, and lymph need to be properly hydrated to work at their best. Put glasses or bottles of water all around your house and office and take a sip anytime you walk past one.
One last note -
Spend 1 – 3 months supporting your elimination pathways. It can take some time to open them all up and remove decades worth of toxins and used up hormones.
If you feel headachey, under the weather, or foggy during this process – cut back on what you’re doing (especially the lemon & water) until you feel better. It can be a sign that you’ve released more toxins than your body can handle at one time. Ease back into the full program once you’re feeling better.
Your body will begin releasing excess weight once it feels your elimination pathway can handle the extra toxins. For some, that can take a full 3 months, so please be patient.
You might also feel – clearer thinking, brighter skin, and overall feel good. A nice bonus to all of the work you’ve done :)
Got any questions or comments? Jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)