Did you know that your eating habits may hold the key to feeling more energized, balanced, and in control of your hormones? The food you choose each day has the power to transform your hormone health as well as your overall well-being. Today, we’re uncovering how balanced eating can unlock hormone harmony and help you thrive in perimenopause and beyond. Tune in here!
Welcome!
Welcome to Small Daily Habits, the podcast dedicated to helping women over 40 create sustainable changes for a healthier, happier life. I’m your host and menopause coach, Christine, and today’s episode is all about how the right food choices can make all the difference when balancing your hormones and improving your energy, mood, and overall health. Whether you’re navigating peri or post menopause, or simply want to optimize your health, this episode was made for you.
We’ll dive into why balanced eating is essential at this stage in life, what “hormone harmony” actually means, and how you can take small, sustainable steps to support your body naturally. Grab a notebook and your favorite beverage, and let’s get started.
Understanding Hormone Harmony
First, we need to understand what hormone harmony means so here are a few key points to consider.
- Hormones are chemical messengers that are responsible for regulating everything from your metabolism and mood to your sleep and reproduction. When one or more hormones fluctuate it can have negative effects on any one of these areas.
- When hormones become out of balance, it can lead to weight gain, fatigue, mood swings, and so much more. We can’t control the fact that we are in the varying stages of menopause and our hormones are declining but we CAN adapt to these fluctuations and try to support our bodies accordingly.
- Food plays a major role in either supporting or disrupting this delicate balance. So, what we eat becomes even more important at this stage of life.
Creating a Balanced Plate for Hormone Harmony
- Protein: Plays a key role in stabilizing blood sugar, building muscle, stronger bones, and supporting hormone production. We are losing muscle and bone at a faster rate as we age so increasing protein intake is essential to (at the very least) maintaining what we have. More muscle = better metabolism. Better metabolism = we burn more calories (ie maintain or lose weight more easily) even at rest.
- Healthy Fats: Essential fatty acids are needed for proper hormone production as well as better brain function. Think, less brain fog and more focus.
- Fiber: Promotes gut health and helps regulate estrogen levels. Gut health is so important for our overall health and if you are anything like me, it’s not something you gave much thought to in your younger years. It’s time to start paying attention if you want to feel your best.
- Complex Carbs: Consuming complex carbs versus simple carbs provide more steady energy, regulates blood sugar levels which can also decrease or even prevent spikes in cortisol. We are already on a roller coaster with our hormones let’s not add to that by eating lots of simple sugars like white bread, sugary drinks, and candy.
- Hydration: Staying hydrated supports digestion and detoxification, which are critical for hormone balance. Proper hydration also keeps you feeling full and helps you from overeating. So, drink up ladies!
Foods to Prioritize for Hormone Balance
- Cruciferous Vegetables: Broccoli, cauliflower, and kale support liver detoxification and estrogen metabolism.
- Flaxseeds: Rich in lignans, which help balance estrogen levels.
- Fermented Foods: Yogurt, kimchi, and sauerkraut support gut health, which is essential for hormone regulation and digestion.
- Omega-3s: Reduce inflammation and support hormone production. Good sources of Omega 3’s are found in salmon, walnuts, and chia seeds,
Foods to Limit or Avoid
Now I’m not one for super restrictive nutrition plans. I prefer to approach the topic by sharing foods that have the biggest negative impact on your body, especially in regard to hormone function and let you decide what is affecting your body in a negative way. I’m a firm believer in focusing on what we should be eating rather than what we shouldn’t. I think this approach is more positive and helps my client approach food with less guilt and more freedom. With that said there are a few foods that should be limited, especially during your peri/post menopause journey. These included:
- Refined Sugar: Can lead to insulin spikes and inflammation which causes aches, pain, and can lead to disease.
- Processed Foods: Often contain unhealthy fats and chemicals that disrupt hormone function.
- Excess Caffeine and Alcohol: Can elevate cortisol levels and disrupt sleep, which impacts hormone regulation. Listen to the podcast where I share my personal story about giving up coffee.
Small Daily Habits for Hormone Harmony
- Start your day with an 8 oz glass of water along with a protein-packed breakfast to stabilize blood sugar.
- Add a serving of leafy greens to every meal.
- Swap sugary snacks for a handful of nuts and/or a piece of fruit.
- Plan and prep balanced meals to reduce reliance on processed foods. Here is the link to my blog about meal prepping that I wrote last January and mentioned in this week’s podcast.
- Stay consistent with hydration by carrying a water bottle with you.
Free Resource: Hormone Health Shopping Guide with Recipes
To make your next grocery trip easier, download my free resource, Hormone Health Shopping Guide packed with:
- A list of hormone-supportive foods to add to your cart.
- Simple swaps for common processed foods.
- A weekly meal plan template.
- Recipes to help you balance your plate to support hormone harmony
I include multiple recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks to start your journey to hormone harmony today. Find the guide here.
Tune in Next Week
Thank you for tuning in to Small Daily Habits! I hope you’ve learned how small, intentional changes to your nutrition can have a big impact on your hormone health and overall well-being. Remember, it’s all about progress, not perfection.
If you enjoyed today’s episode, be sure to follow, leave a review, and share it with a friend who may need some hormone support. Don’t forget to tune in next week for an eye-opening conversation with my friend and estate planning attorney Alyssa Pockell. While we are still in January and planning mode for the year, it’s a great time to make sure we have all the right paperwork in place so we can rest easy knowing our affairs are in order and there is one less thing to stress about. I know I’m looking forward to it and I hope are too.
That’s it for today. Remember: BIG changes begin with small daily habits. Until next time…
Missed last week’s episode? Tune into the conversation with special guest Melissa Boher Jacobson, Confident Life Coach and Clinical Hypnotherapist as we dive into how hypnotherapy can help alleviate peri and post menopause symptoms and have a profound effect on overall health and well-being. Tune in here, show notes here.
Wishing you much love, health, and happiness,
Christine
