The Best Foods to Support Your Hormones

Have you ever been confused about what to eat to support your hormonal health?

Many many years ago, I didn’t even know what hormones even were! I mean, I understood things like PMS, fertility and menopause, and got that there were ‘hormonal shifts’ happening in the body, but I didn’t really know more than that.

And now, coaching women to achieve optimal hormonal health is one of my specialities!

I love talking about hormones and more than that, I love creating recipes that balance hormones.

If you’ve ever been confused about what to eat to support your hormones (trust me, we’ve all been there!), I’ve made it incredibly easy with my 21-Day Delicious Detox.

So what foods are best for our hormones? LOTS! Let’s dive in:

First, fats are crucial. From things like nuts, seeds, avocados, coconut oil and coconut products, ghee, grass fed butter, olive oil, flax, chia and hemp. These are not only delicious, but are essential. Your hormones need fat to function so it’s important to get in a variety of fats.

Ever find you just can’t get rid those pesky sugar cravings ? Load up on more fat or even take a teaspoon of coconut oil when those sugar cravings hit. It’ll banish those cravings for good!

Secondly, protein is key and variety here is really important. Eating chicken all day long isn’t going to provide you with enough variety of amino acids. Ideally, you want to avoid conventional meat or at least look for antibiotic and hormone free meats. Choose from sources such as grass fed beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, wild caught fish, beans and legumes and even some fermented tempeh.

Protein helps to keep you satiated, so does fat, and it helps to keep muscles strong and supports your metabolism. This is especially key for supporting weight loss.

And then there’s fiber. Fiber helps to push toxins out through your bowels and prevents constipation. It also helps to keep you satiated (as does protein and fat) and is crucial in any diet. Fiber also helps to bind to excess estrogen in your system and helps to flush it out of your bowels. This is important for everybody, but especially for women who are dealing with estrogen dominance.

So where should we get our fiber from? Vegetables of course!

From leafy greens, such as romaine, spinach, kale, chard and dandelion, to peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi and rapini, there is an abundant of vegetables to choose from, so experiment and try new things! Your plate at every meal should be full of vegetables. This will ensure you get in enough fibre + nutrients.

And if you’re constantly feeling tired and reaching for those carbs, trust me, eating more vegetables will help you resist the urge to splurge and will support your hormones so you don’t get those cravings to begin with.

I can guarantee that if I were to follow you around for 2 weeks and watch what you ate, there’s a good chance that you’re constantly eating the same foods over and over again. Right? This is why I can’t stress enough about variety. Variety of vegetables and variety of meat and poultry or beans.

So what about carbs?

I prefer my clients choose things like sweet potato, or squash or low glycemic fruits such as apples, pears and berries. These all count for carbohydrates and ideally, to support optimal thyroid health, keep the grains (like quinoa, rice, spelt, kamut and oats), to a minimum.

I know that ditching the grains may seem a little difficult, but they can be inflammatory. My suggestion is that you cut them out for 30 days to see how you feel.

The ideal thing to keep in mind with your meals is – P.F.F – which stands for Protein, Fat and Fiber.

Make sure your meals contain these essentials and your hormones will love you! This will ensure balance blood sugar levels, balanced moods, energy and vitality, healthy cycles and little to no pms symptoms, easier menopause and a healthy metabolism that helps you burn fat and keep the weight off.

If you’re wondering how to even put hormonal balanced meals together or where to start, you might want to get started with my 21-Day Delicious Detox. This is a simple and effective program to reset the body and bring balance.

You will love the simplicity of the meals.

You will love how delicious everything is.

@holisticwellnessfoodie