The hormones in our body play an important part in our everyday lives. It helps to regulate functions of the body like metabolism, mood, sex drive, growth, and more. Virtually everything you experience is regulated by one hormone or the other. These hormones, about 50, are produced in the endocrine glands and relayed to different parts of the body where they are supposed to have a particular effect. When you feel hungry, tired, depressed, happy, energetic, that is your hormones at work. They basically determine everything that concerns your body.
When these hormones function properly, they are said to be balanced, Hormonal imbalance occurs when there is too much or too little of a certain hormone in your body, which could result in so many things. For example, if the hormone that regulates sleep is too little or too much, this may cause you to become insomniac or to spend most of your day sleeping. Hormonal imbalance is caused by various things including stress, obesity, poor diet, and so on. Some common symptoms of hormonal imbalance include hair loss, fatigue, low sex drive, changes in blood pressure, digestive issues, and so on.
Hormonal imbalance can greatly affect your health as it could lead to various complications. That is why it is important that you find ways to maintain a healthy hormonal balance, which is what we would be looking at today.
Get Regular Sleep
Sleeping well is one way to naturally address issues with your body. Make sure you get enough night rest to allow your body to restore itself at the end of the day. Depriving yourself of proper sleep could lead to many things including gradual hormonal imbalance. To keep your hormones properly balanced, you should aim for seven hours of sleep every night.
Exercise Regularly
Exercising regularly would not only keep you fit but keep your hormones balanced as well. One key benefit of exercising is that it helps to reduce insulin levels while increasing insulin sensitivity. Exercising also helps with the release of dopamine and serotonin, the ‘feel good chemicals’, which would generally help put you in a better mood. Another benefit of exercise is that it boosts testosterone, in men, and estrogen, in women, which often reduces as one begins to age.
Eat More Protein
If you want to promote healthy hormonal balance, you should add protein to your diet regularly. This is because protein provides the body with amino acids, which the body cannot make on its own. Studies have shown that eating enough protein would make you feel less hungry and fuller, causing you to eat less. Some of the foods you can try include eggs, beans, and fish.
Cut Down Your Sugar Intake
Cutting your sugar intake also helps with your hormonal balance. Regular consumption of much sugar could increase insulin levels in the blood and decrease insulin sensitivity. This could affect insulin regulation as well. Reducing or avoiding taking in sugar offers you a lot of benefits. Additionally, you should avoid diets high in refined carbs, as they may promote insulin resistance and cause hormonal imbalance.
Avoid Taking In Toxins
Toxins are everywhere: in the air we breathe, our food, everywhere. That is why you should do your best to avoid getting them into your body as much as possible. One example of these toxins includes bisphenol A (BPA), found in plastic water bottles and cans. Ingesting BPA can cause certain hormones not to function as well as they should.
Reduce Stress
Stress is part of life, but too much stress can be very bad for your health. Stress can damage your hormones, and cause an imbalance. The two main hormones affected by stress are cortisol and adrenaline ( or epinephrine). When you are stressed out, these hormones are increased in your body and that is not good. You should manage and reduce stress by resting well, getting proper sleep, going for a massage, and relaxing in nature.
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Collins Nwokolo is a human physiologist, writer and health enthusiast. He loves writing helpful articles on health and fitness, which he enjoys sharing with everyone.
