When you first start looking for answers for unexplained hormone imbalance, or begin searching for ways to support your hormones, it’s easy to become super overwhelmed and bogged down. I get it, I was in the exact same boat. But like with anything, I learned that little choices or changes every day have the biggest impact. Just take it one step at a time. Here are 5 simple changes I made to begin supporting my hormones in the beginning.

*Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, these are just my personal suggestions and information I’ve gathered from my own research. Please speak to your personal care provider before making changes to your supplement routine etc.*

EAT YOUR BREAKFAST

I used to hate breakfast, I never woke up hungry and had a weird aversion to eggs but hear me out. A healthy breakfast usually contains high-quality protein, natural fats, and complex carbs which are all components that help to balance hormones. After some research I learned that a weak appetite in the morning can actually be an indicator of an imbalance in your hormones which is sooo interesting to me.

As a rule of thumb, try to eat within 30 minutes of waking. And structure your meals to include one of each of these three things: protein, fat, and a carb.

MINIMIZE CAFFEINE

Okay I know what you’re thinking “oh no, she’s coming for my coffee” and listen, I love coffee more than most people…however, the caffeine in coffee is the culprit. Caffeine (in any form*) can cause your body to produce excess cortisol (a.k.a. the stress hormone) which can lead to it having a negative affect on your body’s ability to regulate inflammation. And we know that inflammation in the body is not great. Not all cortisol is bad, in fact, the steroid hormone helps maintain healthy blood pressure levels and regulates blood sugar. But an excess of caffeine can either increase or decrease estrogen levels in women. You can read more on the study of the effect of caffeine on estrogen levels in women here

It only makes sense to take this into account if you’re looking to support your hormones and it’s definitely worth minimizing your coffee intake a bit in the process.

SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCE

Another change worth considering when supporting your hormones is to ditch synthetics and fragrances. Synthetic chemicals in products like plastics and fragrances can actually mimic hormones and interfere with or disrupt your endocrine system. It’s shocking I know, and there are so many studies out there that prove this- one might wonder why these products are so heavily marketed towards young women and girls. I found this study so interesting if you’d like to read more. “Eager to understand more about consumer exposure to harmful chemicals in perfumes, a joint initiative by three European organizations analyzed the ingredients in 20 popular designer perfumes bought in Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.”

They searched for:

• Suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)
• Reprotoxic substances (substances that affect sexual function and fertility)
• Allergens
• Substances that are harmful to the environment.

“Turns out, they found problematic substances in all 20 perfumes and only two without any suspected endocrine disrupting chemicals.” Absolutely insane. I know it might feel intimidating to ditch all of your synthetic fragrances but have no fear, I’m putting together a natural living guide to help you tackle each part of your home slowly to create a “low-tox” environment for yourself and your family! Join my email list to be the first to know when it goes live! join here

TAKE A PRENATAL

Even if you’re not trying to get pregnant, switching your supplement routine around and introducing a prenatal vitamin can drastically impact your hormones in the best way. Think of it like a multi-vitamin but for women. They say when you are considering trying to become pregnant, to start taking a prenatal a few months prior but the vitamins and minerals in a prenatal are so incredible for the female body, it’s a great way to supplement in a simple and concise way. I learned the most about supplements for hormone support in the book Fertility, Cycles, And Nutrition (you can snag it here). It truly opened me up to the world of healing our bodies and knowing that there are actually so many ways to support our hormones naturally! I shared this book and several others in my arsenal in this blog post if you’re looking for more resources like this.

The prenatal vitamin that I take is by Seeking Health, I’ll link it here. I was the happiest with the ingredients and the dose of each vitamin. I felt like it had the best amount of iodine for thyroid support and it contained folate instead of folic acid. It also accounted for potential gene mutations some of us have that make it hard to convert and use folate. I highly recommend it!

PROGESSENCE PLUS

Lastly, one of the easiest additions to your routine would be the essential oil serum called “progessence plus. It contains a naturally occurring progesterone from wild yam extract; created to support women looking to balance their hormones. It is formulated without parabens, phthalates, petrochemicals, synthetic preservatives, synthetic fragrances, or synthetic dyes. I have used this product for 3 years consistently! And I can confidently say it has drastically improved my PMS and my period. I plan to write an entire blog post about this in the future but trust me, it’s amazing. If you struggle with PMS symptoms before your period, painful or irregular periods, hormonal acne etc. I personally think it’s worth trying! You can buy it using my affiliate link. I’ll be sure to send over some more helpful resources on how to use it best! Buy it here

Conclusion

Those are the 5 simple changes I made in the beginning and I haven’t looked back. Supporting your hormones doesn’t have to be complicated, overwhelming, or expensive. Making these subtle shifts truly can make all of the difference.