I can still remember the day I got my first period! I was a little bit in shock, I hadn’t been expecting it as it was the summer before 6th grade. I can still remember telling my mom and urging her not to tell my dad! Since then, I’ve become so well versed in hormones and love talking about periods and how you can balance your hormones naturally with food and lifestyle shifts. If only my eleven year old self could see me now!
Throughout our lives we go through many key hormonal life stages, and a lot of the times at each step we are told to take pills to help us get “through it”. You can balance and support your hormones with diet and lifestyle shifts, and today I’m going to be sharing some key takeaways about women’s health and life stages.
Balance Your Hormones Naturally With Food And Lifestyle Shifts
Menstruation
Most of the breakouts, cramps and mood swings stem from a diet too low in healthy fats and too high in sugars and refined carbs. Many of us are put on birth control when we are teenagers and stay on this medication until we decide we’d like to have a child or become sick of the horrible side effects of birth control.
This hormone life stage is vital to the overall health of our hormones, and since birth control shuts down ovulation, we are missing out on all of the health benefits of ovulation. Ovulation is essential for fertility, but it also makes estradiol and progesterone which have many health benefits like metabolism, mood, energy, libido, insulin response, thyroid, skin, hair, and help with bone health.
Birth Control depletes our body of key minerals and nutrients, such as B Vitamins and Magnesium. No wonder we feel more anxious on birth control!! These are the very vitamins and minerals we need to feel calm. Plus, it can mask symptoms. If you have PCOS, heavy periods, irregular periods, or endometriosis we must try and balance your hormones naturally as best as we can to support the root cause. If we don’t, when you come off the pill your symptoms can be worse than before. Post birth control, we must restore nutrients, identify hormone imbalances, heal your gut, support your liver and identify any food sensitivities, especially if you are preparing your body for pregnancy.
During this life stage it becomes very important to have a healthy ratio between estrogen and progesterone. Many of us are estrogen dominant because we are exposed to lots of chemicals and toxins that can act as estrogen disruptors.
This is a time to start testing your hormones every year. Start creating your own health history and pay attention to your thyroid as many women are now experiencing thyroid issues at a young age that never get diagnosed until we are trying to get pregnant and might miscarry. This was one of the main things I wish I had done before trying to get pregnant many years ago.
Whether you’d been on the pill or not, it’s vital to learn how to cope and react to stress better, eat in a way that supports your hormones. Take time to understand how certain foods react to your body. Most of the time I see gluten and dairy wreaking havoc on our hormones, causing lots of heavy cramps, breakouts, and bloating.
Many of the women who are part of my five-week group program experience life changing results, no more period cramps, quality sleep, way less mood swings and sugar cravings throughout their life and helps with the easeful transition to menopause. If you’d like to join the next Happy Healthy Hormones Bootcamp we start September 16th. Sign up today!
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Preparing For Pregnancy + Pregnancy + Postpartum
Our bodies are so unique! I’ve been on this fertility journey for many years now, and even though I’ve had lots of ups and downs, eating for my hormones has helped me prepare my body for pregnancy. If you’ve been on birth control, we must make sure you are getting all of the key minerals and nutrients the pill has depleted over the years. We also must take time to support your digestion and liver so we can rebalance your hormones.
If you are preparing to have a baby now is the time to get a full thyroid panel. Many times they are only testing your TSH and we must check to see how the thyroid is functioning. You can read more about hormone testing here and how helpful it can be to discover the best way to support your thyroid. I strongly suggest getting your thyroid to a healthy and sustainable place before trying to have a baby.
It’s also important to check your Vitamin D levels, progesterone and if you have the MTHFR gene mutation, which is very common, and you need to make sure your pre-natal has the methylated form, (the form that your body can actually utilize.) There are so many different ways that we can prepare your body for pregnancy. I highly recommend taking a close look at your diet, supplements, lifestyle and stress to see how each area of your life is supporting you.
What happens to women’s hormones during pregnancy? There are lots of daily changes, so eating to support your hormones is essential during pregnancy, and also after having a baby.
Postpartum is your fourth trimester of pregnancy, and one of the most important times of your life to make sure you are getting the right supplements, food and support. Often times doctors are just checking on the development of your baby, which is super important, but they should also be checking your thyroid, Vitamin D levels and general health.
This is a very busy time of your life, meaning you probably aren’t in the kitchen making gourmet meals! So, have a friend set up a meal train for you, sign up for a meal delivery service and have groceries delivered to your house. If you are breastfeeding there are lots of foods and herbs that can help you with lactation like oats.
You might start to notice that your cravings are coming back, due to exhaustion, so try and continue to eat for your hormones and lots of healthy fats!
When do women’s hormones change? There are many different major hormonal life stages, and it depends on your family history, genetics and overall health. Women can support and avoid many hormonal imbalances by creating a healthy lifestyle and maintaining it throughout the years.
Perimenopause
This hormonal life stage can start around 40 and all of us are different, but you probably won’t start to see any big changes until your mid-forties. Perimenopause lasts up until menopause, the point when the ovaries stop releasing eggs. There are lots of women’s vitamins, herbs and foods that can help balance hormones. Symptoms of hormonal imbalances are very unique and extremely individual, but the most common are irregular periods (you might go a few months without a period), insomnia, night sweats and/or hot flashes, vaginal dryness and abdominal weight gain, and/or heart palpitations. Need a quality nights sleep? Read my nine sleep hacks for hormones post.
It’s super important to focus on this stage before we reach menopause, so that the transition into menopause isn’t so extreme. During my five-week group program we focus a lot on reducing and eliminating sugar cravings, which becomes even more vital during this life stage, creating a night routine so that you are getting quality sleep, learning how to cope with stress, and eating enough healthy fats to keep you feeling nourished and your hormones healthy.
We also need to focus on liver support and gut health during this stage. You might have noticed a common thread/theme throughout this post, but supporting your liver and gut throughout your lifetime is essential and needs a lot more attention during all life stages, but especially when we are in perimenopause and menopause.
If you haven’t gotten your hormones tested, make sure you get another thyroid panel and check your Vitamin D levels. Also, make an appointment with your doctor if you haven’t been in the past year. You want to do a full hormone and thyroid panel.
Menopause
If we haven’t worked together at this point, let’s chat, especially if you are experiencing lots of insomina, hot flashes, sugar cravings and anxiety. Menopause officially ends the ovulation period of your life. Once you’ve gone a year without having your period , you can confirm that you are in this life stage.
Menopause can be an easeful life transition, so if you are having a difficult time let’s chat and make an appointment with a functional medicine doctor or a naturopathic doctor so they can take a holistic approach to this life stage.
Continue to eat for your hormones. Even though you are no longer getting your period, you still have hormones and there are lots of foods that will continue to support you in balancing them.
Take note of the quality of your sleep, are you waking up a bunch throughout the night or having a hard time getting to sleep, having any feelings of anxiety?
Next Steps
Find a doctor who can help support you and your hormones. I like functional medicine doctors, holistic doctors and naturopathic doctors. They run the most blood work and carve out more time to sit and review your health history, including family history which is key for overall health and our hormones.
Eating for your hormones is also important to balancing your hormones over the years. During my group program and my one-on-one nutritional sessions, we focus a lot on balancing your blood sugar levels, coping with stress, and eating in a way that supports your gut, liver health, and your lifestyle. It’s vital to get enough sleep over the years and to also laugh and spend time with the ones we love.
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
- Was this post helpful for you? Or, do you have any additional questions? Comment below and let me know!
- Share with your friends, forward this along or post on social. You can also join me on Instagram and in my private FB group
- Want a deeper look into your hormones? Take my quiz to see what foods might be helpful to add into your diet
- Sign up for my newsletter full of women’s health tips and get your FREE guide, the five steps to take today to help balance your hormones
Medical Disclaimer
Information in this post and on this web site is provided for informational purposes only. The information is a result of practice experience and research by the author. This information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information on this web site for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Information and statements regarding dietary supplements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem.
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