When it comes to balancing your hormones, food is always the best place to start. Today I’m sharing five foods that I like to call superfoods because they are jam packed with hormone balancing benefits and are some of the top five foods for your hormones!
If you haven’t heard of a superfood before, they are a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for our overall health. Basically they are packed with more nutrients than other foods, so the more we eat these foods the more minerals, vitamins and nutrients we deliver to our amazing body and our hormones thrive off of this!
Here are my top five superfoods for your hormones!
Broccoli Sprouts
I was one of those rare kids who loved broccoli! It was one of my favorites and at times the only vegetable I would eat. What I love now about broccoli are all of the hormone benefits this veggie brings to the table.
Too much estrogen can really wreak havoc on your hormones and cause weight gain, mood swings and irritability, so adding this sprout to your life is really beneficial.
Broccoli sprouts contain di-indolyl-methane (short form: DIM, also found as a supplement) which helps flush our body of excess estrogen. When our body has too much estrogen, estrogen dominance occurs and this can lead to weight gain, mood swings, longer cycles and many other hormone imbalances like low progesterone.
Broccoli sprouts also contain sulforaphane, which can also be found in smaller quantities in other cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli or cauliflower, which help detox the body of excess estrogen as well by supporting your liver.
Try adding broccoli sprouts to wraps, or on top of salads.
Fermented Foods such Kimchee, Coconut Water Kefer & Sauerkraut
So many of us experience irregular bowel movements and when our digestion is off, we are not absorbing as much, if any, nutrients from our foods which are key to our overall hormonal health.
Since our health starts in our belly, fermented foods help to aid and repair your gut lining which can help balance hormones (i.e. when undigested food such as gluten leak through your gut into your blood stream, this can cause inflammation which can affect your entire body like your thyroid).
Fermented foods contain probiotics, which are healthy bacteria that improve your production and regulation of key hormones like insulin, ghrelin and leptin which help regulate your appetite.
I like to add sauerkraut on top of my eggs, kimchee as a side with stir fry and I drink the coconut water keifer a few times a week. If you have ever been on antibiotics or on birth control it’s important to eat more of these foods to bring the good bacteria back into your belly.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar, not to be confused with white or balsamic vinegar, can actually help to balance the acid/alkaline levels in the body, allowing good bacteria to flourish in your microbiome. Apple cider vinegar can also help regulate your blood sugar levels (which is key to supporting and balancing your hormones and is why eating for your hormones is so important for your overall hormones). Apple cider vinegar can increase satiety so you feel less hangry or hungry, has been known to help keep cholesterol levels low and improve skin health.
I like to drizzle it on top of my salads or add it to warm water with lemon in the morning or you can try making this elixir(1 shot of ACV, 16 oz water, tsp cinnamon, few drops of cayenne and stevia, half a lemon). Make sure to get unfiltered apple cider vinegar.
Healthy Fats like coconut oil
Your body needs various types of fats to create hormones, including saturated fat and cholesterol. Not only are these essential fats fundamental building blocks for hormone production, but they keep inflammation levels low, boost your metabolism and promote weight loss.
Healthy fats also Improve heart health, they are loaded in Omega-3’s which plays a role in brain cell membrane and in cell-to-cell communication, lower inflammation and control appetite. I like to fat load in the morning and have healthy fats with my breakfast, full fat coconut oil with my overnight oats or an entire avocado in my smoothie. Check out some other breakfast ideas!
If you are craving fats like french fries or hamburgers there is a good chance that you might not be getting enough healthy fats into your diet. Aim for a minimum of six tablespoons at most a day. Of course you can always eat more healthy fats, they are the very best foods for your hormones.
Brazil Nuts
I love nuts and seeds and incorporate many into my diet like pumpkin, flax, chia, sesame and one of my favorites is the Brazil nut. They contain the highest concentration of selenium that can be gained from food. The selenium in the Brazil nut can protect thyroid cells from oxidative damage by forming selenoproteins.
They are also a very healthy fat, and contain important nutrients including magnesium, zinc, calcium, vitamin E and some B vitamins. I like to have two to three a day as an afternoon snack, sometimes with goji berries or cacao nibs. They can also be added to a daily trail mix too!
Which superfood do you want to try next to help support you and your hormones? Let us know which of the five hormone balancing superfoods you try in the comments section below.
**If you are struggling with a hormone imbalance always check with your functional medicine doctor or naturopath first before adding new things into your diet especially if you are on any medications.**
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