If you're determined to take control of your hormones and get your health back on track, then this article is for you. Many of my patients come to me saying that their conventional doctor either 1) didn't even consider a hormone imbalance or 2) offered birth control as the first (and maybe only) choice. This is not okay!
Hormones have such a profound impact on your health. It's possible to balance them naturally; in fact, I highly encourage this! I'm passionate about educating my patients on hormone health because it allows them to take charge of their own health and leave it out of someone else's hands.
How to Know If You Need A Hormone Detox
If you're thinking, "but how do I know if I need a hormone detox?," here are some clues. Remember that many of these symptoms may have other underlying issues other than hormone imbalances, so be sure to work with a naturopathic doctor to get your hormones checked.
Symptoms of Hormone Imbalances
Acne
Insomnia
Constipation
Breast tenderness
Low Libido
Vaginal dryness
Endometriosis
Ovarian cysts
Infertility or miscarriages
Fatigue
Anxiety/depression
Irregular periods
Heavy or light periods
Hair loss or excess hair growth
Muscle or joint aches
Hot flashes
Weight gain
Estrogen dominance
What Does A "Hormone" Detox Consist Of?
A detox focused on supporting your hormones includes more than just eliminating harmful foods for a couple of days. I emphasize to my patients the importance of not only eating a clean diet, but also getting excess hormones and toxins out of the body by supporting your natural detox organs. Your detox organs are the ones that help eliminate any excess hormones and toxins from the body- think your liver, lymphatic system, gut, skin, etc.
To do this, we focus on reducing daily stressors, avoiding environmental toxin exposures, and supporting your natural detoxification process. By doing so, you can get your hormones back into balance and say goodbye to those annoying and sometimes painful symptoms!
5 Steps On How To Do A Hormone Detox
1.Focus On Diet
One of the most important steps is to focus on the food you are consuming. During your detox, you should include an abundance of fruits and vegetables. Include detox-supportive foods like lemons, garlic, beetroot, ginger, and spirulina to your meals.
You'll also want to get in your greens and increase your intake of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, arugula, and cauliflower. These are great for liver support + hormone balance!
Also, increase your consumption of healthy fats and clean protein. Some great examples of these are avocados, flax seeds, nuts, and organic soy from whole foods. Healthy fats help regulate your blood sugar as well as give your body the building blocks for healthy hormone production. Protein helps fuel your detox pathways. Try to eat a majority of plant-based protein. If you do decide to eat meat, choose organic, pasture-raised meat. This reduces your risk of consuming antibiotics and other additives, like synthetic hormones, in factory farm meat.
During your detox, you'll also want to avoid foods that are high in sugar because they raise your blood sugar as well as cause inflammation and stress to your hormones.
2. Reduce Toxin Exposures
We are exposed to toxins every day, whether we like it or not. However, you can do your part to limit those exposures. Our body was created to get rid of foreign substances through our detox pathways. The issue is that our body is overloaded with toxins every day. We use beauty and household cleaning products with harmful chemicals, drink alcohol, eat foods with pesticides, and drink contaminated water, overloading our detox systems. It gets backed up and the toxins stick around in our body longer than they should, causing havoc on our body. These toxins can damage your detox organs, like your kidneys, reducing their functioning even more.
What is scary is that many of these toxins are considered hormone disruptors. These chemicals mimic your natural hormones. A common endocrine-disrupting chemical is one that acts like estrogen. This can lead to estrogen dominance, increasing your risk for thyroid issues, stroke, and even certain types of cancer.
To reduce your toxin exposure, try these tips:
Swap out your conventional beauty and household cleaning products with non-toxic brands
Avoid alcohol (try some mocktails!)
Buy organic foods (especially those on the dirty dozen list)
Choose organic clothing (yes, even our clothing has chemicals on them!)
Dust and sweep your home every week
Check your home for mold
Avoid fragrances (perfumes, lotions, shampoos, etc.)
Use glass instead of plastic
Filter your water
3. Reduce Stress
Stress can have several consequences in the body. Stress can impact hormones in a couple of ways. Chronic stress can increase the stress hormone, cortisol, which is released from your adrenal glands. This can lead to your adrenals getting overworked, and ultimately they will shut down, impacting your other hormone levels.
Stress can also impact your gut microbiome by supporting the proliferation of harmful bacteria. Your microbiome's health can influence your hormone levels since your gut can produce certain hormones that play a role in insulin sensitivity, glucose intolerance, and more. Dysbiosis in your gut can cause a hormone imbalance by enhancing certain hormones and decreasing others.
Stress can also hinder your detoxification processes. So while stress can cause an increase in excess hormones, it can also inhibit your body from excreting them properly. This is like a double-edged sword! Practicing stress management is key during your hormone detox to help optimize the excretion of excess hormones.
4. Increase Adequate, Quality Sleep
Sleep is vital to good health, including hormone health. During sleep, your body releases certain hormones that are needed for cell and tissue repair. If your detox organs are damaged from toxins and oxidative stress, the body can help repair the damage during the sleep cycle.
When we sleep, our body is also able to regulate hormones that play a role in our appetite. This is why when you aren't getting enough sleep, you may find yourself craving more sugars throughout the day. If you crave more sugars, this can mess up your hormones even more, creating an unhealthy cycle.
5. Support Your Detox Pathways
You can support your detox pathways through the tips above. However, these pathways may need extra support, depending on the degree of imbalance and genetic makeup. Sometimes supplementing can be a huge benefit. It's important to work with a naturopathic doctor to know which supplements to take. It varies from person to person. For example, people who have the MTHFR mutation might need some extra methyl-folate for their body to undergo methylation in order to detox better. Other beneficial supplements could include glutathione, vitamin B-complex, and probiotics.
Balance Your Hormones With A Naturopathic Doctor
If you want to optimize your health and fix your hormonal imbalances once and for all, please contact Naturopathic Doctor and Hormone Specialist, Dr. Jillian Smithers. She's currently accepting new patients. Make an appointment with her to optimize your health and get back to feeling like yourself!
Keep an eye out for her Hormone Reset Bootcamp online course. She will teach you how to track your menstrual cycle, uncover hormone imbalances, and regulate & optimize your hormones. Sign up to make sure you're the first to know when it launches!
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