My Top 7 Nutrition Tips for Healthy Hormones

If you are seeking change and health in your hormones and cycle, food is the first place to start! 

Our food literally becomes our bodies. Our cells are constantly regenerating and they need the right fuel to be healthy. Unfortunately, in western medicine, doctors are not trained in nutrition, which is crazy because this is where our health truly comes from! 

I want to preface my nutrition advice by saying I am a huge believer in what’s called bio individuality. This means that every body is different, and what works for one person, may not work for another. For example, my best friend and I are both really into holistic hormonal health. For her, veganism has helped her on her endometriosis healing journey, while I personally feel best when not on a vegan diet.

1. Eat Organic as Much as Possible 

I know organic costs more, but trust me, it will save you literally thousands of dollars in medical bills in the future. Our bodies are not meant to eat chemical pesticides or hormone filled meat and dairy! If you need to budget, prioritize organic meat, dairy, eggs and the dirty dozen fruits and vegetables. 

2. Eat Whole Real Foods 

This means food without labels or a box. Foods that are still in their natural state, avoiding processed sugar and refined grains. This will require you to get better at your cooking skills, but believe it or not, cooking gets fun once you practice and master some go to delicious and healthy recipes.

3. Greens, Greens, Greens!

Bump up your greens intake. This can be through green juices and smoothies, more salads, or more sauteed greens like chard or kale on the side of dishes or in soups. I always throw some sauteed spinach, broccoli or shredded brussel sprouts on my eggs in the morning to add more greens where I can.

4. Eat Healthy Fats

Please don’t eat anything labeled fat free! Our body needs good fat as building blocks for our hormones. Good fats to cook with include organic coconut oil, ghee, grass fed butter or avocado oil. Olive oil is better if not heated and can be used in dressings. Add a little bit of flax oil to your dressing or smoothies as well. Snack on nuts and add avocado on everything your heart desires. Fatty fish high in omega 3s like salmon and sardines are also phenomenal.

5. Limit caffeine, sugar, and alcohol.

I know this is not what you want to hear, but don’t underestimate how these things affect how you feel and how they affect your hormones. It doesn’t mean you can’t ever have them, but we can all benefit from greatly reducing them. I always encourage my clients to experiment with cutting them out all together for some time to see how you feel.

6. Experiment with Gluten and dairy 

I say experiment because everyone is different, but a lot of women find success in their hormone health when limiting these two things. One thing for sure is that the quality of gluten and dairy really matters. For example, conventional breads and grains with gluten can feel terrible for you, but a homemade sourdough could be totally nourishing. It’s the same with dairy; you could eat a cheesy casserole and feel terrible, but you might tolerate a beautiful raw cheddar cheese or plain yogurt.

7. Embrace Fermented Foods

Fermented foods are a lost art in western culture, such as sauerkraut and kimchi, real pickles (not in vinegar) and kombucha. Fermentation causes food to go through an amazing process of filling our food with beneficial bacteria and probiotics helping our digestion, immune system, mental health and hormones!

Learn more holistic ways to support your hormones in my Chart for Birth Control and Chart to Conceive courses! Plus receive delicious recipes included in the course!