Diet can play a huge role in helping you rebalance your hormones naturally while supporting bone health. These dietary guidelines are a natural and easy way to do both.
- Eat vegetables (especially “cruciferous” vegetables, from the mustard family: broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, etc.), legumes/beans (especially soy), fruits (especially citrus), and whole grains & seeds (especially rye & flaxseed). These foods provide nutrients that help support hormone detoxification and excretion. These nutrients include isoflavones from soy, sulforaphanes from cruciferous vegetables, lignins and lignans from flaxseed and rye, and limonene from citrus fruits.
- If you choose animal sources of protein, organic is preferable. Non-organically raised livestock are often given hormones to improve their growth. Unfortunately, eating non-organic animal products can pass on these hormones to us, which is not desirable.
- Eat fish! Cold-water fish (such as salmon, sardines, halibut, trout, swordfish and mackerel) are an excellent source of protein as well as essential omega-3 fatty acids, which support healthy hormone balance. Wild caught, deep sea fish are preferable to farm raised. Four servings/week or take 1000-2000 mg EFA daily from fish oil or flaxseed oil capsules.
- Use olive, canola, soy, or sesame oils for cooking and baking. Use flax or other recommended oils for homemade salad dressings. These oils provide valuable omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which may favorably impact hormone balance. Use 1 Tbsp of these oils daily or grind 1 Tbsp of flaxseeds and use daily on salads, veggies and smoothies. Can also supplement omega-6 with 2000-3000 mg evening primrose oil/day.
Important note: Do not cook with oils not specified for cooking and baking (for example, don’t cook with flax, walnut, or pumpkin seed oils), and be sure to refrigerate these oils as well as dressings made with them.
- Avoid saturated or hydrogenated fats, such as margarine, lard, shortening, butter, and other animal fats, which may aggravate conditions associated with hormone imbalance.
- Drink plenty of filtered or distilled water, decaffeinated herbal tea and coffee substitutes (like Peroâ or Postumâ).
- Avoid caffeine-containing beverages, as caffeine may interfere with hormone detoxification. Avoid soft drinks completely.
- Buy Organic! Many pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and other chemicals used in conventional farming can slow down the detoxification process and can cause hormone imbalance. If you cannot buy organic, wash your produce thoroughly with a vegetable wash/soak.
