4 easy ways to balance your hormones naturally

Murdoch Books
3 days ago
3 min read

Practice and evidence-based tips to help you balance your hormones and keep up with the busy pace of life.

Healthy Hormones by Belinda Kirkpatrick and Ainsley Johnstone

If you struggle with balancing your hormones, you’re not alone. Keeping up with the busy pace of life means that you can often ignore the symptoms which may range from fatigue and mood swings to weight changes and irregular cycles.

Hormones are chemical messengers that relay information and instructions to our cells and organs. They give us energy, keep us happy, help us sleep, keep us warm, control hunger and regulate our periods.

In Healthy Hormones naturopath Belinda Kirkpatrick and recipe creator Ainsley Johnstone offer practical information that blends expert nutritional advice, lifestyle insights and hormone-friendly recipes to help you get your hormones back-on-track and have you feeling great again.

Here are 4 easy and evidence-based tips to get you started:

1. Balancing your hormones by eating certain foods every day

What you eat has a profound impact on your hormones and lucky for us, we don’t need to completely re-stock our pantry. If you want to make long-lasting change, then start with small, realistic changes that can help you manage symptoms, support fertility and promote overall health. These include:

Adding healthy fats like avocados, nuts, seeds and oily fish to support hormone production. See the recipe for some delicious salmon fishcakes here.
Prioritising protein-rich meals to help stabilise blood sugar and regulate insulin levels for key hormone for metabolism
Including fibre and cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, spinach) which help the liver metabolise excess oestrogen and reduce inflammation.

2. Reduce your stress to regulate cortisol

Chronic stress sends your body into survival mode by ramping up your stress-hormone cortisol and disrupting your reproductive hormones like progesterone and oestrogen. In a busy world which sees many of us running on cortisol just to get through the day it’s more important than ever that we take small steps to reduce our stress every day. Try deep breathing for a few minutes throughout the day (inhale for 4 counts and exhale for 6 counts). Read a book on the way home or on your lunch break instead of doom scrolling (just 6 minutes of reading reduces stress by 60%). Maybe even start taking a lunch break and go for a walk or stare at the clouds. Even just a few minutes of awareness will make a big difference.

3. Prioritise sleep every night

Poor sleep disrupts hormones like melatonin, leptin (our appetite regulator) and cortisol so getting a good sleep is one of the best (and easiest) things you can do to treat your hormones right. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep and try developing a good sleep routine so your body starts to prepare for rest. Stop using devices at least half an hour before, stick to a regular bedtime and take a few deep breaths before closing your eyes. These signs will help alert your body to the fact it’s sleep time and help you have a deeper rest.

4. Move your body

There’s no avoiding it! Regular physical activity helps regulate hormones like insulin, cortisol and growth hormone. It also helps us reduce strength.

If you’re not strength-training yet this is your sign to get to it. Just 2–3 times per week will support muscle and metabolic hormones as well ensuring good bone health in your later years. Be sure to add some aerobic exercise like brisk walking or cycling to your movement mix to help with your insulin regulation. Most importantly, avoid over-training and include rest days. Too much exercise can increase your stress hormones so make sure you balance your workouts with your lifestyle and energy levels.

Even though we there are more than 100 hormones that work together to keep us feeling healthy, balancing our hormones doesn’t have to be complicated. By focusing on hormone-balancing foods, stress management, sleep and movement, you can make small changes to your lifestyle that will balance your hormones and leave you feeling better day to day.

More information available in Healthy Hormones by Belinda Kirkpatrick and Ainsley Johnstone, out now.