There are certain misleading connotations to the word hormone. Us menopausal gals tend to collectively tar them all with the same negative brush but we cannot function as humans without them. They are our chemical messengers, travelling from the brain through the blood stream to various organs to fulfil their roles. Insulin for example is produced by the pancreas and helps control blood sugar levels. Cortisol, made in the adrenal glands, helps regulate blood pressure, our response to stress and the reduction of inflammation.
Our general aim (for cracking good health, energy and a positive outlook) is to achieve balance where hormones can do their thing without a fuss. During menstruation and the menopause, the reproductive hormones are a little topsy-turvy and that can affect other hormones too resulting in all manner of symptoms and mood swings . However, there are definitely things we can do for peace, calm and happiness. 1. Eat much less sugar and highly processed food. Sugar is broken down into glucose and despatched off to working muscles and organs by insulin with the left-overs packed into our fat cells. Too much of that leads to diabetes and other serious inflammatory disorders. 2. Eat much more protein. There are a number of good things about eating a protein-rich diet. It slows down the rate at which sugar is metabolised, it contributes to the production of hormones, it feeds your bones and muscles and it helps raise your metabolic rate. 3. Eat more fibre. Again, this helps slow the rate of sugar absorption but it also feeds your gut microbiome. Happy gut, happy mood! 4. Exercise: Taking your muscles out of their comfort zone by lifting weights will (in conjunction with your new diet) keep body-fat levels down. Obesity is associated with several hormonal conditions like hypothyroidism, growth hormone deficiency and breast cancer. 5. Sleep. Get 7-9 hours sleep per night, as undisrupted as possible by sugar, alcohol, snoring and small children.
Balanced hormones ARE good health. So sleep, exercise, a good body composition and a sensible protein and fibre-rich diet, sprinkled with a bit of what you fancy, are our tools. Let’s use them!
Annie
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(originally written for Woman magazine)
