Hormones are vital in regulating many aspects of health, including metabolism, mood, energy, and reproductive functions. Out-of-balance hormone levels can lead to weight gain, fatigue, irritability, and even more serious health conditions.
While medical conditions cause some hormone imbalances, your daily habits can also significantly impact your hormone levels. At Refine Medical in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Heather Kennedy, PAC, can help you understand and manage your hormones. Let’s explore five everyday habits that disrupt your hormones and what you can do about them.
What you eat has a direct impact on your hormone health. Diets high in processed foods, refined sugars, and unhealthy fats can disrupt hormone production and regulation. Consuming too much sugar, for example, can spike insulin levels, which, over time, can lead to insulin resistance and trigger hormonal imbalances.
Such disruptions can contribute to weight gain, acne, and even mood swings.
Additionally, an imbalanced diet can affect thyroid function and lead to issues with metabolism. A diet lacking essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats can impair the production of important hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol.
Eating more whole foods, including lean proteins, healthy fats, and fruits and vegetables, can support your hormone health. Reducing your sugary and highly processed food intake is a simple but effective way to protect your hormone balance.
Chronic stress is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to hormone disruption. Stress causes your body to release cortisol, the primary "stress hormone," which helps you manage short-term challenges. However, when stress becomes chronic, your cortisol levels stay elevated, negatively affecting your overall health.
Consistently high cortisol levels can disrupt the balance of other hormones, including sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone. This imbalance can lead to issues such as irregular periods, low libido, and sleep disturbances.
Over time, high cortisol levels may also affect your immune system, increase inflammation, and lead to weight gain, particularly around the abdomen.
Incorporating relaxation techniques into your daily routine to manage stress is essential. Mindfulness practices like meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises can help lower cortisol levels and restore hormone balance.
Sleep is essential for maintaining healthy hormone levels. When you don't get enough rest, it can disrupt the production of hormones that regulate appetite, metabolism, and stress. Insufficient sleep can lower the production of leptin (the hormone that tells your body you’re full) and increase ghrelin (the hormone that makes you feel hungry). Such hormonal imbalances can lead to overeating and weight gain.
When you don't sleep well, your body can’t properly produce cortisol, growth hormones, and melatonin, which throws off your hormones and leaves you tired, moody, and at risk for other health problems. To keep your hormones balanced, try to sleep 7-9 hours each night regularly.
Regular exercise helps balance your hormones like insulin, estrogen, and testosterone while releasing endorphins that make you feel good. However, if you sit too much and rarely move, you might throw your hormones off balance.
Lack of exercise can lead to insulin resistance, weight gain, and lower levels of beneficial hormones like progesterone and estrogen. Over time, this can affect metabolism and overall energy levels. Regular exercise helps balance hormones like insulin, estrogen, and testosterone while releasing endorphins that make you feel good.
But if you sit too much and rarely move, you might throw your hormones off balance.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are in many everyday products, including plastics, personal care items, and certain foods. These chemicals can interfere with the normal functioning of your endocrine system, which is responsible for hormone production and regulation.
Common EDCs include bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, and parabens, which can mimic or block hormones in your body, leading to imbalances.
For instance, BPA, often found in plastic containers, can act like estrogen in the body and disrupt the natural production of hormones. Long-term exposure to these chemicals links them to conditions like thyroid disorders, infertility, and an increased risk of breast cancer.
To reduce exposure to EDCs, avoid using plastic containers for food storage, choose natural or organic personal care products, and opt for BPA-free options whenever possible.
If you’re concerned that your daily habits disrupt your hormones, you can adjust many habits to restore balance. Start by making small changes, such as improving your diet, managing stress, getting more sleep, and incorporating regular exercise into your routine.
Avoiding endocrine-disrupting chemicals and using more natural products can also help. Taking charge of your hormone health can have lasting positive effects on your overall well-being. Adjusting certain habits can bring your hormones back into balance and make you feel better in your body.
If you’re still experiencing symptoms of hormonal imbalance, such as fatigue, irregular periods, or mood swings, call our office or schedule an appointment online today. We can perform tests to identify underlying issues and guide you toward appropriate treatment.