5 Foods for Happy Hormone Balance

Happy hormones make for a happy life! Having certain hormones out of sync can severely hamper your quality of life, leading to all sorts of symptoms, including breast tenderness, abdominal cramps, mood swings – even the development of cysts and growths. In this article, we will look at foods that can help manage estrogen dominance, which is an imbalance between two hormones – estrogen and progesterone – in the body (any men reading, please stick around, because this applies to you too!).

Here are the top five foods to help manage estrogen dominance and ensure happy hormone balance:

1. Apples

Apples

They say “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Well, these crunchy globes of natural nutrition can certainly help keep you away from unnecessary drugs and medications by offering a host of health benefits. Not least, they are a key ingredient in the fight against estrogen dominance. The Calcium D Glucarate found in apples helps detoxify estrogen from the liver (Phyllis A. Balch, 8). What’s more, once the estrogen has been detoxified from the liver, it needs to get out of your body! The fibre found in apples helps dispel the estrogen out through the colon.

2. Brown Rice

Hormone Balance

Image: Vassilis Dourdounis

The B vitamins abundantly present in brown rice are needed for the liver to metabolize hormones. If hormones are not metabolized properly, then the ratio of progesterone to estrogen will swing out of balance, causing that unwanted estrogen dominance (Christiane Northrup, 728). Brown rice keeps hormone balance spot on!

3. Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts

As foods go, the good old Brussels Sprout tends to fall into the ‘love it or hate it’ category. If this bitter little veg is a little too angry for your taste buds, perhaps consider a new way to prepare Brussels Sprouts that might help make them more palatable – like this recipe from Nourishing Meals. Your hormones will thank you! As with apples, the Calcium D Glucarate contained within the sprouts helps detoxify estrogen from the liver (Phyllis A. Balch, 8). The added punch of Indole-3-carbinol is just as powerful, as it improves the effects of estrogen!

4. Green Tea

Green Tea

It’s no secret that a good green tea is an excellent source of antioxidants. Not only do they act as a protectant against free radicals; they can also guard against cancers related to estrogen dominance. No wonder this anti-tox powerhouse leaves other teas green with envy!

5. Flaxseeds

Flaxseeds

If it’s hormonal balance you seek, look no further than the small but mighty flaxseed – a great source of lignans and phytoestrogens. Lignans have excellent estrogen-balancing effects (Christiane Northrup, 353). Phytoestrogens normalize estrogen levels too, with the added benefit of inhibiting cancers related to estrogen dominance (Phyllis A. Balch, 52).

By incorporating these foods into your diet on a regular basis, you can help bring your hormonal harmony into tune.

Print References:

Balch, Phyllis A. Prescription for Dietary Wellness. New York: Avery, 2003. Print.

Northrup, Christiane. Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing. Completely Rev. and Updated. ed. New York: Bantam, 1998. Print.