5 Tips for Balancing Hormones Naturally

Nicole Jardim is a certified women's holistic health coach specializing in the treatment of hormonal imbalances that cause conditions like PMS, fibroids, infertility and endometriosis.

1. Avoid caffeine (coffee, soda and other “energy” drinks):

Caffeine increases estrogen levels. Studies have shown that drinking just two cups of coffee a day boosts levels of estradiol, a natural estrogen. Every woman has a natural, individualized ratio of estrogen and progesterone that surges and recedes to make up her unique menstrual cycle. When estrogen is too high and progesterone is too low, it tends to irritate the nervous system causing anxiety, irritability and insomnia. On the flip side, progesterone is a natural diuretic, sleep aid, anti-anxiety compound, and metabolism stimulator. It acts like Valium.

2. Avoid dairy products: So here’s the scoop - most dairy in the US comes from factory farms, where cows are fed products not natural to their diet, such as grain, corn and soy. Some are injected with bioengineered hormones that forces the cows to produce more milk than their bodies normally would. This over-stimulation of the cow’s udder causes it to become infected, thus requiring antibiotics. As a result, these added hormones and antibiotics reside in the milk, which interfere with the female hormonal system - most notably changing the way hormones are metabolized in the bowel and ultimately changing our hormonal levels. 

Nicole & her God child

3. Choose organic fish and meat when possible: Non-organic animals are fed estrogenic steroids to fatten them up. When we eat these foods, the estrogenic compounds are passed into our blood stream causing a rise in estrogen levels. This ultimately leads to estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance has been linked to some unpleasant conditions such as migraines, PMS, fibroids, ovarian cysts, infertility, weight gain and irregular periods.

4. Eat full fat products (skip fat-free products): Low-fat diets are one of the main reasons so many women have hormonal imbalances. We know this may sound crazy since we’ve been told for years to cut out fat but fat is your friend! We’re not condoning over-consumption of fat or cholesterol by any means but guess what? Your hormones are made out of cholesterol. If you don’t eat enough cholesterol, your body can’t make hormones. If you are not eating sufficient amounts of fat and cholesterol, you could be exacerbating your hormonal imbalance. Natural, healthy fats include olive oil, coconut oil, butter, avocados, nuts, seeds, and fish.

5. Stop the stress: Okay, we know that this isn’t entirely possible but you sure need to try. Here’s why: studies have shown that stress affects the endocrine system in such a way that it throws off our hormonal balance, which can literally stop ovulation from happening. Therefore, it is important to find ways to lessen the load and start having some FUN! Try yoga, guided meditations or an exercise routine that you actually like.

Nicole is a women’s holistic health counselor specializing in the treatment of hormonal imbalances through food and lifestyle modification. Her latest program is called Fix Your Period – 8 Weeks to Better Periods in 2012.  Go to www.fixyourperiod.com for all the details. You can contact her at nicole@thehealthyelements.com or visit her website at www.thehealthyelements.com.

Eating Healthy

This week we really wanted to look into the phenomenon that has been sweeping the nation. Eating Healthy! We interviewed one of our favorite mothers of four who also happens to be a health consultant know as Nutrimommy by her dedicated followers on her blog. See what Anne has to say about eating healthy!

LLD: We love how creative you are in making fruits and vegetables into tasty treats that your four children love, and are extremely healthy. Can you give our moms out there some tips on making healthy, easy-to-make snacks for the little ones? Or even, what is one of your favorite healthy snacks to make for your kids?

Anne: Focus on vegetables as snacks. One of our favorites is the peanut butter cucumber caterpillar, but even plain cut carrots, celery and pepper to dip in hummus or black bean spread is simple, easy and tasty.

LLD: More often than we like, we’re learning about new foods or ingredients that could cause health problems. We all want to keep our families healthy, but when does it stop! In your opinion, what are the most important things to avoid in a healthy diet?

Anne: Avoid anything processed. By eliminating processed foods, you will avoid all preservatives, coloring and artificial sweeteners without having to ciphon through lists of which are or are not especially hazardous. They are all bad and none stand up to completely fresh foods with a few packaged but not processed items, like puffed corn thins, rice cakes or a very plain chip.

LLD: Many parents think that it would be very hard to follow a primarily vegan diet with growing children that are already picky eaters. You say so honestly in your blog that life does get in the way sometimes, and you can’t always avoid animal products or milk or butter. Do you have some advice for parents that want to try a more vegetarian or vegan diet but aren’t sure how to bring their kids on board?

Anne: Mostly, make it delicious and involve children in the shopping and cooking processes. My children love to chop, grind and blend so they are more amenable to the end result. They are also really involved in which farms we buy food from and they have developed a general understanding of what grows when and where. And, do not forget to make the food visually appealing. After all, first impressions matter.

LLD: We were fascinated by your blog from May 1st of this year about genetically modified corn. With the recent health revolution sweeping the nation, more people are concerned about what is going into their food. For those of you that don’t know, agribusiness today is inserting a BT toxin, or synthetic bug spray, into corn so that it has its own bug repellent. But what happens once you eat this corn with the bug spray in it? No one knows! The FDA is not researching or testing the effects of these genetically modified substitutes, but there are many claims that this is harmful to the human body, and additionally to the environment. Could you comment on the suspected health problems associated with genetically modified foods, and how important it is to find natural fruits and vegetables to feed your family?

Anne: While the claims against genetically modified foods include many illnesses from cancer and superviruses to infertility, the risk of fatal food allergies is one of the most studies and flagrant examples of the downside of GMOs. Bringing cod fish genes into potatoes or brazil nut into soy has clearly caused death and a rash of odd soy allergies heretofore unseen. http://www.nutrimommy.com/search/label/GM%20foods

LLD: When shopping for organic foods, it can get overwhelming visiting a Whole Foods where there are aisles and aisles of various brands and “all-natural” claims on packaging. How do you know where to start and when is it worth paying the extra couple dollars for the organic label?

Anne: Sometimes the organic label is meaningless. At your local farm stand you can always ask about growing practices and you will find many fruits and vegetables are unsprayed, sprayed with only organic products or very lightly sprayed unlike large agribusiness produce. In the packaged food realm, it is best to lean organic whenever possible, for snacks and crackers, and be especially diligent when the product has corn or soy. There is a whole profitable and growing market of organic junk food which should be avoided based on fat, salt and sugar content regardless of the source of the food. It is preferable to aim for sprouted nuts or raw snacks like kale chips rather than oily chips and floury crackers regardless of the organic label.

Thanks for all the great advice Anne! Check our her blog at http://www.nutrimommy.com/.

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Nutrimommy hosts NYC Cooking Club Cooking Social

Anne Zimmerman of nutrimommy.com so graciously hosted our New York City Cooking Club (NYCCC), which is a group of 20 Manhattan women interested in social and food (including many Lucky L'il Darlings Babysitters), in her home to teach us the tricks of the trade of organic whole cooking. Six members of NYCCC and Anne's four children got our hands dirty making Basil Nut Dip, Farmer’s Salad, Shitake Mushrooms (amazing), Steamed Spring Rolls, Dipping Sauce for the Spring Rolls, Saffron Rice, Asparagus, Pesto Dip (my absolute favorite) and Peanut Butter Bars.

Our troupe arrived around 7pm and enjoyed the entire prep process, learning how to blend and sauté from Anne herself, sipping vino and talking about the royal wedding.

One of our NYCCC members Laurie said, “Best Cooking Club Ever!! I'm so inspired to buy a food processor and might even have to try being vegan. Anne was amazing!!! The food was incredible."

To book your own cooking social email Anne at:
nutrimommyblog@aol.com

Visit her blog at www.nutrimommy.com
Follow her on Twitter @nutrimommyblog