1. Exercise Appropriately
Incorporating movement into your life is important but the trick is to move but not too much for your body! Excessive exercise particularly intense exercise such as HIIT classes, Crossfit and marathon training can actually put your body under more stress and upset hormonal balance. How to know if this type of exercise is too stressful for your body? Ask yourself this question, am I recovering well after exercise or am I exhausted for hours afterwards? It should not take you hours or even days to recover from a class.
Overexercising can leave you with a profound level of fatigue, repeated infections, insomnia, decline in exercise performance. Gentler exercise such as yoga, walking, pilates is recommended particularly when trying to conceive.
2. Eat Enough Foods To Maintain Your Needs
Inadequate calorie and carbohydrate intake can contribute to a dysfunctional menstrual cycle.
3. Maintain Blood Sugar Levels
To support hormonal balance in the body, maintaining steady blood sugar levels is important. Eating high quality protein with all meals and snacks will help to do this along with adding in good quality fats (extra virgin olive oil, avocado, eggs, oily fish etc). Going for a 10 minute walk after each meal can help keep blood sugars balanced.
4. Stress Management
Stress can affect your menstrual cycle. Although occasional stress may cause a missed period, it is chronic, long-term stress that can cause periods to disappear for several months. Managing your stress levels can be incredibly difficult these days. Making yoga and meditation a habit can be one of the easier mind-body practices that can help you feel better quickly. However, these are not for everyone! Find what you find works for you. Not sure where to start? Check out my list of stress reduction techniques
5. Support The Liver And Gut
A regular daily bowel movement is important for hormonal balance as hormones are eliminated via poop. Ensuring you are eating enough fibre and being adequately hydrated will help with this. The gut bacteria are also responsible for supporting healthy oestrogen levels. Optimising gut health by eating fermented foods (kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh) can also be helpful. The liver is responsible for breaking down hormones before they are eliminated by the gut. Support the liver with protein, green leafy vegetables, turmeric and garlic.
