The Worst Foods For Hormones
Balancing hormones is more that just taking a pill or supplement. If you want to improve/balance them, you’re going to have to make a change in your lifestyle. This is going to be the foundation of your health. Not only that, but hormones are highly sensitive to every day habits, including exercise, sleep, stress, and of course what we eat. Here’s a list of the top worst foods for your hormones.
Those of you that are dealing with imbalances should pay even more attention since cutting out or reducing them can make a world of difference.
Processed Soy
This has mixed reviews when it comes to hormone balances. I am referring to the soy that is found in fake meat substitutes, dairy replacements, and other vegetarian and vegan products. Fermented soy like miso, soy sauce or tamari, and tempeh is a preferable alternative, but even with hormone imbalances, it may not be appropriate. Always check with your doctor as see what their take it on it.
Soy can be a hormone destructive product, it contains isoflavones that mimic oestrogen and block its activity, causing the normal routines of other hormones to become imbalanced. They also block oestrogen receptor sites in cells, which causes normal oestrogen to wander throughout the body and become dominant. Symptoms of high oestrogen include irregular periods, tender or swollen breasts, sudden weight gain (that’s very stubborn and tricky to lose), mood swings, anxiety, low energy, bloating, hair loss, and fibrocystic lumps in the breasts. Women with high oestrogen are also at risk of developing breast cancer.
Soy is a common GMO (genetical modified organism/food) that’s loaded with pesticides that are both toxic and hormone disruptive.
With all of that being said, there’s some research showing that soy doesn’t affect hormones or increases breast cancer risk. However, I doubt that people these days are eating natural, organic soy or the fermented varieties and are instead getting it from processed foods. Which is why it may well be worth limiting soy and seeing it it helps in restoring your hormone imbalance.
Sugar
I am not referring to natural sugar (fruit for instance), I am talking about the kind that is found in baked goods, desserts, sweets, processed foods. All of these contribute to rising levels of the hormone insulin, which is responsible for regulating blood sugar that also spikes after eating sugary foods. Over time, chronically elevated levels of both blood sugar and insulin create resistance, followed by metabolic syndrome or diabetes. While our body struggles to keep blood sugar under control, other hormones like oestrogen, testosterone, progesterone, and cortisol become imbalanced.
Sugar itself comes packaged in foods that are also easy to overeat, leading to weight gain and further blood sugar and hormone imbalances. Which result in hormone-related conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) can develop due to problems with insulin. It’s also worth mentioning that excess sugar goes straight to the belly as fat and can also cause bad skin, mood swings and PMS.
Alcohol
I know it sucks, but it can play havoc with your hormones, alcohol disrupts blood sugar levels. A moderate amount spikes it, with an excess surprisingly causing it to drop to dangerously low levels. Alcohol increases the stress hormone cortisol. Too much cortisol interferes with sleep, muscle growth, menstruation, and testosterone production and with the lack of muscle growth and sleep these play a major contributor to why we gain weight as we age.
Over-Fished or Farm-Raised Seafood
Commercially-raised fish are produced in cramped and polluted living conditions, where chemicals and antibiotics are used to control the spread of disease. And unlike their wild counterparts, farm-raised fish consume a contaminant-rich fish meal – a processed mixture made from ground fish parts, corn, soy and other grains.
Even eating farmed fish on occasion can cause harm. The reason? Toxins accumulate in the body over time, releasing hormonal signals for years.
On average, it takes five pounds of fish meal to produce just one pound of farmed fish. Polychlorlybiphenyls (PCBs) which are found in farm-raised seafood are powerful hormone-disrupting chemicals that have been linked to diabetes, obesity, cancer and reproductive problems. These chemicals can change the way your genes operate and they have been shown to directly suppress thyroid hormones
Click this link which I found for a good source of sustainable fish – https://www.sustainweb.org/news/oct19_mcsratings/
I would love to hear from you to know what you have heard is harmful and disruptive to hormones, perhaps you have eliminated something from your diet that has worked for you?