10 Ways to Naturally Balance Hormones

The hormonal system is one of the more delicate systems of the body, especially for women. There are so many moving parts, and there are so many factors that can negatively or positively affect hormonal balance. 

While it would take a book to dive into the hormonal system in detail, I’m touching on the basics. And most importantly, I will arm you with lifestyle and supplement suggestions to help you naturally rebalance your hormones when necessary. 

Let’s start by taking a look at some of the more common causes and symptoms of hormonal imbalance as well as some of the common types of imbalances that women experience…

Common Causes of Hormonal Imbalance:

• Stress
• Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals via plastics, personal care products, pesticides, cleaning products, fragrances, etc. 
• Birth control
• Poor diet (high in sugar, processed foods, conventional dairy, etc.)
• Certain medications
• Obesity, diabetes and/or chronically high blood sugar

Common Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance (depending on imbalance type):

• Infertility
• Mood fluctuations, including anxiety and depression
• Low libido
• Heavy, painful periods
• Irregular or missing periods
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Weight gain
• Hormonal acne

Common Types of Hormonal Imbalance:

Hormonal imbalances can be diagnosed or undiagnosed. Some diagnoses can overlap as well. There is a lot of “gray area” when it comes to hormones and pinpointing either a diagnosis or a root cause. 

I hope you’re beginning to see that several things can play into hormonal imbalances. They can manifest in a myriad of different symptoms, depending on each person’s bio-individuality, and these imbalances can either be put in a diagnosis “box” or left undiagnosed. You’ll find some of the more common labels of female hormone imbalances below. Mostly, I hope you keep reading to see that whether or not you are diagnosed, there are so many things that can be done to improve hormone balance! First, the more common types of hormonal imbalance:

• PCOS – Metabolic and sex hormone imbalance often evidenced in anovulatory and/or irregular cycles, male-pattern hair growth, insulin resistance, acne and infertility.
• Estrogen dominance – Either high estrogen and/or higher than normal estrogen-to-progesterone ratio. Characterized by heavy painful periods, fibroids in the breast, brain fog, irregular cycles and increased PMS symptoms. 
• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) – Hormonal imbalance characterized by increased symptoms around the monthly cycle including mood swings, fatigue, breast tenderness, irritability and cravings. 
• Unexplained infertility – Infertility that cannot be attributed to physical abnormalities, but is likely due to an imbalance in hormonal function. 

10 Natural Lifestyle Tweaks to Rebalance Hormones:

Whenever looking to rebalance hormones, I like to take a root-cause approach. This requires focusing on the foundations of health like repairing the gut, ensuring optimal nutrition, getting quality sleep, and dealing with stress. After addressing these foundations of good health and remaining consistent over time, I often see hormones move back into balance. 

You will see that many of the lifestyle suggestions below aim at improving the metabolism of estrogen and the body’s ability to naturally excrete it after it has been used, boosting progesterone production, and lowering cortisol. I’ve found those to be “the big three” most common causes of hormone imbalance. 

Also, restoring blood sugar balance, decreasing stress, and increasing sleep are key to balancing hormones. My top tips for rebalancing hormones naturally through lifestyle measures include: 

TIP #1: Increase fiber. 

Make sure you are having a daily bowel movement. This is how the body removes “old” hormones instead of recycling them, which can lead to estrogen dominance or other imbalances. 

Increase fiber up to 30 grams per day by adding ground flaxseed (1-2 tablespoons per day) or psyllium husk as well as fiber-rich veggies. Take a daily probiotic with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains, and if needed, take magnesium citrate up to 800 milligrams before bed to get your bowels moving. 

TIP #2: Choose organic, whole foods. 

This will significantly lower your exposure to pesticides, xenoestrogens (estrogen-mimicking compounds), hormones from conventionally raised animal products, and other inflammatory-inducing processed foods. Overall, this lowers the toxic burden on the liver and helps it process hormones more efficiently and effectively.

In particular, prioritize cruciferous vegetables, which improve hormone ratios and balance. This includes broccoli, cabbage, turnips, mustard greens, kale, rutabaga, cauliflower, kohlrabi, collard, Brussels sprouts and broccoli sprouts. 

TIP #3: Focus on limiting inflammation. 

Increase dietary antioxidants to reduce systemic inflammation. Think of “eating the rainbow” in both vegetables and fruits in whole-food form. 

Increase Omega 3’s to reduce inflammation further. Additionally, omega 3’s are believed to positively impact blood sugar regulation and insulin sensitivity. Inflammation Support is another great supplement for naturally calming inflammation through whole-root turmeric that I suggest to my clients dealing with PMS.

TIP #4: Balance blood sugar and insulin. 

PCOS and other hormonal imbalances are often just a reflection of insulin and blood sugar imbalances manifesting in organs such as the ovaries. 

Balancing blood sugar by eating a low/no sugar and processed-food-free diet full of healthy fats and clean protein is the first and most powerful step in balancing blood sugar. Another small change with a big impact is not drinking coffee on an empty stomach. Eat breakfast before consuming any caffeine to minimize blood sugar spikes. Take it a step further and pair your caffeine with this creamer full of stress-relieving adaptogens and healthy fats for even more benefits.

Gain even more blood sugar balancing tips from this blog.

TIP #5: Aim to move your body daily based on your cycle.

Exercise (cardio, resistance, etc.) has a beneficial effect on hormonal activity. Don’t go overboard, as that can backfire. Instead, aim to be active daily.

You might find that syncing your body movement to your cycle not only helps with hormone balance, but also helps you feel energized and grounded all month long. For example, the menstrual phase (around days 1-6 of your cycle) is when you should be resting the most and exercising with the least amount of intensity. If you want an in-depth look at what it means to exercise in sync with your cycle, check out this article I wrote for my friends at Primally Pure – Cyclical Exercise: How to Use Your Cycle to Optimize Your Fitness Routine. 

TIP #6: Prioritize stress management.

Deep breathing, meditation, prayer, counseling, etc. cannot be overstated in its importance for hormonal balance. Stress can cause the adrenals to go into overdrive creating the “stress hormone” cortisol. And this has a downstream effect on all other hormone activity, including sex hormones. In fact, “cortisol steal” describes the body’s preference to protect cortisol production at the expense of other hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. 

If you’d like a detailed and data-driven look at your stress and how it is affecting your hormones throughout the day, you may be a great candidate for DUTCH Adrenal Testing. This is a saliva test that can be taken within the comforts of your own home, and we offer it to our TDW Community members as an option! Our TDW Community members also have access to an entire guide on nervous system regulation and how to manage stress in a healthy way. I share all of my tips, tricks, hacks and best practices to keep your body grounded and calm. 

TIP #7: Reduce alcohol. 

Alcohol impairs the quality of sleep and burdens the liver. If you’re trying to balance hormones, I highly suggest cutting the alcohol. 

TIP #8: Normalize/optimize body weight. 

Obesity can be associated with several types of hormone imbalances due to it initiating changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary axes. These can include hypothyroidism, hypogonadism, and growth hormone deficiency. Work with a functional medicine doctor, functional nutritionist or otherwise qualified professional to optimize body composition in a positive, healthy and sustainable manner. 

TIP #9: Prioritize sleep. 

Sleep is when our body does its most restorative work, including detoxification from excess and old hormones. 

TIP #10: Limit exposure to toxins.

Avoid xenoestrogens (estrogen-mimicking compounds) and toxins by swapping plastics for glass containers or BPA-free silicone, eating organic when possible, filtering your water, choosing non-toxic personal care and makeup products, ridding your home of fragrances, and switching to non-toxic cleaning products.

Harmful xenoestrogen and toxic substances include:

• Phthalates
• Parabens
• Triclosan (watch for antibacterial soaps and toothpaste!)
• Perfluorochemicals (found in textiles, clothing, non-stick food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, Teflon cookware, etc) 

If you need guidance on what brands to swap to, I’ve rounded up all my trusted non-toxic products in this free guide.

Supplements to Rebalance Hormones: 

Along with lifestyle changes, supplements can be a powerful piece of the hormone healing puzzle. Some of my favorite hormonal supportive supplements include:

• B Complex
  • This is a generally very safe and well-tolerated supplement. It heavily benefits people on antacids, hormone replacement therapy, metformin and birth control, as all of these can deplete the body of B vitamins.  
  • Stress burns through B vitamins, so this is an important supplement for those experiencing high-stress levels that might affect their hormones. 
• Healthy Hormone Support
  • This three nutrient product includes licorice root, white peony root and chaste berry, which regulate hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, prolactin and testosterone. 
  • This is my go-to supplement suggestion for women struggling with PCOS, irregular cycles, anovulation or infertility or females who don’t know what supplements they need for hormonal imbalance since it regulates hormones overall.
  • Healthy Hormone Support may be used alongside Hormone Detox Support to get a cycle back. 
  • This supplement is best taken once per day, or you could take it only during the week before your cycle if you don’t want to take it all month. I suggest giving it 3-4 months before results may be seen. 
• Hormone Detox Support
  • I suggest this supplement to clients showing symptoms of estrogen dominance (heavy painful periods, fibroids in the breast, brain fog, irregular cycles and increased PMS symptoms). After 3-4 months, symptoms should begin to see improvement. 
  • It contains DIM and IC3 from cruciferous vegetables, which work in the liver to properly eliminate used hormones. Aside from targeting liver health, it targets the gut for stronger, more effective hormone metabolism and clearing.
  • One thing I love about this supplement is that it shouldn’t cause low estrogen, as it is not directly blocking the estrogen but helping the body metabolize it. It is a much safer option than traditional estrogen blockers.
• Stress Be Gone
  • This nutrient, herbal and adaptogen blend supplement supports normal adrenal function. As we know, stress can hit the adrenal glands hard, which has downstream negative effects on all hormonal functions. This supplement helps regulate the adrenals before those negative downstream effects take place. 
  • Stress issues often take a longer time to fix, so I always suggest to my patients to take this supplement, along with lifestyle measures, for a minimum of 6 months. It is not rare to begin to see symptoms improve after as little as 3 months though! 

A Few Supplement FAQs:

• Can I take Healthy Hormone Support and Hormone Detox Support at the same time?

Yes! Not everyone will need this, but in cases of severe hormone dysregulation, this could be effective. Just keep in mind that someone with uncontrolled blood pressure or heart palpitations may want to avoid taking both because that would be doubling up on licorice root. 

• I’m still a little confused about Hormone Detox Support versus Healthy Hormone Support…can you give me the shortest and easiest explanation?

Hormone Detox Support is great for those who struggle with estrogen dominance (heavy painful periods, fibroids in the breast, brain fog, irregular cycles and increased PMS symptoms), as it helps clear excess estrogen. Healthy Hormone Support is for those who need help balancing hormones (for example, those with PCOS, anovulatory cycles, irregular cycles, bad PMS, etc.). If you have estrogen dominance and irregular cycles, you can take both products

• Can I take either of these products for several months in succession? 

I suggest taking each of these supplements for 3 months minimum before evaluating if signs and symptoms have improved. It takes time for hormones to regulate. 

• If I think I have estrogen dominance but have never had testing, can I take Hormone Detox anyway? 

Yes. You want to evaluate after 3 months if signs and symptoms have improved to know if the supplement is helping. After 3 months of usage, you should expect some improvements if you had estrogen dominance. 

Extra Resources: 

• How to Naturally Navigate Perimenopause and Menopause – For those dealing specifically with perimenopause and menopause. 

• How to Balance Hormones Naturally – This is a broader look at hormones beyond sex hormones, and it gives higher-level, more generalized suggestions. 
• How to Lose Weight Naturally and Healthily – Must read for those looking to improve body composition!
• Cyclical Exercise: How to Use Your Cycle to Optimize Your Fitness Routine – I sat down with my friends at Primally Pure to discuss how to live cyclically.