What are hormones? What do hormones do? And how do we keep them in Balance?
Let me introduce you to your hormones…
Hormones are chemical messengers produced by different glands and organs within the endocrine system of the body. These chemical messengers help to regulate multiple systems within the body. Our hormones help to regulate our thyroid, insulin, cortisol, sex hormones, and much more. They essentially work to create harmony and homeostasis in the body.
I like to think of our hormones like an orchestra. Each individual hormone is like a musician with an instrument. Each has their important individual role, and each has a greater role of working with the whole orchestra to create harmony within the body.
In our world today, it can be a challenge to keep our hormones in harmony. Environmental toxins, xenoestrogens, chronic stress, disrupted sleep, sugar, food chemicals, metabolic syndrome, blood sugar imbalance, gut dysfunction, medications, our age and nutrient deficiencies all can contribute to our hormones shifting out of balance.
Understanding our hormones, and their role can help us to bring more awareness to the caretaking we our bodies need to keep our hormone harmony.
Let’s Talk Sex Hormones
Estrogens, Progesterone,Testosterone, and DHEA are the main sex hormones in the female body. These hormones are known as steroid hormones that have a cholesterol backbone. Meaning they are produced from cholesterol. Which is why cholesterol is so important to us as women!
Let’s break those hormones down further.
Estrogen
Estrogen is actually not singular, it includes three types. Estrone, also called E1, Estradiol or E2, and Estriol or E3. We have all three at all times, but in varying levels at different stages of life. Estradiol is our main estrogen, Estriol increases during pregnancy and Estrone increases during menopause.
Estrogen is produced primarily in the ovaries. It is also produced in the adrenals and can be produced in fat cells as well. It’s a major player in the functioning of the female body. Estrogen helps to maintain our brain, bone and heart health. It’s an anti-inflammatory hormone. It helps create our femininity, contributing to the curves of our body, and supports the maturing of breasts. Estrogen also helps us stay asleep. And supports our skin hair and nails too.
Estrogen leads in the first two weeks of our cycle, known as the follicular phase. The follicular phase is from day one of our cycle to ovulation – usually around day 14. This is a more energetic phase of our cycle as the body (and estrogen) works to release an egg. Estrogen not only leads at the beginning of our cycle, it also helps to support a thick lining in the uterus for a potential pregnancy.
Progesterone
Progesterone is the calming hormone. It’s produced by the corpus luteum, a temporary endocrine gland that forms after an egg is released. Once the egg is released, the follicle seals, creating a group of cells called the corpus luteum. These cells then produce progesterone.
Progesterone also helps the uterine lining thicken and become fluffy so a fertilized egg can implant. It supports cycle balance, lighter bleeding cycles, and a healthy metabolism. And progesterone helps us go to sleep. It also calms anxiety in the body.
Progesterone leads in the second half of our cycle known as the luteal phase. Another way to think of it is the lunar phase. This half of the cycle helps to prepare our bodies for fertilization of the egg, as well as implantation of a potential embryo.
Testosterone
Testosterone is an androgen, often known as a male hormone that is produced in the ovaries and adrenals. Testosterone supports our fertility, uterine health, and a healthy sex drive. It contributes to our bone health and brain health. It helps to turn fat into muscle, helps balance moods, and signals the body to produce new blood cells. It also helps support our motivation, assertiveness, energy levels and even our confidence.
DHEA
DHEA is produced by the adrenals, and is a precursor to testosterone and estrogen. It is known as the hormone that keeps us young, and peaks while we are in our mid 20’s and declines as we age. DHEA supports a balanced mood and insulin balance. It is anti-inflammatory, supports a healthy heart and supports a healthy libido.
Sex Hormone Testing
Testing our hormones is an important part of understanding what our hormone levels are. But the way we test them really matters. It also matters when they are tested.
It’s also helpful to look at how our bodies use our hormones, and if we are clearing (or detoxing) them properly. There is really only one method of testing that I recommend, and that is the DUTCH test. DUTCH stands for Dried Urine Test for Comprehensive Hormones. It is the most comprehensive sex hormone test available. It tests both sex hormones and the stress hormone cortisol. It looks at how you break them down, this section is called the metabolites. And it includes an organic acids portion that looks at nutrient absorption, cellular health and metabolism.
You can read more about the DUTCH test, in my blog called Test Don’t Guess – Is the DUTCH Test worth it?
Let’s Talk Thyroid Hormones
The thyroid hormones are our master regulators. They control a vast amount of functions of the body. They regulate our body temperature, and our metabolism. They support our brain health. And support our energy levels.
If thyroid levels are too low, or under active, we might feel sluggish, low energy, experience brain fog, or even have joint pain. It might even be hard to make it through the day because we are so exhausted. Low thyroid levels can also contribute to weight gain, and hair loss as well.
If thyroid hormones are overactive, you might experience feeling hyper-active like an energizer bunny, have trouble sleeping, and feel tired and wired often. You might also feel nervous, anxious or have heightened anxiety levels.
As women enter midlife in the perimenopause, menopause and postmenopausal stages of life, we enter a state of sex hormone deficiency. Our estrogen and progesterone hormones drop to bare minimums. Without robust estrogen levels the thyroid may not operate as optimally. And some women need additional thyroid support.
Testing the thyroid during the perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause stages can be important if you are experiencing some of the above symptoms. It’s also important to test if you are not in this age range, but experiencing symptoms like the above.
A comprehensive thyroid test is a set of six different blood serum tests. Please don’t let your practitioner tell you otherwise. One, two or even three tests, do not tell the full picture. However, there are many practitioners that think they do. This unfortunately is not the case.
Be sure you are getting all six of the thyroid tests to look at the full picture, and help you to understand if the thyroid is in full balance.
These are the markers you want to ask for:
- TSH
- Free T3
- Free T4
- Reverse T3
- Thyroid peroxidase antibodies – TPOAb
- Thyroid Antithyroglobulin Antibody – TgAB
Also, be sure you have a practitioner that will not only test this full panel, but will also be able to interpret this full panel of tests. Find someone that is a partner to you in you health.
Let’s Talk Stress Hormones
Cortisol is our main stress hormone, and regulates our response to stress. It is produced by the adrenal glands. The adrenals are walnut sized glands that sit on top of our kidneys.
Cortisol helps to regulate our blood sugar. Controls our metabolism. Supports our wake and sleep cycles. And helps boost immunity by tempering inflammation. Cortisol supports our bodies response to danger, supports our fight, flight and freeze response, and controls our blood pressure.
We need cortisol to support our daily functions. However the everyday, all day stress that so many women are living with often pushes our cortisol into levels to a chronic state. When we live in a chronic stress cycle our cortisol is just never shutting off. It’s like the gas pedal is on, all the time.
Testing cortisol is something I recommend all of my clients do. Since so many of us are chronically stressed, it’s an important marker to look at. There are a couple ways to test cortisol. Saliva testing is one of the most common options, but it really only tells half the picture. The saliva test shows you what your current availability is. It doesn’t show you how much “gas” you have in the tank.
This is why I like the DUTCH test for cortisol testing also. It not only tests our cortisol current availability. But it also shows our production. The production shows us how much gas there is in the tank. If the tank is empty, we are really going to struggle with our energy levels. We might have a quick burst of energy with what is available, and then a big long crash after that burst. If you are struggling with your energy levels, it may be a good time to test your cortisol.
Let’s Talk Tips to Keep Your Hormones In Balance
Now that we have a good outline of our hormones, let’s talk about how to keep our hormone orchestra in harmony. And our hormones in balance. There are many contributing factors that help. Take one step at a time, dial that in, and then move on to the next.
If you are midlife, keep in mind, our hormones are moving to deficient levels. We can’t make our bodies produce more hormones at that stage. So the term “balance your hormones” is going to be a bit of a misnomer at this stage of life. In other words, we aren’t going to get that estrogen and progesterone back, UNLESS we supplement by using something like Hormone Replacement Therapy which can be done safely for many women.
No matter what stage of life you are in, the below steps are important to work on. These steps optimize our health. Keep the hormones we have optimized. Keep our immune system strong. And they help to keep our dis-eases at bay. They are the keystones of health.
Sleep
Sleep with intention. Sleep is key to keeping our cortisol in check. It helps keep our metabolic health in balance and supports a healthy weight. It keeps our immune system strong. Sleep supports our cognitive health. It optimizes our bodies ability to heal tissues and also supports our cardiac health as well. The importance of sleep often goes under appreciated, but it is a huge regulator for our health.
Start with these steps to upgrade your sleep routine:
- Create a consistent bed time routine.
- Dim the lights in your home in the evening.
- Set the intention to relax and chill.
- Add Magnesium Glycinate to your bedtime routine for extra sleep support.
- Take a bath, or read a book before bed to allow your nervous system to wind down
- Don’t scroll your phone before bed, put it away at least an hour before bed, so the next section to understand why.
- Eat your last meal at least 2-3 hours before bed to optimize digestion and sleep. This also helps to create about a 12 hour fast which not only improves sleep, but supports our metabolic health as well.
- Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
- Use an old school alarm clock, instead of using your phone. The EMF’s from phones can keep you awake, as can the notifications, and blue light.
Reduce Blue Light Exposure
I know this is a big trigger for people. But it’s important to understand that blue light is awakening to the body. Blue light can be found in phones, ipads and laptops. And this light disrupts our melatonin. It can create an awake state, and wire the nervous system. It can also cause us to wake in the middle of the night too.
So to avoid blue light, do the following:
- Stop scrolling right before bed.
- Put devices away at least one hour before bed.
- Place your phone at least 6 feet away from your bed and make sure to turn off the sound for a few reasons.
- The Electromagnetic Field also known as EMF’s that are emitted from your phone are awakening to the body.
- Notifications can also are sleep disruptors.
- So you are not tempted to scroll before bed.
Get Ample Protein
Eating ample protein at each meal is KEY to balancing blood sugar. It keeps our metabolic health strong. Knocks out cravings. And is important to building muscle, which is even more important as we age.
- Aim for 100-130 grams of protein per day. If this is a very new number for you, then start slow, and work your way up.
- For example, if breakfast does not include protein right now, start by adding in a two eggs – this will give you 12 grams of protein. Then slowly work your way up with each meal. If you make each meal average about 30-40 grams of protein per day, you will be in the 100-130 range.
Balance Your Blood Sugar
Blood sugar balance is key to hormone balance. So please read the part on protein above, if you haven’t already. When our blood sugar is out of balance, we overproduce insulin, creating insulin resistance, which can increase testosterone levels. Leading to high testosterone, and potentially PCOS. Keeping your blood sugar in balance staves off metabolic issues, Type 2 Diabetes and weight gain. Follow these tips to balance your blood sugar.
- Start your day with a breakfast that has at least 30 grams of protein.
- Eat 100-130 grams of protein per day
- Minimize carbs, and make protein the main part of your meal.
- Eliminate sugar, yep eliminate it. The more sugar you have, the more it makes you chase it, because it is addictive.
- If you know your blood sugar is off, consider adding a supplement like Chromium or Green Tea Extract to help support health blood sugar levels.
Avoid Xenoestrogens
This is so important. Xenoestrogens are hormone disruptors. They mimic our own hormones, and confuse the body. And they are toxic. And xenoestrogens disrupt our own healthy estrogens. Follow these tips to eliminate xenoestrogens.
- Clean up your makeup, skin care, health and beauty products. Look for non-toxic, and organic options.
- Buy organic foods whenever your budget allows you to avoid pesticides. Pesticides disrupt the reproductive cycle of the pest… So… guess what they do to humans?
- Ditch plastic and start storing your leftover food in glass containers.
- NEVER microwave in plastic containers as it creates a toxic environment with the heat, your food and the plastic.
- Use a glass or stainless steel water bottle.
- Add in my favorite gentle, yet powerful detox product Clean Slate to open detox pathways, and clear toxins that we have been exposed to.
Heal Your Gut
Healing your gut is paramount to hormone balance. Sugar, antibiotics, medications, the Standard American Diet, stress, heavy metals, toxins, parasites, mold exposure and even viruses and illness can be disruptive to our gut health.
When our gut health has been disrupted, it can leave us with a condition called Leaky Gut. When this happens, food, spent hormones and toxins pass through the gut lining to our blood stream and circulate. This can cause inflammation, joint pain, and hormone imbalance symptoms.
Gut healing can be tricky. The best way to do this, is to do a GI Map gut test, and work with a practitioner to find your specific needs. Before you get started, here are a few things you can do on your own, but I do highly recommend working with a practitioner.
- Start with my favorite gut healing product Clean Slate to eliminate heavy metals, toxins, parasites, candida, fungus and more. Email me to get the low and slow directions on getting started with this product.
- Eliminate Gluten, sugar, maybe dairy, and any foods you know are creating sensitivity issues to your gut. This will give your gut a deep rest, and allow it to heal in a big way.
- Start your day with a full glass of water, and drink 8 ounces of water 15 minutes before each meal.
These steps should get you started on balancing your hormones, or balancing the hormones that you have. If you’ve dialed these in and still having symptoms or, you know you do better with support. Reach out and apply to work with me.
Updated 1/26/26
Resources
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320433#what-is-the-corp