7 Best Supplements to Balance Hormones (Every Woman Should Know)

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supplements to balance hormones

If you search online for supplements to balance hormones, you’ll find a lot of big promises.

The truth?

There’s no magical relief, trick, remedy, or hack capable of hormonal imbalance.

But if you want to feel human again without spending tons of money when you are at the store getting supplements, a few surprisingly easy tips and tricks (combined with a healthy diet) can help make it happen.

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What Controls Hormone Levels

Maybe you’ve been trying to understand what causes some of your monthly (uncomfortable) symptoms, like irregular periods, increased PMS, mood swings, acne…, or you just had your test and it came back hormonal imbalance. It’s possible your doctor recommended progesterone cream or hormonal treatments and maybe you’re looking for other ways to balance your hormones.

Below are the best female hormone balance supplements.

It’s pretty amazing how much you discover about your body once you battle with hormone imbalance.

Everything from learning that certain foods can harm our fertility (ie: too much sugar and caffeine), as well as certain medications and even make-up.

Your endocrine system makes and releases hormones.

  • Hypothalamus (the master gland)
  • the thyroid
  • the pituitary
  • the adrenal glands
  • the pancreas
  • the pineal

But hormones are even made and released by the brains, lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, and skin. Hormones are the messengers of the body—they send chemical messages and affect processes of metabolism, mood, growth and development, sexual function, and reproduction.

supplements to balance hormones

How Do You Know If You Have Hormonal Imbalance

I’ve lived my life with chronic fatigue, mood swings, depression due to endometriosis, and also with huge and regular crashes in energy all day every day.

Our hormone health is really important.

The signs of hormonal imbalance:

  • PMS mood changes and irritability, sadness, or anger
  • Hormonal migraines or headaches
  • Digestive issues
  • Weight fluctuation or fluid retention
  • Breast tenderness, breast lumps, or cysts
  • Heavy or light periods
  • Infertility
  • Cramps and back pain
  • Adult acne
  • Constant hunger
  • Sleep issues
  • Loss of libido
  • Hair thinning or loss
  • Depression and anxiety

By keeping hormones balanced, it’ll be easier to maintain a healthy weight, keep a regular menstrual cycle, and have optimal energy levels.

Key Hormones to Keep in Check

Cortisol

Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream, enhances your brain’s use of glucose, and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues. Cortisol also curbs functions that would be nonessential or detrimental in a fight-or-flight situation.

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone made by one of the body’s organs called the pancreas. Insulin helps your body turn blood sugar (glucose) into energy. It also helps your body store it in your muscles, fat cells, and liver to use later, when your body needs it. After you eat, your blood sugar (glucose) rises.

Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)

Thyroid hormones regulate both your body’s energy use and metabolism. Our bodies produce TSH in the pituitary gland.

If you often feel tired or sluggish, or if you witness changes in your metabolism, your thyroid might not function properly.

Estrogen

Estrogen grows the lining of your uterus to prepare it for conception (remember that grass analogy above?).

But progesterone also has an important role – to ensure that the lining remains there for roughly 14 days after ovulation (the luteal phase) in case you become pregnant.

Estrogen is a sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics.

best supplements for hormone imbalance

What is the Natural Remedy for Hormone Imbalance

Hormone imbalance is a complex condition.

Not everyone struggles with hormonal issues, but plenty of women experience their share of hormonal ups and downs. Stress problems, depression, anxiety, severe PMS, and menopause symptoms can be the result of hormonal imbalances.

Hormones play a key role in the emotional state of both men and women, but as women, we are more likely to experience extreme and sudden changes in mood as a result of our hormones, mainly due to the monthly cycle and changing levels of progesterone and estrogen.

Fortunately, there are all sorts of tried and true ways to help balance hormones. One such way is by ensuring you’re getting all the right hormone-balancing nutrients from your diet. Supplementing with certain vitamins and supplements may help as well. Relief is possible, with the right approach.

Using natural remedies such as vitamins and supplements for hormone balance has many benefits as they are safe and non-toxic and support the body to assist natural healing.

Natural remedies for hormone imbalance start with treating leaky gut, supporting the immune system, and changing your lifestyle. Everything is connected. Treating your body with drugs and hormonal treatments does not have to be your only option.

There are many safe natural treatments for hormone imbalance and simple self-help measures you can use to help with your symptoms. As well as diet changes, there are also many supplements to balance hormones that can help with specific symptoms.

In a previous blog post, I’ve detailed the right dietary approach to fight inflammation in your body including the foods you should avoid. Once you have these elements of the protocol underway, it’s time to look at the best supplements for endometriosis to add to your daily routine.

natural hormone balancing supplement

The Best Supplements to Balance Hormones

#1 Probiotics for Mood and Gut Health

Probiotics can do more than improve your gut health. They also may indirectly enhance your brain, too. Research shows that the gut and brain are connected, a partnership called the gut-brain axis.

Probiotics have become increasingly popular in recent years. You might already eat a lot of probiotic foods, such as yogurt or kimchi, or take a daily probiotic supplement to reap their potential benefits.

Gut bacteria are key players in your mood and mental health. They can relieve the symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, but they might also make them worse.

How to Take Probiotics

For best results, take probiotic supplements with meals. When you are selecting a probiotic supplement, choose one with a diverse range of bacteria, a high number of colony-forming units (CFUs), and also be sure that it’s either been refrigerated or is guaranteed to be stable at room temperature.

#2 Magnesium for Cramps and Stress Management

When your body does not have enough Magnesium then systemic inflammation occurs. This can result in fatigue, headaches/migraines, aches, and pains.

Magnesium helps keep adrenal stress hormones under control too. This is a big deal, as stress hormones throw everything off whack!

In fact, I find it so helpful for pain management that I also use it as salt in baths and as a spray on my abdomen to reduce cramping.

How to take magnesium

The recommended daily allowance of magnesium is 310-420 milligrams, but studies have found positive effects with daily doses up to 2500 milligrams. The RDA for B6 for adults is 1.3-2 milligrams per day.

#3 Dong Quai for menstrual cramps and PMS

Dong Quai is an herb that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to nourish blood and treat menstrual and menopausal symptoms.

Dong Quai may also act like estrogen in your body and affect hormone-sensitive conditions that worsen when exposed to estrogen, such as breast cancer. There’s also no scientific evidence about dong quai’s potential to boost your fertility.

Dong Quai is used for menstrual cramps, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and menopausal symptoms.

How to take Dong Quai

Dong Quai is available as an oral supplement in tablets, capsules, tinctures, and tea. It’s also used in some topical creams or powders.

Research has not yet determined a safe or recommended dose. Talk to your doctor about the dosage you should use or follow the instructions on the product label.

#4 Maca for Balancing Hormones

This hormone booster, from the tuber root of a Peruvian radish, helps balance hormones by stimulating and nourishing the hypothalamus and pituitary glands.

Maca root helps balance hormones and due to an excess of environmental estrogens, most people’s hormones are out of natural balance.

Maca stimulates and nourishes the hypothalamus and pituitary glands which are the “master glands” of the body.

Maca can also reduce blood pressure and improve symptoms of depression in postmenopausal women

How to take maca

The standard dosage of maca root is about 1500-3000 milligrams per day.

#5 Vitex for Menstrual Disorders and Infertility

Vitex agnus-castus is a popular herbal supplement used to treat a variety of health problems. It’s most commonly used to treat:

premenstrual syndrome (PMS), menstrual disorders, infertility, acne, menopause, nursing difficulties.

Vitex itself does not contain hormones, but it acts on the pituitary gland and regulates its function, thus balancing hormone levels.

Vitex has a long history of use as a folk remedy for a range of female conditions, such as postpartum hemorrhage, and to help with the “passing of afterbirth.” The name “chaste tree” comes from the belief in folk medicine that it could suppress libido.

How to take vitex

For best results observed in studies occurred with doses of 40-1800 milligrams per day or 4-40 milligrams of standardized vitex extract. If you want to try vitex agnus-castus, you should start with a low dose and work your way up.

#6 Ashwagandha

Ashwagandha is one of the most important herbs in Ayurveda, a form of alternative medicine based on Indian principles of natural healing.

Ashwagandha has the unique ability to encourage hormonal health at a cellular level, aiding your resilience to stress.

How to take Ashwagandha

If you’re taking ashwagandha as part of your supplement routine for general health, you may wish to take it in the morning along with any other vitamins or supplements. That said, taking ashwagandha on an empty stomach may lead to mild stomach discomfort in some people.

#7 Rhodiola Rosea for Stress and Hormonal Balance

Studies show the many benefits of Rhodiola Rosea, an adaptogenic herb included in HUM’s Uber Energy and Big Chill. Rhodiola aids thyroid function improves immune function and helps the body adapt to stress—all of which factor into hormonal balance.

How to take Rhodiola Rosea

It’s best to take Rhodiola on an empty stomach, but not before bedtime, as it has a slight stimulatory effect. The optimal dose of Rhodiola for improving symptoms of stress, fatigue, or depression is 400–600 mg in a single dose per day.

vitamins for hormone imbalance

Best Vitamins for Hormone Balance

#1 Vitamin D3

Research shows that when taken, vitamin D3 acts like a hormone inside the body and can help to reduce inflammation levels. Sunshine is the best way to supplement this, but not all of us can get enough of it. If you can’t, taking 5000 IU of vitamin D3 daily is a general recommendation.

#2 B Vitamins

Taking a high-quality B-complex supplement is a really good idea when you’re in the throes of hormonal ups and downs. This is one group of vitamins that you might want to supplement with in addition to eating foods high in these vitamins. There are nine B vitamins in total, and certain foods contain specific B vitamins.

#3 Vitamin E

For menopausal women, supporting the body with vitamin E can help ease certain symptoms. Taking vitamin E as a supplement can help alleviate the severity of many common menopausal symptoms, including insomnia, hot flashes, night sweats, palpitations and vaginal dryness. It is believed that vitamin E actually reduces stress through its natural antioxidant properties.

Lifestyle Changes to Balance Hormones

#1 Change your diet

Changing your diet is the easiest way to increase progesterone naturally. If you understand what foods you should eat and what you should avoid, you have better chances to increase progesterone production.

Food products do not usually contain progesterone.

However, some people believe that certain foods may help the body increase its production of progesterone or balance estrogen levels:

  • Beans
  • Broccoli
  • Brussel sprouts
  • Cabbage
  • Cauliflower
  • Kale
  • Nuts
  • Pumpkin
  • Spinach
  • Whole grains
  • Magnesium-rich foods

You can take supplements, use magnesium spray or magnesium baths salts. But you can also add more magnesium-rich foods to your diet.

The first one I have in mind is dark chocolate. You can get 64 milligrams within a single 1oz serving.

Make sure it’s real dark chocolate and not something with needlessly added sugar or other sweeteners.

It also provides you with a nice dose of antioxidants to help you fight off disease. Nuts (like almonds, brazil nuts, and cashews), avocados, and legumes, are particularly good sources of magnesium.

Vitamin B6 foods

Vitamin B6 also plays a role in keeping the body’s hormone balance. Good examples of vitamin b6-rich foods are milk, eggs, and fish, but if you follow the endometriosis diet you should skip those.

Instead, try crunching carrots as a snack instead of something high in sugar and calories. You get as much as you would from drinking a glass of milk no matter how you prepare them. Other suggestions are bananas.

Zinc-rich foods

Count zinc as another mineral essential in helping your pituitary gland regulates hormones in your body. It helps the gland boost the current levels of FSH hormones.

That helps your ovaries create more progesterone and estrogen needed by your reproductive system. Eating a handful of your favorite pumpkin, squash, or sesame seeds is an excellent way to get a daily zinc boost.

They also provide you with a good dose of fiber and healthy fats.

It’s good to have on your diet whole grains. They contain vital nutrients like magnesium which also boost progesterone levels. Other vegetables you can add to your diet include peas, potatoes, and green beans.

#2 Reduce Stress Levels

Excessive stress can raise the body’s stress hormones, which can also affect the ovaries and sex hormones. This is why a person may miss a period when they are experiencing high levels of stress.

Finding a way to manage stress is important. Meditating, exercising, and journaling can all be very useful, but what works can vary from person to person.

#3 Move your Body

Exercise (or yoga) is amazing for balancing hormones. It reduces inflammation, lowers stress, and aids sleep. Just don’t overdo it. The key is in training for shorter periods of time and taking breaks in between.

#4 Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is important. Actually, it’s SOOO! important for our physical and emotional well-being.

Good sleep provides us with essential memory processing, repairs our bodies, regulates our body weight. Lack of sleep drastically affects our mood, creativity, brain function.

While you’re sleeping, it’s time for your brain your immune system your blood vessels your entire body to clean up the mess that’s been built over the previous day, recover, and rebuild itself. That’s how important sleep is.

Sleep is so important so if you’re having trouble sleeping, here are 7 tips to get better sleep at night so you can feel more energized, focused, and ready to take on the day, every day!

My go-to’s for hormone balance:

My daily routine:

Probiotics – 3×1 (before food)

Magnesium – 3×1

Vitamin B6 and B3

Vitex – 1500 mg per day

Maca – 1500 mg per day

We often fail to truly understand the significance of hormone imbalances on the overall health of our bodies and our general well-being.

The truth is that hormones are always changing due to our menstrual cycle, diets, environmental changes, stress levels, and underlying medical conditions.

I had problems with some foods since I was a kid. Recently, I found an old diet plan I had written to encourage me to eat better. This plan encourages me to keep fighting with my endometriosis symptoms. Because everything starts with a diet.

xo,

Lora

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