Top 5 ways to support your hormones during perimenopause
1. Nutrient Dense Diet
Please don’t skip meals. I don’t recommend intermittent fasting or fad diets for women trying to balance their hormones
Eat a balanced nutrient dense diet with sufficient calories. Your body won’t feel “safe” if you don’t eat enough food and regularly skipping meals will “stress'“ your body, raise cortisol levels and negatively impact hormones.
Make sure you’re eating up to 30g of protein with every meal.
2. Sufficient Sleep
Ensure you have adequate sleep and rest for optimal hormone production and cell health. This can be trickier during peri if you are experiencing hot flushes among other symptoms.
Good sleep hygiene is key including no devices or mobile phones (blue light) at least 1 hour before bed otherwise it may interfere with your melatonin which helps with sleep.
Lights out by 11pm. Preferably 10pm.
Extra tip: try to get some sunshine within the first hour of waking to help reset your circadium rhythm.
3. Manage Stress
Minimise stress or balance your stress with exercise, meditation or relaxing activities (or acupuncture). I really love the Calm App for guided, short, daily meditations - check it out here
Exercise regularly to improve overall circulation, wellbeing and mental health.
4. Reduce Toxins
No smoking and reduced/no alcohol.
Minimal caffeine (make sure you have coffee after food, not on an empty stomach, otherwise you may spike your cortisol levels which can wreak havoc on your hormones).
Avoid environmental pollutants and endocrine disrupters where possible. A good place to start is to check your skincare, cosmetics and cleaning products and switch to cleaner less toxic versions.
5. Prioritise Protein
In a recent study out of the University of Sydney, researchers found that the body’s need for protein increases during perimenopause (due to hormonally-induced tissue protein breakdown) but if protein requirements aren’t met, women overconsume other forms of energy. Read more here
Make protein your best friend - ensure that you are having a high quality source of animal or plant protein with every meal
If you would like to learn more about anything you have read here today or for a more personalised approach to your nutrition please reach out here. I look forward to connecting with you soon!
