Nutrition and Hormone Balance

As bioidentical hormones and the problem of hormone imbalance become mainstream knowledge, younger women are wondering what they can do to keep progesterone and estrogen within the normal range for as long as possible using diet and exercise. It's true that bioidentical hormone doctors often prescribe a series of lifestyle changes to their patients. Nutritional supplements, a specialized diet, and tailored exercise programs that are designed to create balance and help maintain it is common fare for menopausal women who seek the help of a bioidentical hormone specialist. If you're young, hormone imbalance brought on by menopause may not be a big concern for you, but hormonal balance can affect all kinds of things like weight loss and energy levels for example. If you're concerned about these things, then it might help to know a little bit about how nutrition affects your body's hormone balance.

High or low estrogen levels can be responsible for wreaking all kinds of havoc on your body. If your estrogen levels are high, you can eat a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage to encourage your body to metabolize that estrogen. In contrast, if you want to add estrogen to your body's hormonal make-up, you may want to drink soy or almond milk.

Progesterone levels in the body can be affected by drinking a lot of milk or eating egg yolks. It isn't known how the progesterone in milk and egg yolks is utilized by a woman's body, but some people believe that consuming a healthy amount of milk or egg yolks can your body produce more progesterone. Zinc is an important part of a diet that promotes healthy progesterone production. Meats like chicken, turkey, and shellfish, and red meat can all contribute zinc to the diet to help your body produce progesterone in adequate quantities.

To strike a balance in your estrogen and progesterone levels, experts recommend adding a lot of whole grains, fortified cereals, or walnuts to your diet. These food items are rich in vitamin B-6, which is supposed to play an important role in balancing estrogen and progesterone.

A healthy diet is an important part of maintaining a healthy hormone balance no matter what your age. A variety of health problems can be remedied by following a diet that is rich in substances that the body needs and uses for hormone production and the hormone metabolism. Women young and old are just starting to realize the importance and the benefits of healthy hormone balance throughout life. By following a healthy diet and thinking about keeping your hormones balanced now, you'll be able to enjoy good health when you're young and as you age.