How To Balance Hormones Through Diet

Hormonal fluctuations occur naturally in women of childbearing years. These changes in levels of hormones like estrogen and progesterone help prepare your body for potential pregnancy and subsequent shedding of the uterine lining if it does not occur. The changes in the balance between hormones is delicate, and any imbalance in one or more hormones can cause symptoms that can range from mild to disabling. For women whose lives are significantly impaired by pain, fatigue, upset stomach and other side effects of a hormonal imbalance, medications are usually the first line of treatment. Specific dietary changes can help restore balance and decrease symptoms. Check with your doctor before making large-scale changes to your diet.

Step 1

Reduce your consumption of items with saturated fat, such as red meat and fast food. Even if you are eating food with healthy essential fatty acids, the saturated fats can compete for absorption. An overabundance of saturated fat can lead to estrogen dominance -- a condition in which the normal hormonal balance is disrupted in favor of excess estrogen. This can cause symptoms like excess weight gain, mood fluctuations and ovarian cysts. Look for sources of essential fatty acids, such as salmon, mackerel, flaxseed and nuts.

Step 2

Replace sources of simple carbohydrate foods with complex carbohydrates, including fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes. Simple carbohydrates, which are in refined sugar and white flour, are devoid of dietary fiber that is essential for digestion and hormonal balance. Focusing on a variety of complex carbohydrates helps provide your body with balanced nutrition.

Complex carbohydrates also help maintain your body's insulin and glucose levels, which in turn maintain balanced hormonal levels.

Step 3

Include a source of high-quality protein at every meal. Soy proteins contain substances called isoflavones that act like estrogen in your body, albeit at a much lower level than the hormone. This can be an important consideration if you are in perimenopause, which is a transitional stage as your body decreases production of estrogen and your menstrual periods decrease in frequency. If you are in perimenopause, protein can diminish symptoms that a high carbohydrate diet can make worse. If you are just entering the first stages of menopause, decreasing your total carbohydrate intake can help maintain hormonal balance.

Step 4

Emphasize low-glycemic index foods, and limit your intake of higher glycemic index foods like potatoes and bananas. The glycemic index measures the effect a carbohydrate food has on your blood glucose levels. Although foods that are high on the glycemic index aren't necessarily unhealthy, they can cause hormonal fluctuations in people who are sensitive to carbohydrates. Refined foods that contain sugar or white flour generally fall on the high end of the glycemic index. Some fruits and vegetables do, too, so it's easier to check the index to see where their glycemic index value falls.

Step 5

Eat several meals a day, including breakfast. Skipping meals slows your metabolism and increases the efficiency of your body to store calories as fat. This can lead to weight gain, and may impair your hormonal balance because more estrogen is present in the fat stores of your body. Eating several times a day helps maintain blood glucose levels, keeps your metabolism at a steady rate and may help restore balance to your hormones.