Online nutrition and herbal medicine consultations are becoming more popular since the movement during lockdown shifted everything online. It enabled me to consult with clients from all over the UK for many different health problems, but one of the most common subjects I’m finding is clients looking for help with hormone balance. This ranges from managing menopausal symptoms to irregular and painful periods. Many people are unaware of what nutrition has to do with this and how herbs can even help. It’s a complex area with many interactions between various body systems, not just the reproductive system. Plant chemicals in foods and herbs are messages for cells and organs that influence function which in turn helps to regulate the reproductive system.
As a nutritionist I have my clients complete a four day food diary so I can analyse foods that may be contributing to symptoms and foods that are missing from the diet that may help to reduce symtoms. With hormones the gut plays an important role when it comes to removing oestrogen, especially as many hormonal symptoms are due to excess oestrogen. The oestrobolome are a group of certain gut bacteria that modulate the amount of oestrogen that stays in the body. Oestrogen is metabolised in the liver and then passed into bile which is excreted from the gallbladder where it then enters the gut, this is where it’s then removed from the body through the stool. If there’s an imbalance in gut bacteria then the oestrogen is deconjugated and is now free to be reabsorbed and enter the cirulation again. Stool tests can identify these bacteria but it’s the foods we eat that can help to grow the healthy bacteria and crowd out the ones we want less of. This is where diet plays a big part.
As I mentioned earlier, the liver is the processing centre for oestrogen clearance, both foods and herbs can help to support the liver pathways by giving them what they need to function optimally. An example is broccoli, it contains compounds like sulphur and sulforaphane which supports hormone metabolism in the liver. Sulforaphane is destroyed by overcooking, so lightly steaming for 3-4 minutes helps preserve it, or even better is to add a handful of raw broccoli sprouts to your meals, as the sprouts are the highest source and eating them raw retains the full spectrum of nutrients. Connected to the liver is the gallbaldder where oestrogen is removed after it’s been metabolised from the liver, so keeping the bile moving is another key step in oestrogen clearance. Bitter tasting foods are good for stimulating gallbladder contraction and there are many herbs that support both liver and gallbladder function. I make herbal bitters for many of my clients to support digestive function and hormone balance.
Reducing inflammation is another focus point, especially with painful periods. Bringing anti-inflammatory foods and oils into the diet can help to balance the over production of inflammatory compounds such as the prostaglandins. A mediteranean style diet is a good starting point, but some people need a bit of extra support and this is where herbs can really shine. Herbs can reduce inflammation and also support the circulation within the pelvis and uterus to reduce pain and contraction.
Supporting the stress response is another key area, most of us are chronically stressed without realising it, because it has now become the norm and we don’t know that our nervous system is running high until it reaches a point where symptoms (our bodys’ whispers) start to show up. Menopause is a time where the nervous system is upregulated and is involved with many of the common symptoms such as hot flushes, mood swings, palpitations etc. This is because when the ovaries reduce production of oestrogen our next source becomes the adrenal glands and those are also the glands where our stress hormones are produced. So, when the adrenals become overstimulated in menopause in an attempt to stimulate oestrogen production, then we can start to overstimulated the stress hormones too. My favourite way to support this process is with the use of herbal adaptogens. They have an ability to help the body adapt to this change and support balance, whether that’s increasing or decreasing adrenal activity, they just give the body what it needs. The nervine herbs mixed with adaptogens are a greate combination because they help calm down an overactive nervous system bringing the body back into balance.
Progesterone deficiency is also proment with menopause and any hormonal condition involving excess oestrogen, a herbalist can make up a tincture to support this too. Phytoestrogens in both foods and herbs can modulate oestrogen but some clients need a stronger hormonal shift, correct choice of herbs can help to do this.
There’s lots of help for hormone balance when nutrition and herbal medicine along with lifestyle changes are combined. Online consultations are convenient, herbs can be made up according to your individual needs and posted out to you, supplement suggestions can also be purchased from recommended dispensaries. Once you have all of this in place it can take up to three cycles/months to start to see changes.
If you’d like to book a discovery call or drop me an email to see if nutrition and herbal medicine can help you then you can reach me here.
