in Lifestyle, Mental Health, Nutrition, Stuff We Love

What Supplement Is Good For Balancing Hormones?

by Arielle Bloom October 7, 2022, 1:38 pmupdated October 7, 2022, 1:43 pm 18 Comments

Anxiety is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disease in women, affecting up to 1 in 3 women at the clinical level in their lifetime. Obviously, many more women would admit to daily anxiety, but just haven’t sought treatment. Hold that thought.

Mood swings, PMS, postpartum depression, and perimenopausal (the onset of menopause, but without loss of period) changes are all affected by hormone fluctuations. But it can be hard to navigate what’s “normal” and what’s unique to your own body.

So, is there a connection between anxiety levels and hormone fluctuations? Some think “yes,” but it’s admittedly complicated. Let’s take a deeper look.

Hormones affect anxiety…

You’ve probably heard of the major players: progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, oxytocin, cortisol, and adrenaline. Well, they can all play a role in increased or decreased anxiety levels.

In the menstrual cycle, estrogen and progesterone fall at the end of each cycle, which can cause increased feelings of anxiety or other moody symptoms. A similar drop occurs in perimenopause as your body prepares to stop producing estrogen in your ovaries (which is what happens during menopause). Lower levels of testosterone have also been linked to worry and anxiety.

Oxytocin, on the other hand, is known as a “feel good” hormone and can reduce your stress and anxiety. You get rushes of this hormone by feeling loved, safe, and optimistic about your own life.

…And anxiety affects hormones

Wait, didn’t I just tell you that your hormones are what affects your anxiety?

Well, yes, but it turns out that anxiety can also affect your hormones, putting you in a vicious cycle of hormonal fluctuations and subsequent discomfort. Testosterone is partially responsible for controlling cortisol production, and low levels of testosterone (even for women), can trigger an overproduction of cortisol. When we are chronically stressed, anxious, unfulfilled, or up-regulated in another way, we trigger the release of more and more cortisol and adrenaline.

This was great when we lived as hunter-gatherers because when we were stressed, we had enough fuel in the tank to run away from the thing that was stressing us (like a hungry bear). Now, however, our stressors are mostly psychological: work, relationships (or lack of), the news, and other non-threats keep us feeling panicked most of the day for no real reason. This chronic stress can cause imbalances in our hormones, and the unfortunate cycle begins again.

How do we fix it?

Not all hope is lost, bu there’s only one real “way” to get back on track (and this one way requires many small changes in perspective).

We actually have more control over hormone functionality than we think. This is the point that most doctors would hand over a prescription medication. Before you get on a pill for the rest of your life, try fixing the cause of the problem — you may be surprise at how good you feel.

It’s not always easy to completely retool a lifestyle, but it’s actually much simpler than living in the hurricane of poor lifestyle choices. You’re going to have to change some things, including diet, sleep, and exercise, in order to improve your hormone composition. You will need to ditch the habits that feel good in the moment but that cause stress over time. The key is to remove the veil of modern living and see life for what it really is: something timeless, that requires balance and peace.

You can’t fix your hormones issues overnight, but you can take 6 steps toward improvement immediately

Ditch processed foods, and instead stick with mostly whole foods like produce, meat, dairy, eggs, and whole grains
What supplement is good for balancing hormones? A good quality magnesium glycinate powder (will improve sleep, promote regularity, lower anxiety, and lessen period cramps…it’s a MUST)
Make regular, restful sleep a TOP priority
Exercise (or at least consistent movement like walking) as regularly as possible
Try different mindfulness practices like journaling, meditation, mindful walks, and breath work — they will help lower anxiety tremendously
Limit caffeine and alcohol — these are both heavy hitters that affect mood/anxiety/sleep