How do you know if you’re suffering from imbalances in any of these areas? Hormones: With a hormone imbalance, you may experience the above symptoms, as well as heightened PMS and dryness. Gut: If you gut is unbalanced, you may also have bloating, constipation, or acid reflux. If any of these symptoms sounds familiar, I recommend following these key wellness tips below. As a health care practitioner who struggled with all three issues myself, I know making these simple changes can lead to big benefits: Vegetables also supply prebiotic fibers that good bacteria feed on in the gut. This fiber is most abundantly found in asparagus, chicory root, leeks, onions, and garlic. Aim for at least three — but ideally up to nine — cups of vegetables a day. Start slowly with well-cooked vegetables twice a day, and then gradually add more every day. Food sensitivities and inflammatory foods can lead to leaky gut, inflammation, and systemic imbalance, which put hormones in flux. Find out which foods don’t work for you, and cut out the culprits over a month’s time. Adding oily fish and fish oil, which contain polyunsaturated omega-3 fats, to your diet is one of the easiest ways to help balance your hormones and lower inflammation. If you’re vegan, omega-3 fats are also found in algae oil and (less so) in chia seeds, flax, and walnuts. Cortisol was my personal nemesis — limited sleep, too much coffee, stressful days at work and with the kids, and long, hard cardio threw me into a crisis. For me, getting cortisol under control with sleep, meditation, and yoga was the biggest step I took in fixing my wellness trifecta. Surprisingly, creative outlets like writing, volunteering, and teaching also really helped me tap into those feel-good chemicals that counteract cortisol. The key word here is excessive. That’s not to say that you can’t have a cup of coffee or tea. Plus, depending on your genetic makeup, you may be a better caffeine metabolizer than others. But when you’re aggressively trying to fix your hormones, gut, and inflammation levels, try a trial of reduced or zero caffeine. And avoid any intake after noon, when it can interfere with your circadian rhythm. Vitamin-D deficiency is ridiculously common. Although you can obtain D from the sun, it’s often not enough, especially if you are dark-skinned. Though some foods like oily fish and fortified milk contain vitamin D, I recommend supplementing with at least 5,000 IU a day. Hormone disrupters are everywhere, unfortunately. We just know about the tip of the iceberg with regards to chemical endocrine disrupters. The comprehensive list is about 870, and we don’t even know them all! But what you can do is be cognizant and educate yourself about the most harmful ones. At the very lead, try to avoid parabens, phthalates, and bisphenol-A (BPA). Common offenders include plastics, air fresheners, dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, cleansers and cleaners, cosmetics, deodorants, toothpaste, shaving gel, and lotions. Check labels and use resources like EWG.org. I recommend Sprint 8, a cardio routine in which you sprint eight times, spiking your heart rate eight times. It’s pretty simple: Warm up for two to three minutes on the treadmill, then increase the speed to a sprint for 30 seconds. Then, decrease the speed to a comfortable jog for 90 seconds. Do the sprints seven more times and you’re done! It’s quick but exhausting. Maca, high in minerals and fatty acids, is especially famed for hormone harmony. Many women notice less PMS, increased fertility, and improved skin, while men notice increased sperm production and libido and better sleep. Bonus: It tastes great in smoothies. Ashwagandha and rhodiola improve thyroid and adrenal function, creating systemic balance and increased energy. (That’s why I created a custom supplement with all of these herbs, along with vitamin D, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and phosphatidyl serine.) Whether you’re looking to balance your hormones, fix your gut, or reduce inflammation, following the above tips can be life-changing.
