5 habits that can mess with your hormones (and the foods that fix them!)

In today’s time, diseases are on the rise due to poor lifestyle. Poor lifestyle can lead to a variety of daily problems such as obesity, stress, high blood pressure and the worst part – hormonal imbalance. Hormones are your body’s chemical messengers that reach the organs and tissues through your bloodstream. These chemical messengers not only affect your mood, but also your overall health. If you are dealing with an imbalance, it is important to find out the root cause and deal with it. Let’s find out which of your daily habits you need to change and what foods you should include in your diet to adequately balance the hormones in your body.

Also read: High levels of thyroid hormone may increase the risk of heart failure

Here are 5 habits that are disrupting your hormones:

According to dietitian Manpreet Kalra (@dietitian_manpreet), these 5 habits are disrupting your hormones and daily life activities.

1. Consuming sugar after meals

Many of us crave sugar after our daily lunch and dinner. However, it can be harmful to our body. According to experts, eating sugar or sweet dishes after meals can lead to insulin resistance. For those who don’t know, the insulin hormone helps control the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood.

2. Call before you go to bed

Scrolling on the phone before going to sleep is a common habit of many people. Even if you turn on the ‘yellow light’ feature on your phone, it can disrupt melatonin production in the body. Melatonin is a hormone produced by the body that regulates night and day cycles or sleep-wake cycles. When your sleep cycle is disrupted, you will sleep and wake up at odd hours, and feel tired all the time.

3. Caffeine post 4 PM

Sure, we drink several cups of coffee and tea, thinking it won’t affect our body, but it does. Coffee, tea and aerated drinks contain caffeine which has a direct impact on cortisol. According to experts, caffeine consumption after 4 pm affects cortisol – a hormone that plays a key role in the stress response. Also, it is recommended that you don’t consume caffeine at least 10 hours before bedtime so that it doesn’t affect your sleep cycle.

4. Consuming carbs on an empty stomach

If you eat high-carbohydrate meals as soon as you wake up in the morning or on an empty stomach, it’s time to change your habit. According to dietitian Kalra, eating carbohydrates on an empty stomach can cause insulin resistance in your body, which in turn can affect your blood sugar levels. This is especially harmful for people on the verge of diabetes.

5. Consume less vegetables

If your diet is high in fat and lacks vegetables, you should start changing the way you eat. According to experts, a diet low in vegetables can hinder estrogen detoxification. For those who don’t know, estrogen detoxification is a metabolic process through which the liver helps remove this hormone from the body. This detox is necessary to maintain hormonal balance in the body. So, if you don’t already do so, start including more vegetables in your diet.

5 types of foods that can help balance these hormones

Although dietary and lifestyle changes can affect your body’s hormones, certain foods can help bring your body back to normal. According to dietitian Manpreet Kalra, include these foods:

1. Raise your cortisol levels with these foods

Experts say that if you want to restore cortisol levels in your body, you should include cocoa, broccoli and walnuts in your diet.

2. Melatonin-rich foods

If you are having trouble falling asleep or maintaining a healthy sleep cycle, it could mean that your melatonin levels are disrupted. To balance this hormone in your body, experts suggest that you should drink raisin, cashew or chamomile tea.

3. Balance insulin with these foods

Insulin resistance is a common problem faced by many people. To balance this hormone in your body, experts suggest that you should include fenugreek seeds, cinnamon and coriander seeds in your diet.

4. Rebalance your progesterone with these nutrient-rich options

If you feel that the progesterone levels in your body have become unbalanced, experts advise you to balance it by including chaste berry tea, sweet potatoes and chickpeas in your diet.

5. Don’t skip the good fats

Good fats or ‘heart-healthy fats’ are important for maintaining a good, healthy functioning body. However, if you omit these fats from your diet, it can cause progesterone imbalance in your body. Progesterone is a sex hormone in the body that supports pregnancy and menstruation in women or menstruating people. Low levels of progesterone can cause problems like irregular menstruation, mood swings and trouble conceiving.

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Also read: Eat walnuts to prevent inflammation: 5 delicious recipes to add more walnuts to your diet

So, give up these habits and include these foods in your diet for a healthy and happy body and lifestyle!