How To Balance Your Hormones Naturally *Updated*

Ann Marie from cheeslave offers more advice on balancing your hormones

5. Get Your Minerals On!

Most of us are depleted of minerals. Phytic acid in whole grains (like oats and whole wheat) deplete the body of minerals (unless these foods are properly soaked or sprouted — see my post on soaking grains.)

Minerals are vitally important to balancing hormones. For example, if you are low in zinc, which many of us are, you will not be able to produce enough testosterone (yes, even women need a certain amount of testosterone — this is vital to a healthy sex drive).

One of the best sources of minerals is homemade bone broth.

Iodine is a trace mineral most of us are deficient in. The Japanese have one of the lowest rates of breast cancer. I believe this is partly due to the fact that they consume large quantities of iodine, mainly in the form of fish broth and seaweed. (Not, as we often hear, due to soy. They eat very little soy compared to the amount of fish, fish broth and sewaweed).

Japanese people traditionally eat miso soup with all their meals — breakfast, lunch and dinner. Modern miso soup is often made with MSG powder — but traditionally prepared miso soup is made with bonito broth. Bonito broth is made with fish. The fish are small and they use the whole fish in the broth, including the heads.

The reason this is important is the head is where the thyroid gland is contained. The thyroid is where iodine is stored. So if you are making fish broth, you need to include the head to get the iodine. The soup also contains seaweed which is also rich in iodine.

Unless you are eating real bonito broth miso soup every day, I recommend taking a supplement to get the same amount of iodine. One Iodoral pill contains 12.5 mg of iodine (which is the same amount the Japanese consume). Another form of iodine is Lugol’s. I take Iodoral.

6. Avoid Soy

I think one of the other big reasons we are seeing more hormonal problems today is due to the increase of soy in our diets. Soy is a goitrogen, which blocks iodine uptake in the body. In women, iodine is stored in the thyroid gland, the breasts and the ovaries. Iodine deficiency causes thyroid disorders (including goiters, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer), cysts in the breasts and ovaries, and breast cancer and ovarian cancer. You may think you’re not eating a lot of soy since you don’t drink soy milk or eat tofu. But these days, soy is in almost everything. Most restaurants use soybean oil to cook with, and most packaged and processed foods contain soybean oil and/or soy lecithin. Most of the meat and dairy we consume is from animals fed soy. Most mayonnaise and salad dressings contain soybean oil. It is okay to eat soy in small amounts, as a condiment, as long as it is naturally fermented (like naturally fermented soy sauce, miso, tempeh, or natto). It is best to avoid unfermented soy foods like soy milk and soy cheese. It is also best to avoid processed and packaged foods that contain soy. Next: Discover Ann Marie’s incredible results after she overcame her hormonal imbalance

Author: Marsha Mellow

Hello dear friends. Welcome to Natural Medicine Box. My name is Melody and I love love, love natural medicine. This is my passion and joy of living. I hope you enjoy your visit today and please visit often. Thank you! View all posts by Marsha Mellow