How to detox and balance your hormones naturally
From food and fragrances to medications and cleaning products, hormone-disrupting chemicals can be found almost everywhere. Understanding what they are, how they disrupt hormone balance and what you can do to detox and restore natural hormone balance is key to reclaiming your health.
What are hormone disruptors?
How do hormone disruptors disrupt the natural hormone balance?
Simple steps to detox and naturally balance your hormones.
Knowing where hormone disruptors may be lurking, can help you identify the dietary or lifestyle adjustments you can make to limit exposure and improve your health.
In this post, I share the most common endocrine disruptors and environmental toxins that can disrupt hormone balance. And, I provide you with simple steps that you can implement today, to detox and balance your hormones naturally.
As the saying goes, food is medicine, but we are only as healthy as the food we digest, if we can actually absorb the essential nutrients. If hormones are disrupted, the body isn't able to absorb all it's essential nutrients leading to leaky gut, estrogen dominance, SIBO, IBD, and numerous other conditions that come with a slew of unpleasant symptoms.
However, before you decide to spend more $ on clean, organic, non toxic products (which I support!) let's first cover what to look for, so you can make more informed choices that support your hormones and overall wellbeing.
What are Hormone Disruptors?
Hormone disruptors disrupt the function of the entire endocrine (hormone) system, affecting thyroid and both, female and male sex hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
Hormone disruptors are all around us, it's the world we live in nowadays.
The most common hormone disruptors and environmental toxins can be found in: plastic, personal care products, cleaning products, food preservatives, insecticides, medications, etc.
But, it's not just what you put in-your-body, it's also what you put on-your-body and what's surrounds you in your immediate environment.
Yes, it can seem overwhelming, when you think about it. However, if you focus on major areas, and start there it will move the needle in the right direction towards more balanced hormones. Two major buckets I start most of my clients with are: personal care products and cleaning products.
Personal Care Products - look for the following hormone disruptors, and opt for toxin - free products or make your own personal care products (use coconut oil, olive oil, sesame oil as body moisturizer and make up remover - that's how I got started in my personal health journey, pick something you use every single day):
To reduce toxic load and naturally detox, start by checking the ingredients list for the following toxic compounds 1, 4-dioxane or ethylene oxide, known as likely carcinogens (mostly found in foaming soaps, moisturizers, and creams):
Ethoxylated Agents
Ceteareth
Glycols
Laureth
PEGs
Sodium Laureth Sulfate
Steareth
Formaldehyde - found in shampoos, baby washes, makeup, hair smoothing treatments.
Parabens - found in shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, toothpaste, make up. Linked to increased cancer risk and hormone disruption, affecting reproductive health.
Butylparaben
Isoparaben
Methylparaben
Propylparaben
Phthalates - found in nail polish, soaps, hairsprays. Associated with asthma and allergies, can affect reproductive health also.
BBP
DBP
DEHP
DEP
DiDP
DnHP
DnOP
Fragrance
MBP
MBzP
BHA and BHT - these are often found in foods. Have you ever wondered how those hamburger buns never spoil? These hormone disruptors are also found in lipstick, body wash, and sunscreen. They disrupt your gut/brain connection, keeping you craving for more, without ever feeling full.
Triclosan and Triclocarbon - used in hand sanitizers, and hand soaps, lotions, shaving creams too. These can causse skin irritation, allergies and alter thyroid hormones.
Cleaning Products - there is a lot of overlap between personal care products and cleaning products, such as phthalates and triclosan, so be sure to check ingredients list on your cleaning products for the same hormone disruptions mentioned above. In addition to these, many of the cleaning products can release volatile organic compounds which have been linked with respiratory issues. Keep an eye for these, listed as:
1,2-butadiene
Benzene
Ethylene Glycol
Formaldehyde
Methylene Chloride
Tetrachloroethylene
Toluene
Xylene
Once we started purchasing organic food, I had a realization that dish soap we had been using was loaded with hormone disrupting chemicals, which lead me to create my own DIY Dish Soap. You can also use baking soda, or make your own citrus vinegar cleaning solution.
Phew....that's a lot! and it doesn't cover all of the hormone disruptors in our environment, like clothes we wear that contain synthetic materials, and such; but if you start with just eliminating one it will move the needle on your health radar into the right direction.
How do hormones disruptors disrupt hormones?
Endocrine disruptors disrupt hormones in three ways:
Blocking naturally occurring hormones in your body from binding to cell receptors - disrupting the flow of communication.
Mimicking or pretending to be naturally occurring hormones - causing confusion in the body often resulting in hormone imbalances like, estrogen dominance.
3. Interfering with the way natural hormone production or their receptors are made or controlled by the body, impacting fertility and natural development.
Simple steps to detox and naturally balance your hormones.
Read the labels (see above for what to avoid)
Purchase or make your own non-toxic, organic, clean products.
Choose organic, locally grown, non-GMO foods, antibiotics and hormone free
Add house plants to help naturally purify the air you breathe
Avoid plastics, food packaging, BPA coated store receipts
Herbs like dandelion root, turmeric, cilantro, parsley, chlorophyll, etc.
Foods high in glutathione, like citrus, tomatoes, and sunflower seeds
Embrace the sweat - sauna, steam room, hot tub (without chlorine!), and move your body
Supplements can be added to help with liver detoxification in addition to all of the above mentioned nutritional and lifestyle modifications, but check with your Dr to make sure that supplements don't counteract with other medications you may be taking currently: N-acetyl Cysteine, which is a precursor to glutathione, Milk Thistle (check the source to ensure there are no other toxins or heavy metals), DIM and SGS or you can just eat more cruciferous veggies like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower.
Try intermittent fasting - which helps reset gut microbiome, and naturally balances hormones.
In summary, be an informed consumer when it comes to your food, cleaning products, and even personal care products. Your body has it's own natural detoxification process, which is very effective when supported even slightly by eliminating hormone disruptors mentioned in this post.
There is a lot YOU CAN DO, to promote naturally balanced hormones. Start by detoxifying from any hormone disruptors that may be present in your environment and feel empowered to make more informed decisions.
We're each bio-individually unique so tailor to your personal needs. If you'd like personalized health and nutrition support, I encourage you to book a health consult where we'll can go over your specific needs and nutrition/lifestyle preferences to help you feel more empowered around your health and overall wellbeing.
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