Top 15 Foods For Balancing Hormones

Optimizing your nutrition is a powerful way to improve balance of hormones that impact all aspects of your life:

• Energy levels
• Cognitive and physical performance
• Appetite and hunger
• Motivation and mood
• Sleep and wakefulness
• Body fat percentage and muscle mass
• Metabolism and energy expenditure
• Immune function and disease risk

When it comes to balancing hormones with food, you have four basic goals:

1. Eat foods that supply the building blocks for hormone production
2. Get nutrients that help the body metabolize excessive hormones
3. Get the right amount of calories at the right times
4. Avoid foods that impair blood sugar and damage metabolic hormone release

What follows is a list of 15 foods you can eat to get your hormones balanced for easier fat loss, improved energy, overall well-being, and better performance.

#1: Seafood

Seafood is a perfect hormone balancing food, providing high-quality protein for satiety and blood sugar regulation along with healthy omega-3 fats that fight inflammation and help the body metabolize excess estrogen. The omega-3s have also been shown to improve insulin signaling and lower cortisol in a series of studies.

Eat This:

Salmon, mackerel, and sardines are all nutrient-rich and high in omega-3s. Cod and other varieties of white fish don’t provide the same omega-3s but they are a high-quality, digestible protein that can improve mood.

#2: Leafy Greens

If there was one food group you should add to your diet to improve hormone balance it would be leafy greens: Swiss and rainbow chard contain exotic antioxidants that help the body manage blood sugar and metabolize cortisol. Collards, kale, and bok choy all contain unique compounds that bind with estrogen to hasten its elimination from the body. Finally, spinach, arugula, and other leafy greens are packed with hormone-balancing nutrients, such as magnesium and B vitamins.

Eat These:

Chard, collards, kale, bok choy, spinach, arugula, basil, parsley, lettuce, and any other delicious greens can make for amazing salads. If you have thyroid problems, it’s recommended that you steam your greens. Many leafy greens contain goitrogens, which can inhibit thyroid hormone function.

#3: Nuts

In addition to providing healthy fats that aid digestions, nuts contain fiber and antioxidants that help sensitize cells to insulin. For example, one study of volunteers with heart disease found that when they supplemented their diets with almonds they had a significant reduction in insulin levels compared to a group that age a whole wheat muffin. Nuts are also packed with B vitamins, which impact release of almost every hormone, including cortisol, melatonin, testosterone and estrogen, and insulin.

Eat This:

Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts, and even cashews provide fiber and antioxidants that improve satiety and insulin sensitivity. Brazil nuts deserve special attention because they are packed with zinc, which is necessary for optimal testosterone levels.

#4: Eggs

In addition to being a perfect protein source that is great for regulating appetite and balancing blood sugar, eggs are provide with amino acids and cholesterol that provide the building blocks for hormones. What you probably didn’t know is that eggs are high in antioxidants that lower inflammation. This pays off in terms of better insulin and cortisol levels, but it also regulates blood cholesterol levels: One study found that overweight men who ate 3 eggs a day while on a low-carb diet improved their LDL bad cholesterol and decreased inflammation related to heart disease.

Eat These:

Hard boiled, poached, over easy, or scrambled are your best bet. The key is to avoid all the unhealthy eating habits that surround eggs: Frying them or eating them with high-carb and processed foods, like bacon, pancakes and syrup, toast, pastries, or hash browns.

#5: Seeds

Flax and sesame seeds provide a special kind of fiber called lignans, which can bind to estrogen in the digestive tract so that it will be readily excreted from the body. Seeds like fenugreek also increase levels of SHBG, which protects the body from estrogen, while simultaneously improving balance of related hormones. Finally, most seeds, especially pumpkin and chia, are high in magnesium, an anti-stress nutrient that helps the body clear cortisol and manage blood sugar release, for healthier insulin levels.

Eat This:

Sprinkle sesame, flax, or pumpkin seeds on a salad. Get creative and add fenugreek, cumin, or chia seeds to stir fry. They can also be ground and added to a smoothie or yogurt.

#6: Organic Meat

Organic beef, turkey, chicken, and other meats provide an array of nutrients necessary for hormone balance in a source the body can easily absorb, including zinc (for testosterone), vitamin A (for thyroid hormone), and vitamin D (for testosterone and cortisol). Animal foods also provide the cholesterol and amino acid building blocks for hormone production, while regulating satiety and blood sugar.

Eat These:

It’s important to choose organic beef, chicken, and turkey, or seek out wild game to avoid the hormones used on factory farmed animals. Additionally, factory farmed animals are raised on mixtures of genetically modified corn, chicken manure, antibiotics, hormones, and ground-up parts of other animals, which are harmful, cause inflammation and have a negative effect on blood cholesterol levels.

#7: Cruciferous Vegetables

The cruciferous vegetables, which include cauliflower, and broccoli, contain powerful compounds that help the body eliminate excess estrogen, which is one reason they are considered excellent cancer fighters. They also provide an array of vitamins and minerals necessary for hormone synthesis and are abundant in antioxidants that allow for improved insulin health and blood sugar regulation.

Eat These:

Although broccoli and cauliflower are probably the best known cruciferous vegetables, you can get similar benefits from cabbage, brussels sprouts, bok choy, and other leafy greens.

#8: Lemon & Citrus Fruits

Lemons and the other citrus fruits are packed with the compound D-limonene, which increases liver enzymes so that the body is better able to metabolize and remove estrogen. They also provide vitamin C, which has been shown to help clear cortisol after a stressful experience such as an intense exercise protocol.

Eat These:

Lemon, lime, grapefruit, and oranges may all have hormone-balancing effects, but you may want to supplement to realize notable effects. One study found cortisol lowering effects from 1 gram of vitamin C after a tough workout, but to get this amount, you’d have to eat roughly 35 lemons. D-limonene can also be supplemented to aid with estrogen metabolism.

#9: Yogurt & Fermented Foods

Fermented foods provide beneficial probiotic bacteria that has been shown to moderate blood sugar and lower the insulin release of high-carb meals. Probiotic foods can also help moderate cortisol release and they impact neurotransmitters, which function similar to hormones, impacting everything from energy levels to mood.

Eat These:

Along with high-quality yogurt, other cultured dairy products contain probiotics, such as cheese, sour cream, and kefir. Pickled vegetables such as sauerkraut, ginger, and kim chi are additional probiotic foods to use as condiments to spice up your meals.

#10: Blueberries & Tart Cherries

Blueberries and other dark-colored, delicate fruits are packed with antioxidants that improve insulin action, lowering markers of inflammation that impair hormone release. Different fruits may have unique hormone balancing benefits: Tart cherries have been shown to raise levels of the sleep hormone melatonin, resulting in a more restful night.

Eat These:

Along with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and more exotic berries like lingonberries all have insulin sensitizing benefits, making them great for adding to oatmeal and other higher carb foods that raise blood sugar. For more concentrated effects, you can get supplemental juice or powder—try tart cherry juice concentrate added to water to counter insomnia.

#11: Green Tea

Green tea reduces levels of the aromatase enzyme that transforms testosterone into estrogen, thereby avoiding excess production of estrogen. This pays off in terms of lower cancer rates in people who regularly drink green tea. The antioxidants in green tea may also improve insulin signaling and lower cortisol, for less stress and better blood sugar balance.

Drink This:

Avoid adding sugar to green because this will negate the insulin benefits.

#12: Avocado, Olives & Coconut

Most people think of these plants as vegetables but they are actually high fat containing foots that provide abundant nutrients necessary for hormone balance: Magnesium, B vitamins, and vitamin C are a few. Additionally, they all contain robust levels of antioxidants that lower inflammation and the healthy fats they contain improve insulin signaling and lower cortisol.

How To Eat Them:

By eating these healthy fats with high-carb foods you can lower the insulin response by slowing digestion and moderating the rise in blood sugar.

#13: Legumes

Lentils and legumes are rich in fiber, antioxidants, and contain a decent amount of protein for a plant-based food. This combination makes them effective for improving insulin sensitivity and lowering glucose levels when they are regularly consumed as part of the diet. The fiber they contain may also assist with elimination of excess estrogen that is on its way out of the body. White beans in particular contain a powerful cortisol lowering nutrient called phosphatidylserine.

Eat These:

Lentils, chick peas, and other beans (black, pinto, red, white, etc.) are all associated with less inflammation and an improved health profile. Cook them with spices (cinnamon, cumin, turmeric) and add them to salads or vegetable dishes.

#14:Dark Chocolate

The antioxidants in super dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa solids) has several hormone balancing benefits:

• They can improve serotonin and improve mood.
• They reduces inflammation and improves insulin sensitivity of higher carb foods.
• They aids gut health and improves digestion—a key action that will lead to altered cortisol if not functioning properly.

How To Eat It:

Science hasn’t identified an optimal chocolate dose, but a good bet is a square or two of dark chocolate that is more than 70 percent dark because this will be higher in the protective polyphenols. Check the label and make sure there are no chemicals, fake sweeteners, or high fructose corn syrup in your chocolate.

#15:Red Wine (in moderation).

The impact of alcohol on hormones is not cut and dried: For some people, having an occasional glass of red wine will help relieve stress and lower cortisol. However, if you overdo it, or choose unhealthy alcoholic beverages, you will compromise hormone balance, raising estrogen, lowering testosterone, and harming insulin sensitivity.

Drink This:

Sardinian and Spanish red wines tend to be rich in antioxidants may help remove excess estrogen. The key is to pair wine with a healthy diet and avoid overdrinking.