Learning how to regulate hormones can sound like a daunting process. And we get it — it’s a complicated topic, but one we’d love to make more mainstream. As you know, what you put in your body matters, and that resonates for hormone health too.

Hormonal balance is essential for not only optimal hormonal health but for general wellbeing. 

Hormones act as chemical messengers in the body. For instance, every night, your body produces the hormone melatonin. This tells your brain to sleep, explaining why you get sleepy every night.

Ideally, hormones should be balanced, meaning that each hormone falls within optimal levels. When hormone levels are out of whack, problems begin, ranging from mood swings to hair loss and even weight gain.

Here, we’ll demystify how to regulate hormones, like common symptoms to look out for, lifestyle habits to support hormone health, and supplements that can help your hormones naturally balance. 

If you are considering a hormone supplement, keep reading. We’ll help point you towards one that works specifically for you.

Symptoms of Hormonal Imbalance

Hormonal imbalance means one or more of our hormone levels are either too high or too low. When irregularities arise, they can cause subtle but significant effects on your body.

Let’s use an analogy. Anyone who bakes knows the importance of ingredient accuracy. Too much or too little of even one ingredient can affect the overall result. The same is true for hormones — for optimal function, they must all stay at their proper levels.

When it comes to hormones, it’s important to look at your sex hormones, androgens, estrogens, and progestogens. These hormones play a role in everything from sleep to appetite to regulating stress.

So how can you tell if you have a hormonal imbalance? Here are some potential signs and symptoms of hormonal imbalance:

• Weight gain or sudden weight loss
• Chronic fatigue
• Sleep disturbances 
• Muscle weakness
• Chronic stress
• Increased sensitivity to either hot or cold temperature
• Mood changes
• Gut health issues
• Anxiety or depression
• Decreased sex drive
• Infertility
• Increased bowel movements
• Dry skin
• Hair loss
• Changes in heart rate
• Blurred vision 
• Increased hunger and thirst
• Night sweats

How to Regulate Hormones Naturally

One way to naturally improve hormonal imbalances is by making lifestyle changes. Here are some natural ways to correct imbalances while supporting general hormone health.

1. Exercise Regularly

Moving your body is one of the best things you can do to support hormone health. Working out can reduce insulin levels and increase your body’s insulin sensitivity.

Studies show that high insulin levels can correlate with other health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, inflammation, obesity, and even cancer. Worse, high insulin can lead to insulin resistance or your body’s inability to respond to insulin appropriately. 

As your body grows more and more resistant to insulin, your body will try to make up with it by producing more insulin — and the vicious cycle goes round. 

Regular exercise helps you avoid this problem. Strength training, aerobic exercise, and endurance training have been found to reduce insulin levels and improve insulin sensitivity.

2. Get Enough Sleep

Just like exercise, sleep has a strong impact on the health of our hormones. Some hormones, especially those related to our sleep cycles, rise and fall throughout the day. Disrupted sleep inevitably negatively impacts our body’s day and night hormonal cycles.

Understandably, a complete night of sleep is not always possible. For instance, some people work night shifts. If you cannot get enough sleep at night, work on getting quality sleep when you can.

3. Maintain a Healthy Diet and Avoid Overeating

Overeating can affect your hormonal health as well as your overall health. But how does overeating affect hormones?

Overeating impacts our insulin levels. When you overeat — especially when you overeat carbohydrates such as sugary foods (which most people tend to overeat) — you pump too much sugar in our bloodstream, overworking your insulin. 

Carbs are not inherently bad, but over time, this can lead to insulin resistance. Since your body does not respond well to a large number of carbohydrates, it will try to keep up by pumping more insulin, leading to hormonal imbalance and other health issues.

Try to stick to healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and a portion of carbs at every meal. Prioritize vegetables, fruits, and food in their original state. Eating well-rounded meals supports your adrenal glands, thyroid, pancreas, and men and women's reproductive systems.

4. Manage Stress

Stress is one of the major causes of hormonal imbalance if left untreated. When you’re stressed, “stress hormones” such as cortisol and adrenaline go up. In itself, it’s not a problem. It allows you to be more active, alert, and responsive to the threat or stressor at hand.

However, when your stress hormones remain elevated despite no immediate threats, this causes an unnecessary cortisol increase. This can lead to unnecessary anxiety. In the long run, it can even lead to cardiovascular issues.

You cannot avoid stress. But you should strive to manage stress correctly. For example, try to do things that will help you relax. It could be working on your hobby, spending more time with your kids or pet, visiting your family once in a while, working out, or simply listening to relaxing music.

6 Ingredients for Hormone Imbalance

Aside from implementing lifestyle changes, you can also take supplements for hormonal balance. Some supplements can directly or indirectly promote balance and correct any imbalances, which is key for both physical and mental health. 

Here are some of the supplements that you can take to promote hormonal balance:

• Folate
• Magnesium
• Zinc
• Selenium
• Chromium
• Inositol

Let’s dive into the details of each supplement and how they may help you.

1. Folate

Folate, also known as vitamin B9, is part of the B vitamin group. This vitamin can help prevent and treat PMS symptoms like depression, primarily if it works with other nutrients and compounds such as vitamin B6, magnesium, and essential fatty acids.

Folate is mainly known for its benefits on child development — consuming folate can reduce the risk of congenital disabilities during pregnancy. Folate and folic acid can promote healthy brain development through childhood and even teenage years.

2. Magnesium

Magnesium’s importance and benefits go way beyond hormonal health. Magnesium is considered one of the essential minerals for our body, and for excellent reason. This mineral plays in more than 300 biochemical reactions in our body. 

It impacts so many of our physiological and biochemical processes ranging from DNA stabilization and energy production to blood sugar and blood pressure regulation. Magnesium can help with proper nerve and muscle function and even mental health.

Eventually, these effects and benefits can directly or indirectly promote hormonal balance. For instance, studies show that magnesium can help you relax, allowing you to reduce your stress levels and keep your stress hormones at bay.

3. Zinc

Zinc plays a vital role in our hormonal balance and overall hormonal health. For one, studies have shown that zinc supports thyroid health and the endocrine system. The endocrine system regulates all hormones and biological processes in the body, which the thyroid is part of. By supporting thyroid health, zinc also supports our thyroid hormones, mainly total T(3) and RMR, two prominent thyroid hormones. 

Zinc also affects our androgen levels (testosterone). For women, especially if they suffer from PCOS, studies show consuming zinc can help lower testosterone levels and increase sexual function. For men, studies also show zinc can help bring testosterone back to healthy levels.

4. Selenium

Like zinc, studies detail that selenium also plays a crucial role in sustaining thyroid health. Aside from promoting thyroid health, selenium also positively affects cognitive function, immune system, and fertility.

Be sure not to take too much selenium, as it can cause unwanted side effects.

5. Chromium

Chromium is known for its ability to promote a well-balanced sugar level. Studies show it enhances the action of our insulin, thereby making it more effective in utilizing blood sugar.

Improved blood sugar levels may help with problems such as mood swings and fluctuating energy levels.

6. Inositol

Inositol is also known as vitamin B8, although technically, it is not a vitamin. It’s a type of sugar. Inositol is mainly known for how it impacts our body’s response to insulin and influences hormones that play our cognition and mood. 

Studies show that inositol can stimulate the production of the hormones dopamine and serotonin. An increase in production can help with issues such as depression and anxiety and improve overall mood and mental well-being.

As always, make sure you're purchasing from a high-quality brand when you choose supplements. 

Symmetry: Our Hormone-Balancing Supplement 

So, what is the best hormone balancing supplement? We are biased, but for good reason! 

Our hormone health supplement, Symmetry works to balance hormones, level out stress, and assist with weight management. 

The blend includes folate, magnesium, zinc, chromium, selenium, inositol, and a few other ingredients. They work to keep your hormone levels balanced, your stress response moderate, and support a healthy menstrual cycle. 

Whether you're trying to balance out estrogen levels, or support your overall endocrine system, a powerful hormone support supplement can help. Here's to better moods, lower cortisol levels, and overall wellness.