Hormonal Balance Begins in Your Gut
Change is the only constant they say, but this is especially true for women, whose bodies are in a constant state of fluctuation from puberty through menopause—and beyond. Each phase of the menstrual cycle and of life presents the potential for hormones to upend how a woman feels, thinks, and acts. Since we've been on this planet, these female patterns have aroused much intrigue, fear, confusion, and suffering. And while there have been many efforts to demystify the menstrual cycle through science, folklore, and more, what happens to our bodies monthly is still a mystery, even to the women experiencing it.
"Why does my cycle vary so much from month to month?" "Will menopause ever end?" " How do I optimize my fertility?"
are questions many women ask themselves, doctors, the internet, and tend to receive answers in pharmaceuticals that may provide temporary relief or a facade of "stability" to hormonal fluctuations. But in reality, fighting our natural chemicals with artificial ones is doing no good to our long-term health when it comes to reproduction. Every woman's idea of hormonal balance will be unique to her, factoring in physiology, different life stages, etc. No one-size-fits-all protocol or set of practices will adequately or effectively cover that topic(sorry, Google). However, there is one approach to a hormonal balance that does apply to everyone, including people who don't get a period: digestion. As a matter of fact, digestion is the most critical player in ensuring that our entire system, including reproduction, is healthy and nourished.
When we talk about "hormonal imbalances," we mainly speak about reproductive hormones. Still, our bodies are literally saturated with hormones that have nothing to do with reproduction. Hormones are nothing more than chemical messengers that tell certain parts of the body to do things. Thanks to hormones, we wake up in the morning and fall asleep at night, feeling sad or ecstatic, hungry and full, stressed or relaxed. That final pair of feelings in the body—stress versus relaxation, is where we can explore the nexus of reproductive health and digestion in a highly transparent way. It begins in the brain, where our autonomic nervous system, the part we can’t control, cycles through two phases: sympathetic and parasympathetic. The sympathetic nervous system wakes us up and keeps us safe in the face of potential or actual danger. Our bodies go into "fight/flight/freeze" mode thanks to a surge of stress hormones—adrenaline and cortisol—that direct the entire system to protect itself. Our heart and lungs pick up the pace to send blood and oxygen to our muscles, and the senses sharpen. Then our bodies are flooded with glucose for energy. At the same time, background "maintenance" functions like digestion, elimination, immunity, cell repair, and reproduction get turned off because they're not essential when your life is threatened. Those are the job of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is also called "rest and digest." Without these, we wouldn't be able to build up the physical structures our bodies need to exist long-term, but when our lives are at stake the body (smartly) deprioritizes them in favor of short-term survival.
Because stress and relaxation can't exist simultaneously, we're in a conundrum when, in our modern world, we're constantly experiencing low (or high!) levels of stress. From work or family responsibilities, a pandemic, or a war, there are plenty of reasons to feel unsafe—meaning our digestive and reproductive capacity are diminished, if not totally turned off, most of the time, even when our survival is not actually at risk. Our bodies were designed to rebound from short-term stress. But under chronic stress, our stores of adrenaline and cortisol run out, and the body resorts to converting reproductive hormones into stress hormones to keep up the vigilance against the danger it senses lurking in our inboxes, phones, and TVs. Increased stress will also, of course, diminish our ability to fully digest our food, even the healthy kind. So we also won't get the nutrition we need to maintain all the systems of the body, including reproduction. Imbalances in these hormones can show up in several different ways, but it all comes back to how our bodies are coping with stress. Finding ways to reduce our stress response, even if we can't remove the cause, is absolutely the best solution to this problem. Not everyone has the time and budget for stress-reducing activities such as apps, classes, and programs that teach you meditation, yoga, and other mindfulness techniques, nor is this going to be everyone's preference. There is, however, a common ground through food. We indirectly support our body's ability to turn off the stress response and enter into rest and digest mode when we find ways to ensure our digestive system is balanced by choosing foods and eating habits that balance the mind.
In Ayurveda, healthy digestion doesn't just involve what we eat, since what each of us needs to be healthy will vary but rather how we eat.
Choosing foods that are in their whole form, rather than highly processed or "enhanced," cooked foods (preferably at home or by someone who loves you), and eating without multitasking, all will naturally bring the body into a state of relaxation. In this state, the functions of digestion and reproduction turn on and save our precious reproductive hormones from turning into stress food. When we give attention to our digestive process by paying attention to our food with our senses, we allow the digestive process to be more complete and satisfying. And eating at regular mealtimes will curb snack attacks, which spike insulin and can affect other hormonal messages, and realign your circadian rhythm, setting you more in tune with the functions of the thyroid (and thyroid hormones) as well.
While we can’t prescribe just one food or diet to support hormones, we can identify particular foods that have more of an affinity to reproductive health and promote relaxed and complete digestion overall. This simple yet flavorful bowl is an excellent option for lunch, dinner, or even breakfast. It can be a great way to ease into the kitchen if cooking is new to you or forgotten art, or if you’re balancing a full schedule with a need to incorporate more edible nourishment. Thes specific ingredients are great for supporting reproductive health, but you can use them as a template for any mix of grains, vegetables, and sauce that suits your taste.
Beets nourish the blood and plasma that make up the menstrual cycle in women; they're also sweet and grounding, which supports digestive and emotional relaxation.
Brown rice offers filling digestible fiber to help you stay satisfied, energized, and promote healthy elimination.
Rosemary balances the mind and promotes digestion.
Clove, ginger, and turmeric warm the body and stimulate the appetite and digestive tract.
Sunflower seeds warm the body, nourish with healthy fat, and are phytoestrogenic (plants that create an estrogenic effect).
Avocado nourishes and lubricates the deep layers of tissue with healthy fat.
Read more about herbal cooking and self-care rituals for digestive, mental, and reproductive health in my cookbook Root & Nourish- An Herbal Cookbook for Women's Wellness.
Nourishing Beet Bowl with Brown Rice and Avocado Pesto
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 45 minutes Serves: 2
Ingredients:
3 large beets, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil or ghee
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 cup brown rice, rinsed
2 cups water
Pinch sea salt
3 whole cloves (or ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves)
1 tablespoon fresh or dried rosemary, chopped
10 grinds black pepper
¼ cup raw sunflower seeds
1 avocado
Juice of 1 lemon
1 packed cup chopped fresh herbs (any combination of cilantro, parsley, dill)
Dash of garlic powder, to taste
Prep:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Arrange the beets and shallot on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and toss with the ginger and turmeric. Roast for about 45 minutes until the beets are soft and browned.
Combine the rice, water, salt, cloves, rosemary, and black pepper in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer, cover lightly with a lid, and cook for about 30 minutes until the rice is tender (it will still have a chew) and the water is absorbed.
In a food processor, blitz the sunflower seeds into a coarse powder. Add the avocado, lemon, herbs, and garlic powder. Blitz again until smooth, adding a bit of water or more lemon juice if you like the sauce to be looser.
To serve, place a scoop of beets and rice in each bowl. Add a dollop of the avocado pesto, and any additional fresh herbs, salt, pepper, or spices you prefer.
Store any leftovers in separate containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If the avocado pesto turns brown, simply give it a stir and another squeeze of lemon juice to revitalize the green color.
Want to learn more about incorporating Ayurveda into your life? Join Jennifer in a two-week seasonal reset, starting March 31. Through sense-care, a simplified diet, and mind-body relaxation, we'll prepare our bodies to transition into the spring season with clarity, energy, and renewal. It's the perfect introduction to Ayurvedic principles if you're new, and a way to deepen your practice and refresh your routines if you're more familiar. Read more and sign up for the program here, and save 10% when you use code UWMAG at checkout.
Written by:
Jennifer Kurdyla
Jennifer Kurdyla is an Ayurvedic Health Counselor, yoga teacher, and writer. Plant-based since 2008, she learned to love food by experimenting with vegan and Ayurvedic cooking in her tiny New York kitchen. She is the co-author of Root & Nourish: An Herbal Cookbook for Women's Wellness (Tiller Press) and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Read more about her holistic health services and educational resources at www.jenniferkurdyla.com and Instagram @jenniferkurdyla.