Ready to set your New Years resolutions?
Here are some suggestions for easy-to-achieve resolutions that can make a difference in your hormone balance!
- Use only paraben-free personal care products Parabens are chemicals commonly used as preservatives in lotions, shampoo, makeup etc. They are hormone disruptors – meaning they interfere with how your hormones function.
Take a few minutes to read the labels of your products and toss any that contain parabens. In 2019, read labels before you buy, and make sure to leave products with parabens on the shelf at the store.
2. Eat at least one serving of leafy greens every day.
Leafy greens are packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants and have many health benefits for your hormones. Most of us simply don’t eat enough, but there are lots of options: collard greens, spinach, kale, beet greens, romaine and other lettuces, etc.
Make a salad, stir fry with garlic, toss in a smoothie…. If you think you don’t like greens, it may be that you just need to experiment a little bit to find some recipes that you like. If you learn to make them taste good, it is easy to stick to eating them regularly!
3. Start a mindfulness practice. Stress is a huge cause of hormone issues. Stress affects cortisol, your main stress hormone, causing you to gain belly fat. It also plays an important role in regulating your other hormones! When cortisol is out of whack, it throws your other hormones out of whack too.
If only I could stick the benefits of meditation into a pill! But just like exercise, meditation is something that only YOU can do for yourself. The truth is that meditation can be a little hard (especially for type A, driven people who probably need it the most!).
To help you get started, download an app on your phone called “CALM”. It is free, and offers some quick and simple breathing exercises and guided meditations to get you started. It also reminds you each day to take a couple of minutes to spend on yourself. Self care isn’t selfish – its important!
These suggestions can help get you started on a healthy path to balanced hormones for the new year, because you deserve to LOVE the way you feel!
Yours in health!
Dr Deb
