We all know that our hormones are important to our health, but just how is your understanding of the subject?
When these chemicals are thrown out of whack, they will create absolute havoc in our bodies. Hormonal imbalance also contributes to exhaustion, weight gain or loss, headaches, mood swings, acne, insomnia, or digestive issues. Doc-approved intervention strategies to balance out various hormone problems will vary-but they're both likely to look into the eating habits. Why? Because it turns out that the food you consume is more likely to affect your hormones than you thought.
Check out these foods experts say could lead to hormonal woes:
Sugar
When we eat so much sugar, and our body churns out loads of insulin, our cells will gradually become immune to it (a condition called insulin resistance), and excess glucose will stay in our bloodstream. This excess glucose is accumulated as fat, which causes weight gain and places us at risk for type 2 diabetes, according to the CDC. So it's no wonder that a study released in JAMA showed that women who consumed one or two sweetened drinks a day have up to 83% greater chance of having type 2 diabetes over a decade.
People with a family history of insulin resistance or diabetes are more likely to cope with the harmful side effects of going high on sugar. However, none of us are resistant to the hormonal-altering effects of consistent late-night snack bars or a diet high in Skittles, so consume sugar only in moderation.
Coffee
Caffeine in coffee allows the body to increase the development of a hormone called cortisol. Maintaining normal cortisol levels and circadian rhythms helps our immune system function properly-and when our cortisol goes haywire, we may end up with sleep problems, poor blood sugar regulation, slower metabolism, weight fluctuations, reduced immunity, and possibly even feelings of anxiety or depression.
This is why coffee-no matter what the time we drink it-can make us feel jittery or restless and make it hard to fall asleep at bedtime. To stop jacking up the cortisol levels, reduce the consumption of coffee to one cup in the morning, and a lighter cup of tea in the afternoon instead of another round of joe.
Soy
Most of the controversy tied to soy is around phytoestrogens, which are plant substances that function in the same manner as hormone estrogens, according to studies published in Front Neuroendocrinology.
Phytoestrogens can theoretically prevent the actual estrogen from binding to its receptors and increase the amount of estrogen that is then floating in your blood. In exchange, this can affect the levels of testosterone and thyroid hormones. Remember that when one hormone is acting up, it may influence the levels of others.
