Your hormones are made in multiple different endocrine glands including your brain, adrenals, pancreas, thyroid, parathyroid, reproductive glands, as well as your digestive tract. The key to proper hormone function comes down to balance. If hormones are either too high or too low, it can spell trouble for the rest of your overall health. There is so much information on the web about different diets designed to bring relief to even the most chronic health problems. But when it comes down to it, which one is going to truly help you thrive? Well, ultimately it depends on exactly what you are going through, and even then, what works for one person doesn’t always work for the next even if they have the same diagnosis. With that said, there are a few specific eating styles that I often see work wonders for those dealing with hormone imbalance. Going through my own personal experience in my practice and the latest research, I put together a definitive ranking of the best diets for hormone balance: Autoimmune conditions are often a result of genetic weaknesses being triggered by an autoimmune system response to toxins, food proteins, or chronic viral, bacterial, and yeast infections, which creates a cascade of inflammation in the body. The AIP diet is designed to take out all foods that could potentially be inflammatory. It is ultimately stricter than your traditional paleo diet; it also takes out eggs, nuts and seeds, chocolate, and nightshades such as all types of peppers and tomatoes. These foods tend to evoke an inflammatory response in those with autoimmune issues. This is a high-fat diet by design with moderate protein intake and low carb. Depending on your weight and individual goals, each person has different daily calorie goals with a specific ratio of fat, protein, and carbs, making it much more than just a high-fat, low-carb diet. The whole goal of this diet is to reach ketosis, a state where instead of using glucose for energy, your body uses ketones. Ketones are produced from fat when your body no longer has a glucose source. From a biological1 and evolutionary2 perspective, your body has always needed fat for fuel. As a baby you relied on fat in the form of breastmilk for brain growth and development, and your brain is about 60 percent fat! It’s hard to deny the correlation between the way your body is designed and the makeup of a ketogenic diet. Multiple studies have shown this diet’s promise in controlling metabolism and blood sugar problems due to your focus on fat instead of an overload of glucose. And since you aren’t depriving your brain of what it is made of, it can help with adrenal fatigue (HPA-axis dysfunction) and energy restoration. The beauty of going keto is that it can be done in conjunction with whatever other eating plan you are doing. Regardless of what foods you are allowed to eat and are eliminating, you can calculate your ratios and create meals around your approved foods. A ketogenic diet already eliminates grains, sugar, and high-fructose fruits, but if you are following a strict AIP diet, for example, you can still be successful. This diet limits inflammatory foods like grains and all sugars, which can be perpetuating hormonal imbalances as well as autoimmune-inflammation spectrum issues like Hashimoto’s. One of the biggest pros for a paleo diet is its elimination of legumes. All types of beans contain lectin and phytate proteins that can do a number on your digestion, causing bloating, gas, inflammation, and continuing to perpetuate hormone imbalances. When it comes to adrenal fatigue, I’ve found that people with dysfunctions in their circadian rhythms don’t handle intermittent fasting as well. Women also tend to be more sensitive to intermittent fasting than men due to them having a greater amount of the protein kisspeptin, which can further throw off already irregular cycles as well as effect metabolism and fertility. Not to say that IF can never work for these particular hormone imbalances, but a lot of monitoring needs to happen, and it may need to be a more modified approach. If you are dealing with insulin resistance, however, this is where intermittent fasting really shines. This tool is perfect for those looking to improve hunger and blood sugar affecting hormones. Research has proved3 IF’s ability to increase metabolism and lower insulin resistance4. It’s still important to be working with your doctor to monitor your progress with intermittent fasting as your glucose stabilizes. And you don’t have to worry about being more hungry even though you are eating less! Fasting can actually positively affect the hunger hormone, ghrelin, which helps to improve dopamine levels in the brain5—just another example of the gut-brain axis in action. A cutting-edge nutrition deep dive taught by 20+ top health & wellness experts
