Maintaining health, strength, and vitality is an admirable goal at any age, but it’s also a goal that can be impossible to achieve if your hormone levels are out of whack. Hormone imbalances don’t have to be an inevitable aspect of aging, however. In fact, your hormone levels can decline or become dysregulated at any age.
The good news, though, is that there are many highly effective strategies you can use to help regulate your hormones naturally, no matter your age or gender. We’ll show you some of the best!
Supporting Healthy Hormone Levels Through Diet
One of the best ways to achieve optimal hormone levels is through your diet. Testosterone, for instance, is vital both to overall health and to quality of life for women and men alike. Indeed, not only does testosterone support a healthy sex drive for both men and women, but it also facilitates bone and muscle strength, red blood cell production, and even an elevated mood.
Unfortunately, though, testosterone levels begin to decline by age 30, meaning that you can often begin feeling the effects even in the prime of life, when health and vitality should be at their peak.
Fortunately, it’s possible to arrest and even reverse these declines in testosterone. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, with ample exercise and supplementation, especially with Vitamin D is a highly effective way to increase testosterone levels.
One of the best natural solutions, though, is through diet. Eating a healthy diet of whole foods that are rich in healthy fats, carbohydrates, and proteins will give your body both the calories and the nutrients it needs to maintain optimal testosterone levels. To achieve the best results, though, it’s a good idea to opt for organic, non-GMO foods, as these are often ideal when you’re looking to change your diet to improve overall health and wellness.
Healthy Sleep
All too often we overlook the health benefits of sleep, but if you want to attain optimal hormone levels at any age, then getting consistent, healthy sleep is a must. Restful sleep, especially REM sleep, is essential for hormonal balance. When you sleep, your body replenishes the hormones responsible for some of the body’s most important functions, including supporting stamina, immunity, and mood.
Getting healthy sleep consistently isn’t always easy, however. This is why cultivating good sleep hygiene and a sound bedtime ritual is so important. At the very least, you should go to bed and wake up at the same time each day to help regulate your body’s circadian rhythms. You should also set aside all blue-light emitting electronic devices at least a couple of hours before bedtime, as blue light can significantly decrease the brain’s ability to produce melatonin.
Ideally, you’ll want to keep your room cool to ensure a sound night’s sleep, and you should create a soothing ritual before lying down to help your mind and body prepare for sleep. This might involve a warm bath, reading, listening to music, or eating a light snack. Certain herbal teas, such as those containing chamomile, peppermint, or valerian, are ideal for helping you fall asleep and stay asleep.
Regular Exercise
Getting regular exercise is another natural and effective way to support healthy hormone levels. This can be especially important if you have been diagnosed with a metabolic disorder that can make it difficult for you to regulate your hormone levels through diet.
Consulting with an exercise physiologist can be a perfect way to define your exercise needs and create a regimen that will help you meet your health goals.
Managing Stress
You may be surprised to learn that one of the leading causes of hormonal imbalance is stress. When you’re under stress, your brain floods the body’s systems with cortisol, triggering a stress response that impacts the entire body, including the endocrine system.
So if you want to maintain peak hormone levels, then you must learn to control your stress. This can be especially important for women experiencing the hormonal fluctuations associated with menstruation and menopause. In addition to incorporating the lifestyle changes described above, from diet to sleep to exercise, you can also integrate proven stress management techniques such as meditation and mindfulness.
Watch Your Vitamin D
You might not give a lot of thought to your Vitamin D levels, but if you want to manage your hormone levels, then Vitamin D may be the key. Studies show a large segment of the adult population, male and female alike, is deficient in Vitamin D. Because Vitamin D is a hormone that regulates a wide array of bodily systems, from the cardiovascular to the musculoskeletal, when you’re running low, your quality of life is going to suffer.
To boost your Vitamin D levels, you need to ensure you get regular sunlight exposure and eat calcium-rich foods. For most of us, though, supplementation may also be needed to get us to the levels our bodies need.
The Takeaway
Declining and dysregulated hormone levels don’t have to rob you of your health and vitality. No matter your age or gender, it’s possible to maintain optimal hormone levels through natural means. This often involves the adoption of a healthy lifestyle, from eating a proper diet to getting consistent sleep, to exercising regularly and getting ample Vitamin D.
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