Eating for hormonal balance
Eating for hormonal balance
Taking your health to the next level
Once upon a time I was watching an interview with a legendary guitar player and singer of a very popular rock and roll band. They've been around since the early 70's and have produced some quintessential songs steeped from their Texas blues and rock genesis. In the interview, he was mentioning how he was backstage at a show with a blues giant. Another guitar player superior to him in the pantheon of popular music. An American treasure and a music legend famous for his many renditions of blues folk tunes of a yesteryear. Not to mention, once a confidant of Elvis in his teens in fact. Anyway, they both got to talking about guitar playing when the blues legend asked the Texan what size stings he used. For those that don't know, you can purchase strings as a pack of six (for one guitar) with different thicknesses to taste. Thicker strings are more difficult to play, thinner easier. The Texan retorted that he used rather thick strings, for a deeper tone. To which the blues legend replied, that's great but why work so hard? Ever since that conversation, the Texan has been known to play some insanely thin strings while still possessing a menacing sound. All thanks to a few words of wisdom from a seasoned veteran.
Every day we all make lots of decisions that can impact the quality of our lives. Often, it's the fine details, much like the type of strings used on a guitar, that can have a huge impact. Making sure you're well fed is great. But what and how you eat, that decision process, represents a small effort that can really have a substantial impact to your health.
Consuming foods and supplementing with vitamins to keep your hormone levels in good balance is something that is an underutilized strategy in the health and fitness space. I have heard of some individuals being prescribed by doctors to do so as a reaction to some symptoms or ailments. However, what I like to preach on here is preventative maintenance.
Of course, a male’s hormonal profile will be dominated by an abundance of testosterone with smaller levels of estrogen. A woman's hormonal profile will be the inverse. The idea behind what I am getting at is to eat foods that will enhance one's dominant hormone. And believe it or not it's possible. Will it be the same as getting an injection of testosterone or estrogen? No. Those are in large doses and issued by doctors in extreme cases. Or, in the case of testosterone, sold in the black market and used by body builders whom want the aesthetic of larger muscles. So if you're worried about that, don't be. Rather, you can enhance your dominant hormone levels, via what you eat, ensuring that you have plenty on tap mitigating one's natural tendency to decreasing hormone levels over time. And this is a good thing. A very good thing.
First and foremost, the idea is to eat a well-balanced diet at all times with a proper mix of protein, carbohydrates, and fats (non-saturated) that are sourced from fresh. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish. As minimally processed as possible. At acceptable levels and portions per meal. Doing so will allow you to consume a wide variety of vitamins and minerals that are great for your health, including your base hormone balance, and levels. But if you really want to enhance either your testosterone or estrogen levels, here is the skinny.
For an easy way to naturally increase testosterone, eat foods that are rich in zinc. This shown to increase testosterone levels naturally via many different processes. Basically, it allows your body to have more testosterone it possesses available for use. Enhancing your testosterone levels can improve brain function, fertility (in men), libido, muscle growth and recovery. In fact, one serving of raw oysters, the king of aphrodisiacs, contains something like 1100% the required daily value of zinc. (Note: A humans libido, in many ways, acts as a canary in the coal mine as it were when it comes to overall mental and physical health.) Outside of the foods needed for a basic balanced diet, zinc can be found in nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate. Or, you can supplement with it. Other foods known to increase testosterone sans zinc are: pomegranates (either the whole seed or juice not from concentrate), ashwagandha (available in tea or powder form), and saw palmetto (also available in powder form).
When I first learned of this many years ago, I initially tried to get zinc via food only. Primarily from pomegranate seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. And let me tell you, it did have a very noticeable difference. However, I was literally eating close to 250 extra calories a day in sunflower and pumpkin seeds alone. So, after a while, I settled on supplementing with 50 mg zinc a day. It's easily taken in pill form, doesn't spike up caloric intake, and inexpensive. Vitamins and minerals are best from food, however, I was literally overeating to get a decent amount of zinc daily. As I was in my mid-late thirties at the time, realizing that many of the ailments men face as they age are due to a drop in testosterone levels, I felt it was a wise decision to get a head start and be proactive. Gotta preserve yourself ya know.
For an easy way to increase estrogen levels, eat foods that contain so called phytoestrogens. These are all the phytonutrients in plant-based foods that act like estrogen when we humans consume them. Enhancing estrogen may improve a woman's fertility, libido, brain function, while also helping to regulate her menstrual cycle. In fact, I've even heard some anecdotal evidence that doing so can even help alleviate symptoms of menopause later in life. I've even EVEN heard some other anecdotal evidence that doing so can trigger a woman's body to store more fat in the hips, thighs, and bust. Provided she is eating in a mild caloric surplus with fat to store.
In fact in fact, this makes me recall when I first started to hear the derogatory term soy boy which would be divvied out to males adhering to a vegan diet. Here's is why and where this came from.
The list of foods that contain phytoestrogens is simple. Nuts, seeds, legumes, cruciferous vegetables. Flax seeds seem to be the major player from the nuts and seeds department. Although, peanuts are considered a legume so there's that. Nuts and seeds possess lots of mono and polyunsaturated fat levels which are excellent at helping all facets of your health. Cruciferous vegetables include: broccolli, cabbage, radish, kale, cauliflower, arugula (rocket), horseradish, turnip, rutabaga...to name a few. Legumes are most beans you've heard of: black, red, butter, fava, pinto, lentils, and soybeans. All very easy to come by, very inexpensive, very easy to cook.
Vegans often rely on soybeans as a source of protein. And apparently in doing so, it makes males lose their natural chiseled featured. Essentially, the sheer volume of phytoestrogens they consume from their entirely plant-based diet is causing them to have more softer, rounder, facial and otherwise features. I'm sure there exists at least some truth to this stereotype. Yet I'm sure many more vegan dudes out there do not prove this to be true at all.
All I know is, again anecdotally, woman who have focused on eating foods to enhance their estrogen levels have yielded results in their favor. And since I'm a man I can only go by this. I would say, if you're a lady, you can focus on getting the majority of your carbohydrates from legumes. Add in some cruciferous veg and a decent helping of nuts and seeds every day and you'll be well on your way to making sure you have more than enough estrogen on tap. Expect this strategy to make you feel better and be healthier overall. If you get any aesthetic benefit from this, think of it as a bonus. The health benefits are what's most important.
I must say, from my personal experience I've been constantly amazed of how sensitive the human body is to changes in diet. I've been constantly amazed how the human body reacts to different vitamins and minerals acquired via food or supplementation. Having had my own hormone levels checked, my free and total testosterone levels measure about three quarters (or 75%) up the scale on average. This all the while being deficient in vitamin-D which brings free testosterone levels down. I can only think that this is the case due to my decision many years ago to include those foods that help my body have an abundance of testosterone on tap. My vitamin-D deficiency in and of itself was bad enough, however, my dietary choices ensured that my hormones were not greatly affected. Think of this as an added insurance policy if you will. Almost like a firewall between rooms of a building disallowing a fire to spread and burning the whole building down.
Listen, one can eat whatever they want, whenever they want if they like. Health be damned, pleasure to the max. Ice cream for dinner, hot dogs for breakfast. Snackin' on candy and donuts. Whatever. Or, you could mix in some healthier options to this while still getting in your glutenous thing on. But how are you going to feel physically and mentally afterwards. How is your body going stay healthy. Why make your body work so hard to stay alive?
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