HOW TO BALANCE YOUR HORMONES AND OPTIMISE YOUR NUTRITION
We chatted to Holistic Health Coach and Nutritionist Roxy Marrone on her personal health journey as well as her top tips on how she works with her body to promote hormonal balance and wellbeing…
The common thread of this year is Hormonal Imbalance. Why are so many women suffering?
Historically, we have been told statements with one person saying one thing and the next saying the opposite, often leaving us confused and unsure of what we should actually do! We have been conditioned to not listen to our own bodies and put our trust in others over something that should be dictated by how we feel. The only person who knows that is YOU. But do we ever check in with ourselves? And check how we ACTUALLY feel over being told how we SHOULD feel?
My name is Roxy. I'm a holistic health coach who balanced her hormones and cleared her skin naturally through the power of nutrition, brain re-wiring and personalised self-care. I honed into mind, body, spirit and skin practices that made me whole again. This led me to create my purpose and life's work, Eyeam. A community-driven wellness destination on a mission to align your skin with your mind, body, and spirit through natural healing ingredients, science, affirmation rituals and education.
If you're reading this because you've just embarked on a healing journey. I want to start and say I am so proud of you. The first step is always the hardest. Healing is messy, healing is non-linear, and what has been done over years can't be undone in days. Be patient and KNOW healing is already yours.
So, what can cause hormonal imbalance?
- under-eating
- lack of food diversity
- over-exercising
- "intermitting" fasting and long periods of fasting
- stress
- binge drinking
And trust me, I did 6/6 for a long time, which eventually caused my own struggle with no periods, inflammation, anxiety, hormonal imbalance and acne. It was only when I reevaluated my lifestyle that I could heal from within. One way to start is with food. Food is medicine and has so many incredible benefits. When you start adding items to your plate that will positively impact your life, it changes the game! Foods like turmeric for inflammation, ginger for immunity, parsley for water retention, salmon for omega 3's and protein, and beetroot for cardiovascular health. Your body responds to it and reacts in synergy with these healing properties.
Not only does a well-balanced diet positively impact your hormone levels, supporting various bodily functions that you need to function, but fuels us with divine power and energy that feeds our masculine and feminine energy.
My hormone healing toolbox:
Eat the Rainbow + Focus on an Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Inflammatory diets contain high omega-6 fatty acids, contributing to heavier PMS and bleeding. Inflammation can be caused by diet (food sensitivities, allergens, processed foods and chemicals) and environmental factors like stress, lifestyle and environmental toxins. But it's important not to restrict or undereat; that stress can cause the same amount of inflammation! When you eat a colourful and varied diet, you'll eat whole, nutrient-dense foods with vitamin B, iodine, selenium, folate, magnesium, etc., to either build out the hormones or clear them out!
HUX Complete Daily Greens
Another convenient and efficient way to ensure you're giving your body essential nutrients every single day is through a greens powder. HUX Health's Complete Daily Greens is my personal favourite because it’s packed full of hormone balancing nutrients such as magnesium and vitamin D. They only use the highest quality ingredients, sourced naturally, and combine them in such a way to maximise their bioavailability. What this means is that your body actually absorbs them.
A lot of greens powders on the market will include very small amounts of certain nutrients, simply so they can put them on the label, or in formats that your body can't actually absorb. That's a waste of your time and money.
HUX's daily greens powder contains vitamins A, C and D, as well magnesium, a crucial mineral for promoting hormonal balance and numerous functions throughout the body.
I'm such an advocate for getting the majority of your nutrition through your diet, but today's lifestyles are often busy and hectic, and it can be difficult to hit your nutritional targets through your diet alone. HUX Complete Daily Greens is like your nutritional insurance policy, by drinking this everyday you can rest assured you're giving your body all those gut loving, hormone balancing nutrients it craves.
Get back to basics:
Eat balanced meals and maintain stable blood sugar: Eating all macros (fats, protein, vegetables, and carbs) at regular times helps keep your blood sugar stable. Female hormones like progesterone love blood sugar stability; when this is balanced, it helps prepare you for your ovulatory phase (roughly days 14,15,16 of the cycle). Things like drinking coffee on an empty stomach, skipping breakfast, and constant caloric restriction can affect the thyroid, libido and stress, leading to unbalanced hormones + blood sugar. Our Hormone Check drops contain berberine, an excellent natural ingredient to maintain a balanced blood sugar!
HUX’s Complete Daily Greens is also a great way to start your day, you’re literally flooding your body with essential nutrients as well as 5 grams of plant-based protein, this is great for stabilising hormones first thing in the morning and a much better and more natural energy boost than your morning coffee.
When we wake up our cortisol levels are naturally high and need time to come down before we spike them up with a caffeine boost. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and a place for coffee, but try and wait at least an hour from waking up to that first sip…
Focus on brain health
It all starts with the signals from your brain. That's why eyeam advocates for self-regulation as much as possible. Affirmation practice is a powerful healing tool, and we've created the eyeam prescription: repeating an affirmation whilst applying our products. Not only does this help cement the ritual into an automatic response so that it becomes second nature, but affirmation practice is proven to alleviate threat and defensiveness (our fight or flight response). Each product has a tailored affirmation to help shift your mindset and re-write your new story. Combined with powerful ingredients found in our Hormone Check Drops. Our star ingredient, TIMUT PEPPER, is a clinically proven and innovative new ingredient that boosts the brain-skin axis, enhancing cognitive performance, elevating mood levels, and reducing mental fatigue.
Regular movement aligned with your cycle
The female hormone system is so beautifully complex and needs different things at different times to function optimally and avoid PMS. PMS is common but NOT normal. I used to do 4x HIIT workouts a week and ran 45 mins x2 a week… which ALWAYS came from a place of "'I need to lose weight quick and fast". Your hormones hate this, especially if you already have a high-stress job or home environment.
My go-to weight training. Why?
When we contract our muscles, they release something called cytokines, which is a protein that moves all around the body and helps support + balance your hormones. It releases a specific muscle-derived interleukin 6, which is anti-inflammatory and helps regulate your immune response. Interleukin-6 also helps with insulin resistance (which affects blood sugar), increases BDNF (Brain-derived neurotrophic factor - essential for memory and learning), and helps with the survival of neurons and neuroplasticity. Combining that with a good protein source like the HUX greens powder is a match made in heaven for your hormones.
Steady cardio, like walking, has modulatory effects on your cortisol (stress hormone) and regulates your HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal), which triggers your stress response.
I recommend HIIT during your follicular and ovulatory phase (Day 4-16), and then opt in for more strength training, Pilates, or walking during your luteal and menstrual phases. This will alleviate unwanted bloating, inflammation, fatigue or PMS when you hit your luteal. Always listen to your body and it's needs. This is a guideline, not a regimen.
Visit both our websites to explore our range of hormone-friendly self-care products and hormone hacks to start your journey towards hormonal balance and self-love today.
Love Roxy