Live Hormonally Balanced

Everyone talks about using colon cleanses or detoxing kits to remove toxins and waste, but we hear little about the need to detoxify hormones. If you are not efficiently releasing old or excess hormones, they can begin to recirculate and create hormone havoc. In both men and women alike, the hormones estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, and the thyroid all have to be in balance.

If one hormone becomes dominant over another, then we develop a hormone imbalance. Estrogen dominance is a very common situation whereby estrogen becomes dominant over the other hormones, resulting in endometriosis, heavy periods, uterine fibroids, no ovulation, ovarian cycsts, breast lumps, PCOS, raging PMS and more. Not only does the body produce estrogen but we are also bombarded by estrogen mimickers in our environment that need to be detoxified from the body.

Some of the easiest ways to remove these harmful excess hormones from the body are the following:

• Increase your intake of healthy fibre through colourful fruits and vegetables, raw almonds, walnuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, ground flax seed, and Hemp Hearts. These help to bind to excess estrogen and toxins in the body and draw them out through colon.
• Drink nothing but pure water and caffeine free herbal teas. Caffeine and all the sugars from juice, syrup-based lattes and store bought smoothies compound the problem.
• Get to bed on time, no later than 10:30-11pm each night.
• Try using thyroid supporting herbs like Holy Basil/Tulsi which you can take as a soothing tea or in tincture form.
• Try adding chlorophyll into your water daily to help detox the liver, blood, breath and colon.
• Eliminate the use of; plastics containers, commercial cleaning products, commercial skin or hair care products, and conventional tampons/pads/lubricants. All of these products may contain parabens, sodium lareth sulfate and other harmful chemicals, known as xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are the chemical forms of estrogen, and they can cause reproductive cancers, irregular menstrual cycles, painful, heavy periods, PMS, weight gain, PCOS, insulin resistance, digestive upset and skin problems, just to name a few.
• Exercise! Move your body to move the toxins. Walking, biking, circuit training, pilates and yoga; all are great forms of movement to engage your body, mind and keep the body vital.

Fall is in full swing and while it can be a beautiful time of year, it’s hard not to notice that the days are getting shorter and cooler. That means we’re spending less time outdoors soaking up that all-important vitamin D (our happiness vitamin), leaving us feeling fatigued, sluggish, and unmotivated.

As our moods dip along with the temperature, it’s easy to get pretty bummed out. But like with any season of transition, there is no better time to get grounded, calm, and connected to your body and lifestyle goals. These four key steps will help you maintain a balance and connection to your nutrition, fitness, and well-being from November to March. Click here to read the rest of this article, all about getting your body moving through fall, which I wrote for Stong Fitness Magazine.

My final bits of advice would be to LOVE your body, to make the TIME for your body in the most wonderful NURTURING way possible. It is not being selfish to take time for self-care. Show your body the same love, care and respect you are handing out to everyone else around you.

Next time you take a shower, take some extra time to give your skin and lymphatic system some love, by trying out my Vanilla Booty Scrub. This gentle exfoliator will help to remove dead skin cells and nourish your skin, both inside and out.  You can use this scrub on your whole body, but pay some extra attention to that booty!

Homemade Vanilla Booty Scrub

• ½ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a small dish combine all 3 ingredients until creamy smooth. You can adjust how much coconut oil and sugar based on how “scrubby” you would like yours to be.