Hormones | Signs of Imbalance | Vitamins and Supplements
Hormones play an important role in women’s overall health and wellness, as well as regulating the menstrual cycle, reducing PMS, and managing symptoms associated with menopause.
If you’re feeling overly emotional, stressed, often tired, less in the mood for sex, and regularly craving sweet and salty food, your hormones could be out of balance.
The good news is, that with some healthy lifestyle changes and the right vitamins and supplements, rebalancing your hormones is possible.
In this article, we’ll outline the best vitamins and supplements to balance hormones in women, allowing you to avoid the unnecessary side effects of synthetic hormones or hormone replacement therapy.
What Do Hormones Do?
As chemical messengers for the endocrine system, hormones deliver information from one set of cells to another and influence how the mind and body function.
For example, hormones like adrenaline, cortisol, estrogen, glucagon, insulin, progesterone, thyroid hormones, and testosterone control bodily functions such as appetite, blood sugar, emotions, energy levels, sleep, and fertility.
Signs That Your Hormones Are Out of Balance
Hormone levels naturally fluctuate at different points in a woman’s life – during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause, for instance.
But although they are natural, these imbalances can impact energy levels, appetite, sleep, and emotions as well as cause some physical changes to the female body. Certain medications and underlying conditions can also cause hormone levels to change.
Below are the most common signs that your hormones are out of balance:
- Mood swings
- Appetite changes
- Low energy levels
- Noticeable weight loss or weight gain
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- Poor concentration
- Breast tenderness
- PMS Symptoms
- Hot flashes
- Night Sweats
- Vaginal dryness
- Infertility
- Growth of facial hair
- Urinary tract infections
- Low libido
- Dry skin or excessively oily skin
- Fatigue
- Water retention or bloating
- Interrupted sleep or insomnia
Best Vitamins and Supplements to Balance Female Hormones
Whether you are suffering the symptoms of irregular periods, PMS, PCOS, perimenopause, or menopause, research studies have shown that the following vitamins and supplements can significantly help to rebalance fluctuating hormones.
When used alongside a healthy lifestyle that includes regular exercise and a nutritious diet, the results are even more effective.
1. Chasteberry (Vitex) Supplements
Used by the ancient Greeks as a natural remedy for a myriad of female health conditions, Chasteberry, also known as Vitex or Agnus-Castus, is a powerful supplement for treating hormonal imbalances.
Known to alleviate PMS symptoms like tender breasts and pelvic pain, as well as improve mood swings, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, lack of libido, and insomnia associated with perimenopause, Chasteberry has also been proven to help combat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.
Highly recommended by holistic female health experts, Chasteberry supplements are considered effective in treating hormone imbalances in women of all ages.
See Our Vitex Chasteberry Supplement
2. Magnesium
Magnesium is an important supplement for balancing hormones, but many daily activities like drinking coffee, eating sugar, getting stressed, and not sleeping well can cause magnesium deficiencies in the body.
Taking a daily magnesium supplement, however, can help with the production of hormones like estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone. It also helps to calm the nervous system and alleviate stress & anxiety by reducing the excess production of the hormone cortisol.
Thyroid hormones benefit from supplemented magnesium too, it also encourages regular sleep patterns, and reduces the urge to pee during the night, which helps to keep you sleeping soundly.
3. Probiotics
Believe it or not, gut health and hormones are interconnected. Described by many medical specialists as the second brain, the gut is an essential part of your overall health and wellness.
In fact, almost every disease can be traced back to a connection with poor gut health. Studies have also shown that women with hormonal imbalances have less healthy gut bacteria than normal and for that reason, probiotics are highly recommended for rebalancing hormones.
While probiotic foods such as kimchee, kefir, kombucha, miso, and yogurt help to rebalance gut flora, a daily probiotic, like the Flora Bloom Probiotic For Women, are more reliable and easier to regulate the correct daily dosage required to rebalance your gut flora as well as your hormones.
4. Vitamin D
As well as fortifying bone health, vitamin D regulates the production of hormones like estrogen and progesterone, lowers the risk of thyroid issues, and is considered an important vitamin for maintaining balanced hormones in menstruating, perimenopausal, and menopausal women.
Most of the vitamin D in the body is absorbed from the sun, but it can also be consumed by eating foods like fatty fish and egg yolks.
According to research, however, over 40% of Americans are deficient in vitamin D, so women of reproductive or menopausal age are encouraged to take a daily vitamin D supplement in winter to help keep their hormones balanced.
5. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is not only a vitamin, it is also considered a nutrient & antioxidant, and it plays a vital role in hormonal balance and thyroid health. It also boosts fertility in women of reproductive age, and helps to regulate the adrenal glands, as well as the production of cortisol, thereby reducing feelings of stress and anxiety associated with hormonal imbalances.
For menopausal women, Vitamin C is considered beneficial for cardiovascular health and it helps to keep the skin looking fresh and nourished.
6. B Vitamins
B vitamins are not only important for maintaining balanced hormones and rebalancing them when they fluctuate, but they also contribute to over 100 processes happening in the body every day.
When it comes to hormones, B2, B6, and B12 help women with high levels of estrogen to rebalance their hormone levels by aiding in the production of progesterone.
B vitamin supplements also help the body to lower stress levels, stabilize metabolism and reduce weight instabilities associated with changing hormone levels, in addition to encouraging the production of the “feel good” hormone, serotonin.
7. Myo & D-Chiro Inositol Supplements
While it is not recommended for all women experiencing hormone imbalances, several studies over the last two decades have found that a combination of Myo and D-Chiro Inositol has a significantly positive influence on insulin resistance in women suffering from PCOS.
This powerful supplement is also proving helpful in regulating brain hormones like serotonin and dopamine, reducing testosterone levels, and improving ovarian health – all of which make it easier for women with PCOS to find relief from fluctuating hormones and manage weight gain associated with the condition.
The added ashwagandha and vitamin D in the Myo and D Chiro Inositol Supplement here at Intimate Rose also help to reduce additional symptoms of PCOS like stress and mood swings.
Conclusion
While fluctuating female hormone levels are perfectly normal during different stages of a woman’s life, the ensuing symptoms can result in undesirable physical and emotional effects on the body as well as an upheaval to your lifestyle.
That said, certain vitamins and supplements, which are backed by research, come highly recommended for rebalancing hormones without the side effects of synthetic hormone replacement.
If you are considering taking any of the above-mentioned vitamins or supplements to rebalance your hormones, it’s always best to check with your doctor first, especially if you are taking any other form of medication.
References
WebMD – Do You Have a Hormonal Imbalance? - https://www.webmd.com/women/ss/slideshow-hormone-imbalance
National Library of Medicine - Effects of probiotics supplementation on the hormone and body mass index in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34109594/
National Library of Medicine - Activities of Serum Magnesium and Thyroid Hormones in Pre-, Peri-, and Post-menopausal Women - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6996468/
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition - From vitamin D to hormone D: fundamentals of the vitamin D endocrine system essential for good health - https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/88/2/491S/4649916
National Library of Medicine - Dietary intakes of vitamins B2, B6, and B12 and ovarian cycle function among premenopausal women - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7186155/
National Library of Medicine - Comparison of Vitex agnus-castus Extracts with Placebo in Reducing Menopausal Symptoms: A Randomized Double-Blind Study - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6887765/
National Library of Medicine - Systematic Review of Premenstrual, Postmenstrual and Infertility Disorders of Vitex Agnus Castus - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5308513/
National Center for Biotechnology Information - Effects of Inositol(s) in Women with PCOS: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5097808/