How can we optimize our hormone balance? Well, one way is to make sure we are getting all the proper nutrients from our diets. So just what is a “proper” diet? I am not sure anyone knows what a perfect diet is but I am going to give you my opinion (at the moment anyway) of what I think we should eat like. I am basing my opinion on literally hundreds of diet books, research articles, journal articles, and some good old common sense. I deal with alot of hormone issues for sure, but I also see my share of autoimmune diseases, heart issues, diabetes/insulin issues, and other crazy dis-eases. The diet I am going to share with you all can help any of these issues.
Our digestive system was designed to be perfect for us. We should be able to digest what we need and thrive…not get sick or fat. If we go back in time to the time of earliest man…the hunter/gatherers…what food did they have and eat? Did they eat bread? Did they eat sugar? Did they eat rice? Did they eat cheese sticks? You get the idea. They actually ate (confirmed by numerous archeological studies) meat, fish, nuts, seeds, and fruits/vegetables in season. They ate what they could find off the land and in the seas. Their diet was very high fat, high protein, high fiber, and carbohydrates only from fruits and vegetables. They did not have fields of wheat or rice or quinoa to harvest their whole grains from. In fact, they didn’t eat grains/beans/legumes at all. These foods are all the by product of agriculture which came many, many years later. So maybe or digestive system is meant to be without grains/beans/legumes???? Maybe this WHOLE GRAIN rage is wrong? Maybe we should eat more animal protein and less tofu and beans? Like I said, no one knows what perfect is…this is a theory. If you want tons of evidence on the theory it exists.
Why not eat grains/beans? They actually contain some little molecules that cause gut irritation and therefore immune stimulation. This constant inflammation of the gut can lead to numerous health issues. They also contain a lot of carbohydrates per volume and if a person doesn’t burn those carbs they are stored eventually as fat. Triglycerides and VLDL cholesterol can be an indicator of this problem. You can store these fats in your liver which can eventually cause non-alcoholic liver disease. You can create an insulin resistance from excess carbohydrates. You can end up with elevated cholesterol and diabetes with too many carbs too! Agh! The list goes on and without getting too biochemical geeky on you…you get the idea.
So what do grains/beans do to hormone balance? Well, if you recall from last article I spoke about the female and the stress hormones in relation to different disease illnesses. You make all your hormones from your cholesterol…that is why no fat diets can really screw people up! So we need good cholesterol. Next, we get B vitamins from animal proteins and these proteins are crucial for all the reactions that take place in our liver to deal with hormones. When people eat more carbs (grains especially) they can develop an insulin resistance which then can contribute to polycystic ovarian syndrome (very common today). Also, your growth hormones come from healthy proteins. Oh, and your thyroid needs tyrosine to function properly (yep, tyrosine is from animal proteins).
One question I often get is “does this diet throw you into ketosis”? Great question. Yes it does…and we want that. ALL biochemistry books say that your brain, kidney, heart, and liver actually prefer ketones over glucose as fuel (most doctors/nutritionists forget all their biochemistry the day they pass the class). That’s right, our body actually prefers to burn ketones as fuel. It takes about 2 weeks for the body to use up it’s glucose stores to start to burn fats/proteins as fuel…this fuel is the ketones I speak of. So instead of burning all those carbs you used to eat as gas, we start to burn fat instead….ooooohhhh, doesn’t that make your butt feel smaller already?!
I challenge anyone to a 30 day trial of this primitive way of eating. If you have hormone or health issues they will benefit from this nutritional plan. Do a before and after cholesterol panel and surprise the heck out of yourself and your physician. Here are the basics.
Can eat:
Animal protein–GRASS fed or wild meat (if we are avoiding grains we don’t want to eat corn/grain fat protein!), fish and eggs ORGANIC–doesn’t mean grass fed…check labels. (upto 1 gram protein per pound of body weight per day)
Carbohydrates/fiber–all the vegetables you want and fruit in moderation (no white potatoes and no corn). Athletes can add more carb in form of sweet potatoes.
Fats–nuts, seeds, coconut oil, and some olive oil
Dairy–avoid for 30 days then try yogurt (plain) or even a little cheese….no milk.
Beverages–tea, coffee, water, coconut milk (no soy or rice milk either)
Exercise–30 minutes per day of strength moves or intervals (think pushups, lunges, squats, jumps etc.)
A perfect diet doesn’t mean perfect hormones but man can it help! Eating this primitive way can increase bone density, reduce PMS, eliminate PCOS, lower blood sugar/HgA1c, lower cholesterol, decrease autoimmune reactions/diseases, improve thyroid function, help out your stress glands, reduce body fat, and…..make you feel spectacular. If you want more proof or resources check out robbwolf.com or his book PALEOSOLUTION, everydaypaleo.com, or read Gary Taubes book GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES. THe science does exist!!!! Wake up America!!!!