“IT’S NOT ME, IT’S MY HORMONES!” - time to take the power back, ladies! 💪 

The challenges of modern life have never been harder. We live in a time referred to as VUCA times, an acronym for the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous moment of contemporary cultural life.

We are faced with social disconnection, unrest, emotional stress and worry about everything from our kids, to our finances to the state of our health.

We are dealing with an assault on every one of our systems, from all areas of our lifestyles, food, pharma, pollution, relationships, and the digital age which has over-activated and over-stimulated our brains, to the point where we are experiencing chronic cognitive overload.

This full body dissonance is one reason why our hormones are suffering more than ever, and the spike in sleep disturbances and depression, anxiety and ADHD, are out of control!

How many of us have “those days” when we wake up wondering what year it is, and instantly wish we could go back to sleep.

Hormonal brain fog and fatigue take that to a whole other level! And they don't only affect us, but also those around us who are counting on us on a daily basis.
Hormonal imbalance can literally ruin lives. It has the power to destroy relationships, families careers, dreams.

Not feeling in control over our own brain and mood, can be the most challenging thing anyone can experience. And when our hormones aren’t balanced, it means that our stress hormones are keeping us up at night — which triggers moodiness, fatigue, poor memory and confusion from the first hours of the morning.

So we’re forced to power through our daily tasks and chores. But that only drains our energy even more and by the end of the day, we’re too tired to spend quality time with our loved ones.

Our hormones cop the blame for so many of our ups and downs in life.  Instinctively, we know that they have a powerful influence over the functioning of our bodies, but often we downplay the impact they have on our capacity to feel calm, cope, be happy and even how “at home” we feel in our bodies.

In essence, our hormones run the show.  The endocrine system (the system of glands that excrete hormones) influence every cell, organ and function of our bodies.

Hormones travel to EVERY organ and tissue to give orders to your cells to do particular things.  They regulate everything from mood to metabolism and guide your growth and development, even before birth.  Hormones are the reason you age (oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone), sleep and wake up (melatonin) and feel hungry (thyroid), stressed (cortisol) or fearful (adrenalin).

So, you can see how hormonal imbalance can have a drastic effect on the body, ranging from serious disorders such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) or hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid) and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), right down to signs and symptoms that sometimes may be out of whack.

SOME OF THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HORMONAL IMBALANCE ARE:

• Heavy or long periods
• Irregular periods/cycle
• PMS
• Mood swings
• Infertility
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Changes in appetite
• Acne
• Dry mouth
• Frequent urination
• Low libido
• Hair loss and hair thinning
• Weight loss or weight gain (unexplained and not by intentional diet changes)
• Depression and anxiety
• Bloating
• Breast tenderness
• PCOS
• Endometriosis
• Thyroid imbalances
• Blood sugar imbalances
• Headaches

While these symptoms are common, they are not normal.  They are a sign that something is out of balance and it likely involves estrogen and progesterone.

Estrogen plays numerous roles in our bodies, including those associated with reproduction, promoting bone density and supporting cardiovascular health.  Challenges occur when there is too much estrogen compared to other hormones, progesterone in particular.

Progesterone is a powerful anti-anxiety agent, an antidepressant and a diuretic which means it helps your body to eliminate excess fluid.

Progesterone controls your monthly menstrual cycle, helps prepare the body for conception and pregnancy, plays a role in libido and helps with sleep too!!

The hormone progesterone is critical during the second phase of a woman’s monthly cycle, the luteal phase.

However, many women don’t produce enough progesterone during this phase and this is the reason why so many women experience such debilitating symptoms or conditions associated with their periods.

 

HOW DID MY HORMONES GET OUT OF BALANCE?

A hormone imbalance is usually a result of several different factors.

• Stress – one of the most common contributing factors to pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) is stress.
• PCOS - rises in testosterone means lower levels of progesterone. 
• Estrogen dominance – occurs whenever a woman produces too much estrogen relative to her progesterone levels.
• Endocrine disruptors mimic hormones to alter how the endocrine system would naturally do things.

Stress and toxic chemicals are the main culprits. There’s no escaping these entirely, however, making conscious lifestyle choices and reducing your exposure to endocrine-disrupting hormones is a great start.

Toxins also play a huge, but overlooked role in hormone imbalance.  As a woman, it is important to understand the harmful effects that toxic ingredients have on the body, that are found in common cleaning, nutrition and personal care products.

These chemicals hang around in our body and throw our hormones out of balance by messing with our liver, our digestive system and even more so, messing with our hormones.

HOW CAN I BALANCE MY HORMONES NATURALLY?

When women understand the impact that imbalanced hormones can have on our lives and health, then they are able to take control of their systems instead of allowing their systems to be in control.

It is possible to introduce a few simple changes into our daily routine that will bring our hormones back to a place of balance.

Whilst it’s not possible to balance your hormones overnight, even small changes implemented over a long period of time will see your symptoms improve.  You have tremendous power over balancing your hormones naturally.

Here are some tips that I hope you will find helpful.

1. Reduce or eliminate sugar and gluten/dairy.

Sugar keeps insulin elevated, knocking other hormones out of balance and paving the way for insulin resistance.  Food sensitivities including gluten and dairy can also increase inflammation and contribute to hormonal imbalances including cortisol. The detrimental effects of these pro-inflammatory foods are far reaching, and set you up for a lifetime of physical and mental health disease.

2. Balance stress levels.

Chronic stress is all-round bad news for hormonal balance, creating or exacerbating hormonal imbalances.  Research shows that a meditation or mindfulness practice can help reduce stress and the negative impact of the cortisol on hormone balance.  They promote healthy moods, good immunity and restful sleep.  Making time to slow down and be present and mindful is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.  Whether is it yoga, deep belly breathing, or even going for a walk.

3. Aim for 8 hours sleep every night.

The rest and repair it offers our body, is critical to life. With great sleep, we have improved memory, cognition and better immune function.

With restorative sleep, we have improved mood, enhanced physical and emotional resilience, increased physical endurance and better hormonal function.

4. Avoid hormone disruptors.

Environmental factors also play a large role in hormonal balance.  There are hundreds of thousands of synthetic chemicals that are either put directly into food, used as pesticides, added into packaging or food processing. Many of these act like hormones and can disrupt a fragile endocrine system by confusing the hormonal messages sent around our bodies, changing our sexual and reproductive health and development. 

 

5. Take a good quality magnesium supplement.

Magnesium helps to relax muscles, it soothes and calms the nervous system and regulates cortisol.  It aids with sleep and is essential for the production of cellular energy.  Magnesium improves the function of insulin, leptin, thyroid and female hormones. It is anti-inflammatory and is essential for the manufacture of both estrogen and progesterone hormones.

6. Eat good quality fats.

Our hormones are made using amino acids from protein and fatty acids from fats. The better quality materials we use, the better quality hormones our bodies create.  Good fats can help boost proper hormone production (omega-3 oil, avocado, nuts, seeds, coconut and olive oil).

7. Essential Oils

Essential oils are great at bridging the gap to healthy hormone balance.  Made from complete natural plants, essential oils offer significant health benefits.  Not only can essentials oils help to improve the mindset, create a more positive mood, relieve stress and increase feelings of well-being, they can also support the body’s own hormone production.  My favourite essential oil blend to recommend for balancing women’s hormones is Clary Calm.

8. Incorporate Edible Earth Hormone, Gut and Skin Balancing Elixirs into your diet.

CALM Elixir Adaptogen mushroom blend, naturally lowers stress hormones, nourishes the central nervous system, and increase soothing hormones, for a healthy boost in energy, focus, clarity and mood, from the first hours of the morning and well into the evening!

CALM Elixir adapts to your body’s unique needs because of its scientifically validated ingredients called “ADAPTOGENS.” In other words, these ingredients are able to "TARGET" which hormones are imbalanced — and bring them back to their optimal levels again.

Medicinal mushrooms have been hailed “the future of medicine” due to their broad therapeutic uses. They intelligently target YOUR specific hormonal imbalances. They rapidly fix the hormonal symptoms and all the mess they caused. And they do it automatically — clever autopilot. 

CALM Elixir mycelium is the closest network to your neural network, and contains the highest source of melatonin on the planet. Melatonin is essential for sleep quality, and full body health, BUT, over-exposure to artificial lights before bed, is affecting our bodies ability to produce enough of it. And this is ALSO having an impact on our hormones.

People with ADHD, like my daughter Indi, also don’t produce enough melatonin, which creates a vicious self-perpetuating cycle, worsening ADHD symptoms, which if left unaddressed, can completely alter the trajectory of one’s life. Just think of all the children today affected by this, and how it’s affecting their future.

The latest research shows that 1 in 4 kids will report a mental illness before the age of 14! And only 30% of kids over 10 are actually getting enough sleep. The two are directly interlinked. But that's a conversation for another day.

We all know there’s no drug or supplement as powerful as sleep. It’s free, accessible, and has the greatest impact on ALL of our bodies systems, yet society has been constructed to make achieving adequate sleep a serious challenge.

CALM Elixir Adaptogen Mushrooms are a close second to sleep, for essential daily nutrients. Like sleep, CALM also breathes life into the body and brain, by stimulating neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin- essential to treat and prevent depression, anxiety, ADHD, and promote feelings of positivity, passion, and purpose. 

CALM skyrockets chemicals that repair and strengthen muscles, and the digestive system. It bolsters the immune system, reduces high BP and cholesterol, reduces chronic inflammation and the risk of chronic diseases like cancer, and dementia.

When we focus on regenerating and balancing the mind and body holistically, in a simplified way, through natural supplements, nature and nutrition, we treat and prevent the CAUSE, instead of simply just focusing on “hormone issues” or “the symptoms”.

Within 4 weeks of using CALM you will notice a significant improvement in sleep quality, mood swings, hot flushes, PMS, stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms.

This natural, science-backed approach requires you to utilise our FREE Skin and Gut Healing Nutritional Guide, to ensure you’re giving yourself the best chance at healing any internal imbalances, and feeling the results, FAST! We don’t believe in one supplement or miracle drug that fixes all, it simply doesn’t exist!

The Edible Earth bio-active and organic range cover most of the top nutrients proven to help with hormone health and are your new daily non-negotiables:

1. Magnesium, found in Life Elixir and Calm Elixir

2. Zinc, found in Life Elixir, Calm Elixir and #3 GLOW Elixir

3. B Vitamins, found in Life Elixir 

4. Selenium, found in Life Elixir and Calm Elixir

5. Vitamin C, Found in Youth Elixir

6. L-glutamine, found in Gut Elixir

7. Iron, found in Life Elixir

8. Take an intensive approach and commit to a 12 Week Transformation Challenge which repair and regenerate hormone, digestive, and skin health, our founder swears by this method which is what helped her through years of grief, healed her gastritis, food sensitivities, depression, anxiety, and helped her to lose 20kgs after the birth of her second child. They come with a money back guarantee because that is how well these formulas work.

9. Other helpful nutrients needed are Vitamin D (sunshine), Choline and Iodine.

Our Elixirs have deliberately been scientifically formulated to be used in conjunction with one another, as they work synergistically at a cellular level to complement one another and deliver real results. Nasties not included. 

Collagen Repair

Marine collagen peptides are a great source of amino acids (glutamine, glycine and proline). We need amino acids to produce healthy levels of hormones and to assist the liver in digesting hormones so they do not overburden our system, and throw us out of whack.

Type 1 collagen, exclusively found in all of our GLOW formulas, also improve gut health issues, such as leaky gut syndrome, by repairing holes in the gut lining and preventing the inflammatory response (and subsequent hormonal havoc) that can come from food passing through these gaps, undigested.

The amino acid glycine is liver-supportive, helping your liver function to process and eliminate pesticides, xenoestrogens, and other avoidable and unavoidable toxins from the environment, food, and products we use.

Collagen supports healthy thyroid function and offsets cortisol (stress hormone) imbalance.

Edible Earths GLOW collagen formulas are unrivalled in quality, and award-winning for a few reasons:

1. Never more than 4 ingredients.

2. Pure and natural powders, no synthetic tablets, or bleached white versions full of heavy metals, toxins and antibiotics.

3. The only collagen in the world to formulate 3kD multifunctional peptides, that can be used in food, drinks or topically as an instant firming, hydrating face mask.

4. Therapeutic, high potency. Up to 10g of pure collagen protein per serve.

5. Proudly Australian and women made and owned.

What should I do if I suspect I have a hormone imbalance?

If you suspect you have a hormone imbalance or are suffering with any of the above symptoms, please feel free to reach out to our team at Edible Earth and we will help you tailor your treatment, hello@edibleearth.com.au. 

Or follow us on Instagram and slide into our DM's 😉 

Not sure which elixir is best for you? Take our 3 minute quiz and tailor your treatment to your individual health and beauty needs.

Enjoy 20% OFF storewide and get happy hormones today, use discount code: 'HAPPYHORMONES' upon checkout. 💫  Same and next day fulfilment guaranteed.

FREE delivery over $100. 📦 

FREE express over $150. ✈️ 

We ship worldwide. 🌏 

*Each order helps us to support cancer research, reforestation, regenerative farming and mental health community events.

 Welcome to your CALM era, ladies. 💆‍♀️ 

Author:  Melissa Perna, Holistic Hormone Health Specialist, and Edible Earth