Reclaim Your Energy – Functional Medicine Secrets For Hormone Harmony
- Mar 14, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 15, 2024
Written by: Chelsea Eilts, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In a world where high-achieving women juggle countless demands, maintaining peak energy levels naturally is not just a desire, it's a necessity. Dr. Chelsea Eilts offers a fresh perspective on restoring a sense of vitality from the inside out. This article demystifies how hormonal imbalances can undermine your energy and gives you practical, evidence-based strategies to restore balance and re-energize.
Unlocking vitality: Is hormone balance your energy solution?
Does your energy hit a wall in the afternoon that brings your productivity to a screeching halt? Or do you feel like your brain is in a fog, constantly losing track of your tasks and feeling scattered?
Many women go through this, and yet it's not something you have to accept. Even though fatigue is very common, it isn’t normal, no matter your age or genetics.
When you feel this way, it’s a sign that your body and mind don’t have what they need to function optimally. And the master key to turning this around lies in hormone balance.
In this article, learn the simple steps necessary to balance key hormones and restore energy. The approach outlined below is designed for lasting results so you aren't stuck relying on pills, caffeine, or other stimulants to meet the demands of your busy life.
How hormones fuel your day: The energy messengers
Hormones act like chemical messengers in your body, controlling how much energy your cells make.
Amongst your hormones, cortisol (the stress hormone) and insulin (which balances blood sugar) play a vital role in controlling energy: how much is made and where it goes.
When you have stress, your body prioritizes survival first. Even if the stress is part of your day-to-day routine, your body will send your best energy to manage your fight-flight-freeze response and away from other bodily functions, such as sleep, digestion and sexual health.
Similar to stress hormone, blood sugar balance also plays a big role in your energy. When your typical diet is heavy in carbs and light on protein, it creates big swings in blood sugar during the day. Over time, these peaks and valleys become more exaggerated to the point where your body responds less and less to insulin. This can leave you feeling “hangry”, crashing shortly after a meal, and suffering hormonal imbalances elsewhere in your body (i.e. irregular cycles, disrupted sleep, low thyroid, etc).
So, if you’re frustrated that none of your energy supplements have helped, here's the reason: without addressing these underlying hormonal imbalances, your body continues to receive mixed signals. Address the root cause of the fatigue and watch as your energy level starts to grow.
Taming the stress beast: Boosting energy through balance
Think of your body's stress response like a muscle: the fight-or-flight “muscle.” Just like lifting weights makes your biceps stronger, constantly activating your stress response makes you better at stressing out. Your body gets the message that it needs to be ready to react fast, so it keeps your stress response in tip-top shape, always prepared to spring into action.
But here's the twist: there's another “muscle” that often gets overlooked: the rest-digest function, managed by your vagus nerve. This is your calm, cool, collected “muscle” that helps your body chill out and recover. Just like any other muscle, you can strengthen it with practice.
So, how do you flex this rest-digest “muscle?” It's about sprinkling your day with mini moments of calm. These are quick, simple reset moments like taking a few deep, intentional breaths, stepping outside to feel the sun on your face, or even enjoying a good laugh. These activities send a signal to your body that it's okay to relax, boosting your vagal tone and balancing out that fight-or-flight response. Consistency is key.
By consistently working out your rest-digest muscle, you help bring your body back into a state of balance. When stress doesn't dominate, other hormones, like thyroid and progesterone, can find their rhythm more easily. This harmony allows your body to function optimally, giving you the energy and equilibrium you need to thrive.
Building this rest-digest “muscle” isn't about eliminating stress; it's about regulating your nervous system so that your body is resilient to stress. A healthy nervous system is able to respond quickly and then go back to a state of calm with ease. And the beauty of this is, these exercises are quick, easy, and can be woven into a busy schedule.
Eating smart: Nutrition's role in sustaining your energy
Let's get to know insulin a bit better. It's like the traffic director in your body, guiding sugar to where it needs to go. Think of blood sugar as the fuel that powers your brain and energizes your cells. When you consume a lot of sugar, especially from added sugars, juices, or too many refined grains, your energy levels spike. You feel a burst of energy because your body is flooded with fuel. But what goes up must come down.
To maintain a steady flow of energy, moderating your carb intake is key. Opting for complex carbs like vegetables, legumes, and whole grains rather than simple sugars and refined grains makes a significant difference. These complex carbs break down more slowly, avoiding the sudden spikes in blood sugar and insulin.
Alcohol also plays a role in this balance. It can cause an initial increase in blood sugar, followed by a steep drop, which is worse when consumed on an empty stomach. In addition, alcohol affects your liver's ability to regulate blood sugar and insulin. For these reasons, alcohol moderation is important to consider when you need more energy.
Here's where insulin steps in: it helps direct this sugar into your cells to be used for energy or stored away for later. However, if there's too much sugar, insulin works overtime, and after the sugar is stashed away, your energy plummets, leading to that all-too-familiar crash. This rollercoaster of highs and lows is not just bad for your mood and focus, but over time, it can knock other hormones off balance and contribute to serious health issues like diabetes, inflammation, heart disease, and reduced brain function.
Now for the good news: stabilizing your blood sugar is straightforward. At every meal, aim to have a mix of protein, fiber, and healthy fats. This combination is like a magic trio that helps keep your blood sugar steady, preventing those drastic highs and lows. By including moderate portions of complex carbs and being mindful of alcohol intake, you're further supporting this balance, much like maintaining the right speed and momentum to keep your car cruising smoothly on the highway.
By following the simple guidelines below, you're not just avoiding the afternoon slump or sugar cravings; you're setting the stage for sustained energy, sharper brain function, and overall better hormone balance. Over time, this approach becomes second nature, and you'll enjoy more consistent energy throughout the day, feeling fully charged to tackle whatever comes your way.
Crafting your energy blueprint: Simple steps for daily vigor
Incorporating stress regulation and blood sugar balance into your daily routine can significantly impact your hormonal health. Here's how to approach both:
For stress regulation
Regular self-check-ins can fundamentally change your stress response dynamics:
Use an app like Lotus Bud to set a timer that reminds you to check in each 15-20 minutes (at first).
At each chime, pause to identify your current stress state. If you're in fight-flight-freeze mode without a real threat, it's an opportunity to recalibrate.
In that moment, try one of these techniques:
Calm breath: Take a slow calming breath with a long exhale to engage the relaxation response.
Muscle relaxation: Squeeze your shoulders up toward your ears and then release them, feeling the tension melt away.
Laugh: A light-hearted chuckle can decrease stress hormones and shift your mindset.
Yawn: Triggering a yawn can help relax your mind and body.
For blood sugar balance
Creating a balanced plate at each meal (and snack) can help stabilize your blood sugar, essential for consistent energy and hormone regulation:
Protein: Choose lean sources like fish, chicken or legumes to support steady energy release without impacting blood sugar sharply.
Fiber: Incorporate seeds, nuts and veggies to slow glucose absorption and maintain steady energy.
Healthy fats: Add avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil to enhance satiety and provide essential nutrients.
Picture your plate divided into sections to include these components:
Half your plate filled with fiber-rich vegetables.
One-quarter with lean protein.
The remaining quarter with a combination of healthy fats and whole grains or starchy vegetables for balanced energy.
Adopting these practices can significantly benefit your daily health routine. While these steps are valuable for enhancing well-being and hormone balance, they complement but don't replace professional medical advice. For ongoing health concerns or significant changes in your well-being, consulting with a qualified functional health professional ensures you receive comprehensive care tailored to your needs.
Embrace your energetic future: Next steps towards hormonal harmony
Boosting your energy is key to a vibrant, active life, and it goes much further than just helping you feel less tired. By fine-tuning your daily habits, like staying mindful of stress and eating for balance, you're not only enhancing your energy but also laying the groundwork for robust long-term health.
This proactive approach is the essence of preventive medicine, helping to correct hormonal imbalances that affect more than just your energy levels.
Eager to get your energy back? Finding out if you have signs of hormonal imbalance is the first step. My Hormone Balance Quiz is simple and straightforward, something I use in practice to quickly identify the root cause hormonal issues. By taking the quiz, you will gain insight into where you could be losing energy and how to correct it naturally.
Hormone Balance Quiz: Click here.
Chelsea Eilts, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dr. Chelsea Eilts, Naturopathic Doctor and Doctor of Chinese Medicine, is a functional health consultant with a focus on burnout recovery. Her personal experience with burnout, which led to a dramatic health crisis, set her on a quest for healing. This journey brought her to the brightest minds in alternative healthcare, where she discovered the deeply restorative power of holistic medicine. Chelsea has since dedicated her expertise to helping women regain mind-body health with vital energy, metabolism and hormone balance.
