Can you 'hack' your hormones to feel better?

It can’t be as simple as that… can it?

Prior to about five years ago, you probably didn’t think about hormones all that much.

Now, you can’t read a newspaper/scroll Instagram/chat to a friend without coming across advice on how to ‘balance’ or even ‘hack’ your hormones, for improved mood, better sleep, less anxiety and more energy or focus.

From a ‘circ walk’ to regulate melatonin, to serving up a dopamine menu, hormones are hot right now.

First, what are they? (Because I feel like I’ve read a lot about hormones, without fully knowing what they actually are 🙃)

Hormones are chemicals produced by endocrine glands, which travel through your blood stream carrying ‘messages’ to receptor cells. This system controls many important functions, from mood to metabolism, from sex to sleep.

There are over 50 of them, but the ones that we tend to hear about are…

The ‘sex’ hormones: oestrogen and testosterone.

The ‘feelgood’ hormones: dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin.

The ‘sleep’ hormone melatonin, and ‘stress’ hormones adrenaline and cortisol.

It’s obviously waaaaay more complicated than this simplistic explanation BUT for the purposes of understanding it without a medical degree, this is a helpful starter.

“All hormones work together,” explains Dr Emilia Vuorisalmi, author of The Healing Power of Hormones. “The more aligned we are on a body-mind-soul level, the better foundation we create for our hormonal balance.”

You don’t often hear doctors talk of being aligned “on a body-mind-soul level” but Dr Emilia is known as the love doctor in her native Finland. She says that learning to understand dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin can help us create “a life filled with meaning, joy and adventure.”

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She calls serotonin the hormone of safety. “Prolonged stress eventually depletes serotonin levels, leading to anxiety, sleep issues, digestive problems and back pain. Addressing the root cause is essential for lasting healing.”

Oxytocin is the hormone of connection. “Often considered the ‘big boss’ in our hormonal hierarchy, it regulates many other hormones, such as cortisol, insulin and thyroid hormones. Being deeply connected to ourselves and mastering the art of being present helps us feel grounded and strengthens our connections.”

Dopamine is the hormone of direction. “The unconscious stress of not living a life aligned with our values often makes us waste our energy. It can manifest as lack of motivation and drive, or brain fog and tiredness.”

There are obviously hormone fluctuations at certain points in our lives, such as around puberty and menopause, which affect our mood, appetite, sleep and sex drive. And if you’re a premenopausal woman, there are fluctuations within each month. Being aware of these, and working with them, can be hugely beneficial.

Jessica Shand is a naturopathic nutritionist, hormone specialist and author of The Hormone Balance Handbook. She recommends carrying out a ‘life audit’.

“Document everything you eat and drink, including timings, where you are in your cycle and symptoms that might arise, eg. fatigue, low mood, anxiety, hunger, sugar cravings, headaches, bloating and bowel movements,” she suggests. “This will give clarity on your current wellbeing so you can start connecting the foods you are eating to your symptoms. It will help you hear what your hormones are trying to tell you.”

Whether pre- or postmenopausal, she says what we eat plays a significant role in our hormonal health. “The types of foods with which we nourish our bodies on a daily basis impact everything from inflammation, metabolism and blood sugar regulation, to the production of sex hormones that control our menstrual cycles, thyroid function and how our bodies respond to stress.”

Her advice is pretty simple. “Commit to eating more real foods grown from nature, and minimise fake foods from packets, laden with chemicals we can’t pronounce. Hormone balance doesn’t need to be complicated! Just prioritise a predominately wholefood diet, rich in fibre, phytochemcials, protein, healthy fats, complex carbs and abundance of hormone supportive micro-nutrients.”

If that sounds like too much jargon, it basically means loads of veg (different colours like red tomatoes, orange carrots, purple beetroot, white cauliflower, yellow pepper and greens like kale, avocado, courgette, broccoli, peas, etc), plus protein-rich foods such as eggs, natural yoghurt, cheese, fish, lentils, beans, nuts and seeds.

And don’t stress if you sometimes have Supernoodles for dinner. If you’re generally eating well, the odd ultra-processed convenience food won’t matter. But perhaps think of popping some frozen spinach in with them, or sprinkling some seeds on top.

“Think about what you can add to your plate, rather than what you’re removing,” she says. “Remind yourself that each meal is a new opportunity to nourish and support your body (and brain) with what it needs to be in a place of hormonal balance. The more you treat your body to nutrient-dense foods, the more your hormonal system will pay you back with balance, strength, peace and vitality.”

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There are many ‘hacks’ and supplements out there, promising hormonal balance. While supplementation can sometimes be helpful (both Jessica and Dr Emilia specifically mention vitamin D in winter, iron for premenopausal women, and potentially zinc, magnesium and B vitamins), they are not a panacea.

“Quick fixes are tempting,” says Dr Emilia. “But long-term balance and health requires lifestyle change. And managing stress is crucial, as it directly impacts how nutrition and supplements are digested and used in the cells.”

For anyone struggling with high anxiety or low energy (I mean, it’s January and there’s a lot going on in the world, so I imagine that describes a lot of us), Dr Emilia has these 3 tips to feel better quickly…