Balancing Blood Sugar
Whether you are trying to beat brain fog, achieve your ideal weight, regulate your cycle, or clear up hormonal acne, addressing your hormone health is an excellent starting point.
Nourished, happy hormones are the key to you feeling your absolute best day in and day out. But with so much conflicting information coming from your best friend, mom, Instagram influencers, doctors, Tiktok, glossy magazines, and television programs, it can be anxiety-inducing to discern how exactly you should be fueling your body.
Luckily, eating for healthy hormones actually comes down to a pretty practical formula. Once you are familiar with the formula, knowing what to stock in your fridge and pantry becomes second nature.
The formula is this:
Protein + Carbohydrates + Fiber + Fat = Balanced Blood Sugar
Balanced Blood Sugar = Happy Hormones
Now that you know the formula, food is about to become less stressful or boring and more fun and functional!
Protein
The foundation of every meal you eat (and there should be three to four each day) is a quality protein. This often comes as a surprise to women, but women need to be eating thirty grams of protein per meal to maintain healthy, balanced hormones and ideal weight.
Why? Because protein provides the essential amino acids necessary for repairing and maintaining your hormones, muscles, organs, nervous system, immune system… basically keeping your body in working order to have regular, healthy periods.
Shifting to a diet rich in high-quality proteins is a total game changer.
Seriously, who doesn’t want to feel satiated and eliminate cravings??
Whether you like to meal plan for the week or have options on-hand to create off-the-cuff meals, high-quality animal proteins are a must. Animal proteins are complete proteins, meaning they naturally contain all of your essential amino acids.
As you implement a diet rich in animal protein, reading labels is incredibly important. It gives you an indication of what life was like for that animal before it arrived in your local supermarket. Animals that live a high-quality life provide better quality nourishment and you will notice a difference in how your body feels, too!
When making your selections at the grocery store, here are a few key words that you should look for on the label:
Grass-fed:
This means the animals were fed grass, their natural diet, rather than grains. In addition to being more humane, grass-fed meat is leaner and lower in fat and calories than grain-fed meat. Grass-fed animals are not fed grain, animal by-products, synthetic hormones, or antibiotics to promote growth or prevent disease; they may, however, have been given antibiotics to treat disease. A grass-fed label doesn’t mean the animal necessarily ate grass its entire life. Some grass-fed cattle are grain- finished, which means they ate grain from a feedlot prior to slaughter. Look for grass-fed and grass-finished.
Sustainably or wild-caught:
These fish live and are caught in their natural habitat where they grow eating their natural diet which means they are healthy and nutritionally dense. You can get more details on sourcing your seafood responsibly at seafoodwatch.org.
Certified naturally grown:
an alternative to Organic, this label is for farmers who may find maintaining the USDA Organic label too costly or time consuming. Regardless, foods with this label were grown using responsible soil management practices, without the use of pesticides on plants or hormones or antibiotics on animals and plants were grown without GMO seeds.
Organic:
this label promises that animals were raised with outdoor access and pasture, without antibiotics or hormones and fed 100% organic feed.
Pasture-raised:
livestock and poultry that was pasture-raised were given the freedom to roam and graze naturally.
If your grocery store choices are less than desirable, a subscription like ButcherBox can help fill in the gaps. You can get $50 off your first box!
Carbohydrates
Carbs have long held a bad reputation- between low-carb diets like Atkins and keto and the gluten-free movement, they have definitely been demonized in the media and culture in the last two to three decades.
If you’ve been clinging to your carbs or secretly wishing they would make a comeback, you will like what I have to say next: carbs are the good guys!
Carbohydrates are owed many credits like providing energy, supporting immune function, calming your nervous system, and aiding the production of thyroid hormone. They are a necessary input to be a healthy, functioning woman.
It is no surprise then, that eating low-carb long-term can actually have harmful hormonal side effects like irregular periods and anovulatory cycles because your body registers the lack of carbohydrate energy as a stressor. If you are also under a lot of stress mentally, physically, or emotionally, the issue is compounded.
While some carbohydrates containing gluten can have negative, inflammatory effects, not all are created equal.
The key is understanding what carbs are made up of and then choosing accordingly. Carbohydrates are composed of varying combinations of fiber, starch, and sugar; fiber and starch are complex carbs, meaning they take longer to digest and provide energy for longer, and sugar is a simple carb, meaning it causes a blood sugar spike.
Balanced blood sugar means more fiber and starch, less sugar.
It’s safe to say that most of the carbs you find in the produce section of the grocery store are green light complex carbohydrates. Sugar is the carb you need to be on the lookout for, especially in packaged foods where added sugars are sneaky and abundant.
Sticking to complex carbs can actually have an anti-inflammatory effect on your body. Some examples of complex carbohydrates are:
Whole grains:
quinoa
brown rice
jasmine rice
basmati rice
black rice
wild rice
millet
buckwheat
gluten-free oats
Starchy Fruits and vegetables:
apples
bananas
plantains
jackfruit
dried figs
sweet potatoes
beans
lentils
butternut squash
acorn squash
corn
yams
pumpkin
potatoes
beets
turnips
carrots
non-starch fruits and vegetables
blueberries
raspberries
blackberries
strawberries
melons
citrus fruits
peaches
plums
apricots
cherries
pears
artichokes
asparagus
bean sprouts
brussel sprouts
broccoli
cabbage
cauliflower
celery
cucumber
eggplant
mushrooms
onions
peppers
salad greens
spinach
tomatoes
zucchini
Legumes:
lentils
split peas
adzuki beans
black beans
navy beans
chickpeas
cannellini beans
great northern beans
lima beans
mung beans
kidney beans
(including rice or chickpea pastas like Banza)
Whole grains, vegetables, and legumes make excellent side dishes or bases to complement your protein.
Using the EWG’s Clean Fifteen and Dirty Dozen lists is an easy way to determine which items should be purchased organic and which conventional varieties are low in pesticides. Buying from the bulk section can be a money-saver in this department!
Dr. Lara Briden suggests women get around 150 grams of carbohydrates each day. When you stick to whole-food sources of carbohydrates this is a pretty generous amount, including at least a serving at each meal. If you are very active or working out a lot, your needs may increase.
Fiber
We already know that fiber is a part of carbohydrates but it’s a crucial part of the Balanced Blood Sugar equation because one, most adults do not get enough of it and two, fiber is essential for regular elimination.
The recommended daily intake of fiber is around 35 grams per day for adults but most Americans only get about 15 grams per day. Knowing why you’re eating fiber and how to get it make it much easier to incorporate into your daily routine so let’s break it down.
There are two types of fiber:
Soluble fiber
Dissolves in water and helps lower glucose and cholesterol levels
Oatmeal
chia seeds
nuts
beans
lentils
apples
blueberries
Insoluble fiber
Does not dissolve in water and helps with digestion, promoting regular bowel movements and preventing constipation
Whole wheat products
quinoa
brown rice
legumes
leafy greens
almonds
walnuts
seeds
fruits with edible skins
Fiber intake has long been linked to disease prevention and a healthy gut microbiome. Some simple ways to eat more fiber everyday include:
Seed cycling
Adding chia seeds to your oatmeal or yogurt
Adding diced vegetables to soups, stews, and casserole dishes
Swap chips or crackers for raw vegetables with hummus
Meal prep a bean chili or lentil salad for lunches
Top salads with sliced almonds, walnuts, pine nuts, or pecans
Fats
Growing up in the nineties, fats were demonized. Everything was low-fat or fat-free because the narrative went that eating fat made you fat.
The truth is that fat is vital for brain function, hormone production, metabolism, energy, immunity and inflammatory response, all pretty important bodily functions.
It’s the source and quality of the fat that matters.
Good fats are rich in omega-3 fatty acids that are anti-inflammatory.
Healthiest sources of fat:
Avocados
Olives
Coconut
Nuts and seeds
Raw nut and seed butter
Oils (avocado, olive, coconut)
Grass-fed butter and ghee
Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and tuna
Eggs
As an added bonus, rounding out your plate with a healthy source of fat will contribute to your feeling of satiety and keep you feeling fuller for longer.
A healthy amount of fat is about 75-80 grams per day. Think of it more as a condiment or finishing touch for your meals.
Balanced blood sugar is the way to go and the formula is simple:
Protein + Carbohydrates + Fiber + Fat = Balanced Blood Sugar
Balanced Blood Sugar = Happy Hormones
Stick to the formula and you will notice changes in your energy levels, mood, cycle regularity, and body composition. Food is fuel, you just need to know which foods will provide the purest sources of energy!
All of the recipes you find in the Spring to Life Method are well-balanced meals that you can follow exactly or use for inspiration. When making meals off the cuff, starting with your protein source and building from there is a fool-proof way to go. The Macro Meal Builder is the perfect tool for this!
