by Dr. Mindy Pelz : Extract from her new book, Eat Like a Girl
A woman’s hormonal journey consists of three key phases. I call them the warm-up, the main act, and the cool-down. You may know them as puberty, childbearing, and menopause. No matter where you are on this hormonal journey, learning what and when to eat will help you mitigate the challenges hormones can often cause.
At each stage of your journey, chemical stressors from the wrong foods can contribute to the disregulation of your hormonal symphony: something won’t be at the right time or mood, or there may be an aggressive rock song instead of a gentle ballad, or no music at all. The right foods will perfectly harmonize your hormones and allow them to create beautiful music.
So how can we adapt our food choices to the changing rhythms of our hormones? This is where my three food rules for eating like a girl come in handy. If you keep these three rules in mind, you will find less turbulence within yourself.
RULE #1: EAT TO MAKE HORMONES
Just like a recipe, hormone production requires certain ingredients. Your three sex hormones require basic nutrients, which I call the 24 keys. They fall into four broad categories: vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids. Think of them like the categories of ingredients you would need to make bread. No matter what type of bread you’re making, all recipes require a handful of necessary ingredients: flour, yeast, water, and salt.
Without one of these key ingredients, your bread won’t taste as good as you’d like. All 24 nutrients work in the same way. No matter what stage of life you’re in, you need adequate amounts of these nutrients to produce your sex hormones. If any one of these nutrients is deficient, it can have a significant impact on your sex hormone production.
A key component of hormone production is a varied diet. We need to eat a good variety of nutrient-rich foods to ensure our bodies receive all 24 nutrients. When we consume highly processed and refined foods, not only are they devoid of these 24 nutrients, but these toxic foods also deprive us of nutrients. Eating a diverse range of healthy foods allows you to obtain these 24 nutrients. You’ll see this variety incorporated into the recipes my chefs have provided in this book.
It’s not just toxic foods that deprive you of vitamins and minerals; certain medications can too. Ironically, the birth control pill is one of these medications. If you are actively taking an oral contraceptive pill or have spent years taking this medication, I strongly recommend supplementing your diet with the following vitamins and minerals, as research shows that these essential nutrients are depleted by the use of oral contraceptives:
- Folic Acid
- Vitamins B2, B6, B12
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Magnesium
- Selenium
- Zinc
RULE #2: EAT TO METABOLIZE HORMONES
Are you ready? The health of your gut is so essential to hormone metabolism that you have a specific set of good gut bacteria whose job it is to break down estrogen. That’s how important your microbes are to your hormonal health. Together, these good bacteria are called your estrobolome. Without these key microbes, estrogen cannot be reformatted for cellular use. To support these hormone-metabolizing bacteria, you must avoid the following things that destroy them:
- A highly processed diet
- Alcohol
- Antibiotics
- Birth control pills
- Environmental pollutants
It’s easy to see every woman’s lifestyle in this list. Our goal is to eat foods that restore the health of the microbes that metabolize our hormones. These foods fall into three categories I call the three Ps: probiotics, prebiotics, and polyphenols.
Probiotic-Rich Foods
Probiotic-rich foods add new, healthy bacteria to your gut. Make sure all the foods listed here are organic and raw. When these foods undergo pasteurization, the good bacteria are destroyed. Here are four of the most potent probiotic-rich foods:
Yogurt: Look for yogurt labeled with “live and active cultures” for the best probiotic benefits.
Kefir: A fermented probiotic milk drink, similar to light yogurt, made by adding kefir grains to milk.
Sauerkraut: Fermented cabbage rich in probiotics and vitamins. Make sure it’s unpasteurized, as pasteurization kills the beneficial bacteria.
Kimchi: A Korean dish made with fermented vegetables, primarily cabbage, served with a variety of seasonings.
Prebiotic Foods
Prebiotic foods feed your healthy microbes so they grow stronger and multiply. To get the most out of these foods, make sure they’re organic and sourced from a regenerative farm. Here’s a list of four powerful prebiotic foods:
Polyphenol Foods
Polyphenol-rich foods are plant-based foods known for their antioxidant properties. A diet rich in these foods regulates the microbes that metabolize hormones for you, helping you feel more hormonally balanced and avoid storing unmetabolized hormones as fat. Four polyphenol-rich foods:
- Cloves: One of the richest sources of polyphenols.
- Star Anise: Rich in polyphenols and used as a spice in various cuisines.
- Cacao Powder: Raw, unprocessed cacao powder is very rich in polyphenols.
- Dark chocolate: Contains significant amounts of polyphenols, especially in varieties with high cocoa content.
RULE #3: EAT TO DETOXIFY HORMONES
The final rule of feminine nutrition to properly fuel your female body is to eat foods that support your detoxification pathways. Toxic estrogens come from chemicals in our food, beauty products, and environment. No matter how clean your lifestyle, you’ll still have toxic estrogen inside you. Your liver and kidneys eliminate this toxic estrogen, which is why it’s so imperative to nourish these organs with good nutrition. Toxic estrogens that don’t detoxify from your body can lead to hormonal cancers like breast and ovarian cancers.
Examples of foods that support the detoxification of your organs
- Green leafy vegetables (e.g., spinach, kale): Rich in antioxidants and chlorophyll, which can help the liver detoxify the blood.
- Garlic: Contains sulfuric compounds that help the liver produce detoxification enzymes.
- Lemons: Rich in vitamin C, which helps the body convert toxins into digestible matter.
- Beets: Rich in antioxidants and nutrients, including betalains, which promote liver detoxification.
- Green tea: Contains antioxidants known as catechins, which aid liver function.
- Turmeric: Contains curcumin, which is believed to have liver-protective and regenerative properties.
- Apples: Rich in pectin, a soluble fiber that helps remove toxins and cholesterol from the blood.
Eating like a girl is all about eating for your hormonal health, and as you can see, there are many delicious ingredients that come into play. Continue exploring the nourishing power of food, you won’t regret it.