Stop Trying To Balance Your Hormones

You can't balance your hormones without balancing your minerals. Here is why.....

Keep reading to find out how mineral balance impacts hormone balance and endocrine function. And why you should be focusing on getting enough minerals into your body and NOT balancing your hormones. 

Minerals are the body's "spark plugs". Approximately 95% of all minerals are located outside of the bloodstream and are hanging out in the tissues and cells of the body. This includes areas like different organs, brain, ligaments, bones and tissues. 

Minerals are what help each cell in the body function properly. The creation of energy at the cellular level is dependent upon proper balance of mineral cofactors in those cells. 

Without minerals we cannot make hormones, digest our food, regulate our blood sugar, get restorative sleep, mobilize toxins, operate our immune system, heal from infections and so much more. 

Adequate levels of minerals also protect our tissues and organs from toxic heavy metals and help their excretion from the body.

Our hormone balance and endocrine function is dependent upon minerals for several reasons. 

1. The organs that make up our endocrine system (like the thyroid, ovaries, pituitary, adrenals) all depend upon minerals for optimal function. Every cell of these organs have enzymes that require mineral and nutrient cofactors in order to function. 

2. Minerals along with vitamins and cholesterol are the building blocks of our hormones. Without these we cannot make adequate hormones.

3. We know that stress is extremely disruptive to the endocrine system and our adrenal glands rely on proper levels of minerals like sodium, potassium and magnesium in order to effectively manage stress. Both physical and emotional stress depletes our bodies of important mineral cofactors. How our bodies respond to stress is dependent upon proper balance of minerals at the cellular level. 

Your body requires you to take in 60 minerals every single day. Here are just 4 of those 60 minerals and what their function is:

1. Sodium - one of the body's primary minerals and electrolytes. It plays many roles, but is especially vital for stress management and adrenal health. We need optimal levels of sodium for our adrenal glands to function properly. Without proper sodium (and potassium) we can reach "burnout" which is described as extreme and persistent fatigue.

2. Potassium - has many roles but we need enough potassium for our cells to properly respond to thyroid hormones. There are also potassium channels in both the uterus and the ovaries. We know that healthy blood sugar levels are vital to proper hormone balance and potassium is vital to healthy blood sugar regulation because potassium plays a role in transporting glucose into the cells.

Low potassium can lead to slow thyroid function and all the symptoms that go along with it. This can also contribute to other hormonal symptoms including PMS, water retention, irregular cycles and much more. 

3. Calcium - this is a calming mineral and is needed for bone and dental health as well as supporting the nervous system. When calcium is high in the tissues (often because people make the mistake of taking a stand alone calcium supplement - which is not good) it interferes with thyroid function.  This is because calcium can bind to the receptors in the thyroid gland, inhibiting hormone excretion and uptake. 

4. Magnesium - considered the "master mineral" because it helps run over 4,000 functions in the body. One of those functions is regulating how our bodies process glucose. It is also an essential cofactor for liver function which plays a role in supporting hormone balance. Our burn rate (how fast our bodies use up) of magnesium will increase during times of stress and other lifestyle factors. 

Low levels of magnesium can lead to mood changes, low energy, muscular tension, impaired detoxification and blood sugar issues. 

These are just 4 of the 60 essential minerals your body requires every single day. I mention just these to give you an idea of how critical mineral balance is to our hormone (and overall) health. 

Here are some ways you can start working on increasing the minerals you take in each day:

1. Eat a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables. Plant foods have some minerals in them and I am always a big fan of getting what we need from whole food sources. Always try and buy organic produce, as the non-organic produce is sprayed with chemicals that can wreak havoc on our hormones. Also, be sure to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables because each one will have a different mineral profile. You can look through my website for lots of different recipes. CLICK HERE

2. Start salting your food with a mineral rich salt. Salt that has been mined without harsh chemicals and practices will retain most of the naturally occurring minerals. Your processed table salt has had most of the minerals stripped away and is of no help to your hormones. The brand that I always recommend is Redmond Real Salt and can be found in many grocery stores or through Amazon. It has the highest mineral content of most salts on the market. 

3. Start supplementing. Although I always recommend getting what you need from changing your diet to whole foods, sadly you will not be able to get ALL 60 minerals that your body requires through your diet alone. This is largely due to modern day farming practices and the ill health of the soil that our plants are grown in. You see, plants do not make their own minerals. They must get their minerals from the soil they are grown in. Studies have shown that there is no place in the United States where all 60 minerals are abundant in the soil. So if your food is depleted of these important minerals then you will be depleted of these minerals. A simple solution to this is to find a good quality supplement that includes ALL 60 essential minerals that your body requires each day. CLICK HERE FOR THE BRAND I USE AND RECOMMEND. 

4. Herbal support. Herbs are whole plants that are loaded with different minerals. Different herbs have different purposes. Some herbs that you can start with that can support your hormone health are Chaste Tree Berry, Wild Yam Root, Ashwaganda Root, Licorice Root and Turmeric. You can buy these individually in most natural health food stores or here is the brand I recommend that includes all of those herbs in one formula. CLICK HERE FOR THE BRAND I RECOMMEND. 

What will you do today to start getting these very important minerals into your body?

I hope this information was helpful to you. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. 

-Kelly

XO