Adaptogens and Hormones

Hey! Can we chat about hormones? Every aspect of our lives and our bodies is deeply rooted in our hormones. Dr Claudia Welch, an Ayurvedic practitioner, wrote a famous book titled “Balance your hormones; Balance your life”; because the two are inseparable. If hormones are off, even the slightest bit, we feel it! In our mood, our sex lives, our stress levels, our emotions, our health and our day to day experience of life. 

The balance is delicate but not unattainable. The absolutely beautiful thing about our bodies is that they are always striving to find balance, which makes hormone issues (whether they be high or low) manageable! 

 Looking to the wonderful world of herbs we find plenty of help, along with studies and information to guide us. Let’s look at a few herbs and supplements that add to this conversation. 

Benefits of maca

Maca is known to increase libido and if you've ever tried it, you’d know that it's true; but there's actual scientific evidence to back it up. A quick search on pubmed.com and you’ll see dozens of studies that support this, and not just for women but men also. 

Studies also show that Maca can help increase fertility. I’ve helped many women with infertility in my Ayurvedic practice and Maca root deserves to be recognized for its contribution here. I’ve personally seen it aid in this, but again, not just in women, men’s virility increases with use also. 

Outside of boosting libido, it also boosts mood, energy and endurance which of course leads to a boost in confidence and overall quality of life.

A couple other benefits worth mentioning are improved memory, reducing menopause symptoms, reducing blood pressure and sun damage and lastly, fighting free radicals circulating the body. It promotes Glutathione and superoxide dismutase, and we all know how important antioxidants are when it comes to preventing disease. 

Benefits of collagen

Collagen is a protein that helps build hair, skin and nails, but the benefits go deeper. The name comes from the Greek word “kolla”, meaning “glue”, and here's why. Collagen holds us all together. From our joints to our cartilage, collagen plays an important role. Unfortunately, the body's ability to produce collagen decreases with age and we have to rely more and more on supplementing our diet with it. If you find your hair becoming more brittle and losing its shine, or your nails breaking and getting weak, or your joints cracking and aching, collagen may be just what you need. However, collagen is not always easy to get down due to its taste. A few years back, a dear friend came to me and asked how she could take the supplement without it being so, well, in her words “gross tasting”. I set to work formulating a shot that would give her the 5000 miligrams a day she needed but taste delicious enough to take daily. Maybe even something she would look forward to taking! And Radical Beauty was born. 

Collagen protects the body on many levels including helping to repair a leaky gut. Ayurveda teaches that all disease begins in the gut so a practitioner (like me), will often put a lot of focus on healing the gut. Things like bone broth and collagen are vital to protecting us from all autoimmune diseases and disorders of the gut like IBS. 

Collagen also, from a direct hormonal viewpoint, helps to reduce negative effects of cortisol and stabilize estrogen levels. We want both of those things, so, thank you collagen! 

As Thomas Edison once said, “The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease”.  And I’m with him!  

Benefits of Goji Berry

I love Goji so much, that I grow it in my own garden. It tastes more like a tomato than a berry but it packs a potent little punch of antioxidants and adaptogenic qualities. It’s wonderful for the skin, reducing wrinkles and stimulating new cell growth. It helps to detoxify the liver,  and is also therefore good for the eyes. Goji is incredibly protective because it supports the immune system. It’s been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine and herbalism alike.  Classified as an adaptogen it carries with it all the benefits of reducing stress, regulating hormones and relieving anxiety and depression. 

Many pioneers in the field of health and hormones like Dr. Aviva Romm, Dr Gabrielle Lyon and Dr. Claudia Welch all promote the use of adaptogens when working with hormones. Pick up any of their books and you’ll find recommendations to take a look at before jumping into synthetic hormones.  

If you like the sound of adding some of these ingredients and therefore benefits to your diet and life, I’m happy to share that they are available in our new Radical Beauty shot. Formulated with some excellent juices, like watermelon and pineapple, along with some divine extracts of cherry blossom and lotus flower, making it taste more like a tropical vacation than a dietary supplement.  Adding this little shot to your daily beauty routine is more than just about looking good, it’s about feeling good, inside and out. And with ingredients that your body needs, we hope that you’ll give it a shot. 

As always, consult your physician if you're pregnant, nursing or have a medical condition before exploring with adding herbal supplements. 

P.S. Let's not forget that a holistic approach to health includes diet and lifestyle along with herbs so, other tips for balancing hormones include getting proper sleep by setting a healthy bedtime routine, reducing coffee, soft drinks and alcohol, drinking plenty of water and tea, eating adequate protein, daily exercise and meditation, reducing toxic load including pesticides and endocrine disruptors. 

 

Cheers to good health,

Amanda