Your Holiday Hormone Survival Guide!
Holiday season is often a time filled with many celebrations and is often a time when we begin to unwind, relax and sometimes can become tempted to slip out of our usual routine.
Your Holiday Hormone Survival Guide!
Plus 5 Steps to Keeping your Hormones Healthy over the holidays!
Whilst taking time off and actually enjoying this time of the year is very important, sometimes we can get a bit too relaxed and are tempted to throw in the towel on our healthy eating habits.
Of if you have a hormonal imbalance, hormonal acne, or are trying to improve your health, it can be very hard not to feel restricted or know what to eat and what not to eat this time of the year, and often when people find it too hard they are tempted to give up completely.
But, please have hope, it doesn’t have to be this way!
Here are 5 keys tips you can implement to help keep your hormones healthy, whist still enjoying your celebrations!
1. Include healthy fats with each meal.
Include healthy fats such as avocados, salmon, tahini, coconut yogurt, olive oil, nuts, and seeds.
These help with satiety, meaning they help keep you fuller for longer and are actually key for our hormonal health.
Satiety also helps with stabilising your blood sugar levels, meaning you will be less likely to keep snacking and grazing on foods as you only need a small amount to keep full.
Healthy fats, particularly from omega 3 fatty acids also help to reduce inflammation and are vital to help support the production of healthy hormones.
2. Avoid refined sugar and processed sweets.
Refined sugar particularly in the form of lollies, soft drinks, candy, chocolates and packaged foods are all high in refined sugars and cause a direct spike in our insulin levels.
Refined sugar is also highly inflammatory and is particularly problematic for hormonal issues, as the increased insulin levels leads to increased production of androgens and inflammatory hormones, which is often a large driver behind acne, inflammatory skin and hormonal related conditions such as PCOS.
3. Enjoy healthy snacks!
Include healthy snacks and treats that are going to help nourish and keep you satiated!
Rather than focusing on what not to eat, or what you ‘can’t’ eat, focus on what you CAN eat! This is known as ‘crowding’, where you fill your plate and focus on all the foods you can eat. This will help you feel like you have more options of foods to enjoy and are less likely to feel restricted and overeat on the less healthier foods. See below for healthy snack ideas!
4. Limit your alcohol and excess caffeine.
Alcohol is also highly inflammatory and can reap havoc for our hormones when consumed in high amounts, particularly for women as womens hormones are much more sensitive to alcohol.
Alcohol is actually received as a toxin to the body. When this is being consumed in high amounts, in order for our body to be able to break it down and be able to clear and filter the toxins properly, it actually blocks the absorption of other nutrients.
Tip: For every alcoholic drink you have, aim to have two glasses of water with it.
Also, try to have your alcohol around 30 minutes of eating and avoid drinking on an empty stomach.
Remember moderation is key! Enjoying a glass in moderation is completely fine for a celebration and the season! Just be cautious of the quality, type and amount that you are consuming.
5. Include your fibre!
Fibre in the the form of fresh fruit and vegetables (cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, pears, apples) will help with supporting detoxification which helps with the clearance and excretion of hormones and removing toxins form the body. Fibre is really important to help continue our bodies natural detoxification process, which is particularly important for our hormonal health.
Tip: Aim to eat through the rainbow! This will help you receive a variety of different nutrients, whilst proving plenty of flavour as well! Include root vegetables such as pumpkin or sweet potato, or roasted cauliflower and brassicas as a delicious savoury sides! These are an easy and tasty way to include more vegetables as well as help keep your fibre intake up over the season! Include berries, cherries or pineapple as a light sweet treat after your meal!
Theses are all simple steps you can implement to help you indulge mindfully over the Christmas period, whilst still supporting your health and hormones!
Some of my favourites healthy snacks include:
-Veggie sticks with hummus or tahini
-Pears, bananas or apples sliced with peanut butter
-Mixed berries with nuts & seeds
-Coyo with sprinkled cacao nibs, mixed berries and cinnamon
-Healthy choc truffles (see the link in blog)
-Get Creative! Rather than feeling like you can’t have your favourite foods, look for a healthier alternative or healthier recipes to re-create your favourite meals!
Please remember though, Christmas is just two days and is a special time to celebrate. Please know, if you have a treat or two over this time, it’s not a ‘blow out’ or ‘all out the window’. Just try remember to implement your healthy tips when you can, and remember to enjoy the time mindfully!
Remember, mindfully, balance and moderation is key!
Till next time,
Take Care!
Dominique
Skin Nutrition Co.