Health notebook: Harness your hormones

Rebalancing your body’s chemistry can boost energy and improve your mood.

Have you ever felt you’re at the mercy of your hormones? There are times when PMS makes us feel irritable or emotional – and, despite our best intentions, we struggle to resist that 3pm bar of chocolate when we’re feeling tired and stressed. It’s little wonder really, as hormones regulate virtually every function in the body, including brain function and metabolism. Although it’s true that some imbalances require medical attention, there are lots of ways to tap into this most powerful natural resource. Here’s some advice.

Struggling to sleep at night? Your melatonin levels could need some readjustment. Commonly known as the sleep hormone, melatonin is produced by the pineal gland – located in the centre of the brain – during darkness and helps to regulate your body clock. Melatonin production declines with age, which is why we often have trouble sleeping as we get older. Do this: ■ SNACK ON CHERRIES AND GRAPES

As well as fitting blackout blinds in your bedroom and resisting the temptation to use any digital device in bed, eat wellchosen snacks regularly. Food sources of melatonin include: cherries, bananas, pineapple, oranges, grapes and cereals based on corn, oats and rice. When we consume foods rich in melatonin, we significantly boost the melatonin levels in our blood.

■ AVOID PAINKILLERS Evidence suggests that taking a night-time dose of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, may suppress the release of melatonin, so avoid taking them right before bed.

We may not often find ourselves in genuine danger, but simply feeling stressed can cause the part of the brain called the hypothalamus to stimulate the adrenal glands into pumping out cortisol. Short-term this isn’t an issue, but consistently raised levels can leave you feeling tired and drained. Do this: ■ DO SOME QUICK SPRINTS Regular exercise relieves stress, but long workouts encourage your body to produce more cortisol, so go for short bursts of activity instead. Warm up with a five-minute jog before sprinting uphill for about 20 seconds and walking slowly back downhill, over six minutes or so.

■ TRY YOGA A study by Thomas Jefferson Medical College and the Yoga Research Society measured cortisol levels of participants before and after a yoga class. They found that doing yoga can normalise cortisol levels. The exact reasons are unclear, but it’s thought yoga’s deep breathing can deactivate the body’s stress response. ■ WATCH WHAT YOU EAT Omega 3 fatty acids slightly reduce cortisol levels. Find them in flax seeds, walnuts, salmon, oily fish, soya beans and leafy green vegetables. Oh, and cut down on coffee.

These two are known as the hunger hormones. Ghrelin lets the brain know you’re hungry, and leptin signals the

brain that you’ve had enough. Being out of sync can mean that you don’t realise when you’re satiated, leading to overeating. Do this:

■ DON’T SKIP MEALS Low blood sugar levels stimulate a spike in ghrelin that makes you want sweet and starchy foods. When you eat regularly, you won’t crave sugar as much.

■ GO TO BED EARLIER When you don’t sleep enough, leptin levels are driven down, which means you don’t feel satisfied after eating. Lack of sleep also causes ghrelin to rise, which means your appetite is stimulated, so you want more food.

This hormone plays a role in regulating your metabolic rate. An under-active one typically manifests as tiredness, weight gain, depression and period problems. Do this:

■ EAT IODINE-RICH FOODS Help support low-functioning thyroid by eating iodinerich foods like seafood, eggs and yoghurt.

This one is known as the happy hormone. When levels are low, we feel down and vice versa. Do this: ■ EAT FISH, OATS, BANANAS & COTTAGE

CHEESE We can get serotonin directly from what we eat, but it can’t pass the blood-brain barrier so won’t affect brain function. However, tryptophan, an amino acid that is linked to serotonin production, can. More good sources are pork; poultry; beef; salmon; lamb; eggs; dairy, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds; soya beans, oats, bananas and dates.

■ HAVE A MASSAGE A study with pregnant women suffering from depression showed that after four months of regular massage, they had lower levels of cortisol and higher levels of serotonin.

You’ve heard of these ones, right? They play a key and complex role in regulating a woman’s menstrual cycle. They rise and fall at different times of the month. To keep them in balance, try this:

■ AGNUS CASTUS Talk to your health care provider about supplementing with this herbal extract. It is said to stimulate the release of hormones in the pituitary gland that in turn stimulate the release of progesterone. This helps regulate your cycle and decrease the symptoms of PMS. ■ EAT TOFU Phytoestrogens can mimic the effect of oestrogen in the body. Rich sources are soya, millet, barley, lima beans, rye, clover, fennel and chickpeas. ●