Maintain good energy. A vital outlook and youthful skin, and your hormones.  And one of the best ways to help clear your skin and boost your hormone health is to eat for your hormones.

The Importance of Hormones
Hormones and their importance to your body and skin:

Hormones are molecules produced in the body. These molecules act as chemical messengers, sending information through the blood to various organs in the body, directing them how to behave. Now — your skin is the largest organ in your body and  your hormones play a big role in the way your skin behaves.1

Your hormones affect the rate at which your skin ages, and also work to dictate oil production, hair growth, and the presence of acne.2

Clearly, hormones play a major role in the skin and the body. And it’s probably not surprising that having too much or too little of a particular hormone can throw you out of balance.

Progesterone

Progesterone helps the body maintain a regular sleep cycle. And also helps manage emotions and feelings of stress.

How does this relate to your skin? Well, it turns out that your mood plays a role in your skin health. Feeling stressed is actually correlated with skin aging. And so is sleep!

Studies have shown that sleeplessness can impair your skin’s integrity and affect the rate at which your body produces collagen.

To Promote Progesterone:natural-progesterone-and-infertility-660x400.png

Foods High In Magnesium: Almonds, cashews, bananas, pumpkin seeds, and dark chocolate.

Foods High in Vitamin B6: Chickpeas, tuna, salmon, chicken.

Insulin
You probably know that insulin is related to blood sugar.
high blood sugar can also produce unpleasant symptoms, like thirst, fatigue, weight gain, and acne.

Eat plenty of plenty of green vegetables.

Cortisol
Cortisol is a “stress response” hormone. Stress response hormones are what put your body into “fight or flight” mode. Thus, when your body perceives a threat, it releases cortisol.  However, during times of constant stress, cortisol can become overactive.  Thus,  stimulates your body’s immune response. You see, when your body is exposed to stress — it affects your DNA.  This can accelerate the skin aging process.
Not only that — stress can also cause skin redness and sensitivity.

To Curb Cortisol:
Reduce your sugar and caffeine intake to avoid any energy spikes.
Try oatmeal, which is known to balance the mood.
Eat foods that are high in zinc, like cashews, pumpkin seeds, and oysters. Low levels of zinc are associated with feelings of stress, so keeping zinc levels up may help reduce stress and the risk of heightened cortisol levels.28
Thyroid
Your thyroid hormones are among your body’s most important hormones. Because, they help regulate your metabolism and help support the health of your entire body.
To Support Your Thyroid:
Eat foods high in selenium: Brazil nuts, halibut, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and couscous are all good sources.

Sources:

  • https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB6-HealthProfessional
  • https://www.hormone.org/hormones-and-health/hormones/insulin
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12485807
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3543736
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2836431
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11103847
  • https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002136.htm
  • https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/4-foods-that-steady-your-blood-sugar_us_566b39dae4b011b83a6b4b84
  • https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response