A lot of women can relate to the struggle of feeling like their hormones are out of whack and there’s a lot going on that’s causing inflammation in their bodies.
Feeling like your body and the way it reacts to certain things are out of your control is incredibly frustrating. While there are some things out of your control, other things aren’t, like the foods you choose to fill your diet with. Some fail to remember that what you eat can have a significant effect on your hormones and inflammation. There are plenty of clean, nutritious foods you can eat to keep things on track, but there are also plenty of lousier things that can throw you off. Using information from health experts, we’re listing four common foods that can increase inflammation and throw off your hormones. Read more about them below.
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1. Red Meat
Red meat, when eaten in appropriate amounts, can be very nutritious, as it contains many nutrients and is often packed with protein. However, eating too much red meat, especially processed red meats like bacon, pepperoni, etc., can start to have a negative effect on your body and make you feel lousy.
"Red meat contains high amounts of saturated and hydrogenated fats, which are considered unhealthy types of fat," note experts at North Valley Women's Care. "Consuming too much meat can disrupt hormonal balance as it increases the production of estrogen levels in your body. Good substitutes would be eating eggs and fatty fish like salmon and tuna, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids with anti-inflammatory properties."
2. High-Sugar Foods
Many would argue that one of the best parts of life is getting to indulge in a sweet treat like candy, ice cream, etc., now and then. While these things are fine in moderation, and can provide a fun experience or sense of comfort, eating too much refined sugar is notoriously known to mess with hormones and increase inflammation.
"Sugar not only provides major highs and lows in mood and energy, it can also disrupt one of the most powerful hormones in the body: insulin," wrote Dr. Sarika Arora, MD, with Women's Health Network. "And insulin is closely connected to all of the other hormones in your body, including estrogen and testosterone."
3. Seed Oils
More and more information on the negative effects seed oils can have on people's health is coming out these days. Examples of seed oils include canola oil, soybean oil, corn oil, and more, and while they're used frequently in various kinds of processed foods and cooking, consuming them frequently could hurt your health over time.
"An excessive intake of seed oils can increase inflammation in the body," notes naturopathic doctor Nirvana Tehranian. "Chronic inflammation disrupts hormone balance and can contribute to various health issues, including estrogen dominance, insulin resistance, and thyroid dysfunction. These imbalances can lead to weight gain, mood swings, fatigue, and even fertility problems."
4. Processed Foods
Now that you know seed oils and sugar can cause a hormonal imbalance and inflammation in your body, it may not come as a surprise that processed foods will do the same thing if not eaten in moderation. This is because processed foods, from pastries and cookies to chips and crackers, often contain both seed oils and refined sugar, on top of a variety of other additives that can cause a recipe for a health disaster.
"When you eat sugar and processed foods, they affect hormone function by increasing inflammation and stress to the adrenal glands, putting you at risk of unintentional weight gain and severe hormonal imbalance," adds North Valley Women's Care. "It's best to avoid these foods to improve hormonal health."
