Women’s hormonal health and nutrition

What are the most common hormonal imbalances, depending in women’s age? 

• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) affects 8% of women’s population in reproductive age and is the cause of infertility in 70% of cases. It usually appears early, in adolescence. 
• Premenstrual cycle (PMS) is an alteration with more than 200 symptoms described. It repeats systematically 7-15 days before the period arrives. Women who most suffer this affection are those between 20 and 30 years old. 
• Menopause is not a hormonal imbalance, but climacteric (the time before menopause appears) may be experienced as a true alteration of a woman’s quality of life. Climacteric may last between 2 and 8 years until we finally reach 12 months of amenorrhoea with no other apparent cause, confirming the apparition of menopause between 45 and 55 years old.

Nutrition is an important factor in the regulation of the endocrine and hormonal system of women. 

What tips can help improve a woman’s hormonal health?

▪ 40% of women affected by PCOS recover their normal ovulation after losing weight, increasing weight training and quitting smoking. The strategy consists on increasing insulin sensitivity with a fibre and healthy fat-rich diet, low on simple sugars and with enough supply of iron, zinc, folic acid and B vitamins. 

Combining a healthy diet with high-intensity exercise improves insulin resistance, one of the main causes of developing PCOS. 

▪ Some of the most frequent symptoms of PMS are tiredness, irritability, increased appetite, bowel alterations (constipation or diarrhoea), migraines and cramps. In order to manage all these symptoms, we need to take into account the 2 phases of the menstrual cycle: Follicular phase (days 1 to 14) is when we can increase the intake of whole grain carbohydrates, avoid caffein and include nuts, vegetables, fruit ad legumes. It is a period full of energy that allows us to increase aerobic exercise and resistance.  Luteal phase, when the uncomfortable symptoms begin, we should reduce the intake of sugars and carbohydrates and increase that of fats. More specifically, the intake of oily fish, which is rich in omega-3, should increase during this phase. In case of cravings, dark chocolate is an excellent option, as well as having some coffee or tea in case of feeling tired. In addition, in this phase we can dedicate short periods of time to high-intensity weight training, which as anti-inflammatory, and reduce aerobic exercise in order to not tire ourselves excessively.

Taking some magnesium supplement can be taken into account, especially if there cramps or constipation. 

▪ Symptoms directly related to menopause (the drastic fall of oestrogen levels) such as hot flushes, vaginal dryness, loss of bone mass and the decrease of HDL cholesterol (which is a powerful heart protector). 

These symptoms can derivate into others like insomnia due to hot flushes at night, irritability, loss of sexual interest and depression, joint pain, tiredness and weigh gain. 

To counteract all these symptoms, we recommend: no smoking, drinking enough water, avoid coffee, alcohol and spicy foods. 

Phytotherapy has demonstrated the improvement of some of these symptoms. Black cohosh and chaste tree may be a non-pharmacological alternative to the relief of the vasomotor symptoms of menopause. 

In addition, some other techniques we can apply are relaxation techniques, doing exercise and expose ourselves to sunlight from time to time. Exercise like dancing, improves mood and balance. This decreases the risk of falling down and prevents bone fractures in people suffering from osteoporosis. 

Something interesting for women over 65 is supplementing with calcium and vitamin D in order to increase the optimal levels. Calcium-rich foods are dairy products, tofu, almonds, spinach, sardines, salmon and vegetable drinks enriched with calcium.