WHAT SHOULD I EAT? - CHECK IN WITH YOUR HORMONES. part 4

Welcome to the continuation of what your Nourishing Plate could look like. In the last article we discussed seasonal eating and ancestral eating as guides for what is on your plate. In this part, we will discuss how your plate composition will also look different depending on your different hormone levels. And we are not just talking about the sex hormones – though those are important for sure! We are also talking about stress hormones (and not just cortisol), energy hormones, appetite hormones, and sleep hormones.

A small caveat before we jump in. The hormonal system is extremely intricate, complex, and interwoven. And we are still learning about it. Only recently has science found that the gut is the largest source of serotonin and dopamine (the “happy hormones”)- not the brain as was previously thought. This is likely part of the reason why gut problems are related to depression.  I can personally attest to this. You can read more about my story and working with a functional nutritionist, Jackie Mulligan, here.

eating hormonally

Listen to your body. This might be a little scary. Cultivating a relationship with your body is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a human. And comes with a lot of difficulty and potentially trauma. Be aware of this, but let’s discuss the different hormonal signals our body sends us.

sleep hormones

There are many hormones in the body. In terms of our focus here on food, let’s first briefly mention melatonin which is the hormone that helps regulate wake/sleep cycles via light signals. This relates to eating seasonally as we discussed in the previous article- more daylight more simple carbs, less daylight less simple carbs. It’s definitely more nuanced than that but that’s a good start.  Duration and quality of sleep also has a huge effect on appetite and energy metabolism, predominantly through stress hormones (discussed more below).

The NUMBER 1 health recommendation I have is to get more, better quality sleep: 7-9 hours, around the same sleep/wake times, in a dark, cool, quiet, comfortable room with no devices switched on.

energy hormones

Exercise or physical activity uses energy. Depending on the type, intensity, duration of activity, and the way your own body works (physiology) it could be getting energy from glucose (blood sugar), fat, and/or protein. Many hormones interact to regulate energy metabolism, including insulin. Insulin is an important hormone for regulating blood glucose (sugar) levels- both the production of insulin, and the sensitivity of cells to the presence of insulin. For many people, if they do more physical activity then they require more macronutrients (“macros”) to either replace or build up what they are using. Think: eating oranges after a race to replace blood sugar, or drinking a protein shake after weight training to repair and build muscle.

sex hormones

There are also sex hormones- testosterone, oestrogen, progesterone (and others). All people have all these hormones all the time - in different quantities.

For people with ovaries who are cycling, they have a menstrual cycle which can be divided into two stages: the follicular phase and the luteal phase. Stick with me here, I am keeping it brief and overly simplified! The follicular phase starts on day 1 of the period (bleeding) and lasts around 2 weeks as an egg develops from a follicle. After the egg is released from the ovary, called ovulation, the luteal phase starts. The luteal phase goes from ovulation to the day before the period, usually around 2 weeks. The luteal phase is the development of the corpus luteum in the ovary. The whole cycle is usually somewhere around 28ish days but varies person to person.

A stained, thin section under the microscope (histology) through a human ovary. Look at that beautiful corpus luteum.

Hill, M.A. (2020, July 24) Embryology Ovary corpus luteum.jpg. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/File:Ovary_corpus_luteum.jpg

In the follicular phase, the dominant hormone gradually becomes oestrogen which is highest at ovulation. (NB: All the other hormones are still around.) During this time, the person is typically less hungry, so still remember to eat! Eating relatively more fat and fewer carbohydrates may feel better at this time.

During the luteal phase, the dominant hormone becomes progesterone, with a decent amount being produced by the corpus luteum itself (it really is an amazing structure- see the microscope picture above). During this time, especially in the week before menstruation (the period), the person typically feels hungrier and may have “cravings”. Eating relatively more carbohydrates and less fat may feel better at this time.

We usually associate testosterone with people who have testes. People with ovaries also produce testosterone, which usually peaks around ovulation. People with testes do not have an overt sex hormone cycle month to month like people who have cycling ovaries experience, but testosterone levels do change over time. People with testes reach the highest testosterone levels in late teens/early 20s. After around 40 years of age, testosterone starts to decline: around 1-2% a year. Testosterone stimulates energy metabolism and promotes bone and muscle strength. This could mean the person is more hungry- think the stereotype of teenage boys eating so much their parent(s)/caretaker(s) think their legs are hollow. Older people with testes may feel less hungry than previously, or notice that even though they are eating the same amount of food, they are producing more fat or maintaining less muscle. So eating less food overall, and focusing on eating more vegetables could help these folks stay optimally nourished.

stress hormones

Cortisol and other stress hormones and messengers also have important influences on the food we consume. These hormones make us more hungry, especially for sugar. Ancestrally this was because when we were stressed, it was likely from physical danger, so we needed sugar to fuel our muscles to fight, run away, climb a tree etc. The stress system was designed to be a short-acting system, and not switched on for weeks, months, years, decades, like it is for many people living on the crazy hamster wheel of capitalist life. If you have short term stress, it is important to focus on nourishing foods especially protein and vegetables, and if you are hungry, you can eat a bit more. And it is OK to eat chocolate at this time, since it helps. Read more about chocolate therapy here.

If stress is chronic i.e., long term, then that derails a lot of the satiety (feeling full) signals and it can make it difficult to know when you are actually hungry or when you are “stress eating” or “self-soothing” with food. This is a very intricate process that cannot be cured by a 7-day juice cleanse (! I mean, really), but requires looking at one’s entire lifestyle including psycho-emotional and spiritual aspects. Keep following along with us at Nourish that for more about this.

appetite hormones

Finally, the last food-related hormones we will discuss are the appetite hormones. Ghrelin stimulates hunger and leptin suppresses hunger. These hormones (and other appetite hormones) can become dysregulated by a number of hormone interactions and mechanisms (that science is still learning), so that we are not receiving the proper signals from our body as to when it’s time to eat. This can be related to stress, and especially inflammation which is often caused or exacerbated by so-called lifestyle issues including consumption of processed sugars.

so 

As you can see, in a fully nourished state, our hormones will actually tell us when and how much to eat, and also what to eat. We are embodied beings after all. But stress and undernourishment of the body, mind and spirit can dysregulate these hormones, or our interpretation of the signals, and make it more difficult to know what to eat. There is NO QUICK FIX. I get so mad seeing all the click bait articles, posts, and ads which are fishing for your money. To become re-regulated requires a whole lifestyle upheaval for many of us (me included and I am still working on it) and takes months to years to find the new homeostasis (balance). But it is a worthy goal for those of us undernourished in our food.

Take a moment to stretch and drink some water, before we discuss the last point of what your plate should look like.

summary: the nourishing plate

Your plate or bowl should contain mostly plants, some fungi, what is in season and grown locally, organically, with good soil practices. The amount of fat and carbohydrates to eat will vary, even meal to meal, depending on your body’s signals. These signals are influenced by your age and cycling status, activity level, stress levels, and lifestyle.  See what we are building here? It’s the Nourishing Plate. As far as grains, legumes and other foods go, ancestry could help, but experimenting is often the best way. Remember that your body can change over time, so foods that used to feel good may no longer, or vice a versa. Did anyone else hate olives as a kid? Conditions like gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance, leaky gut syndrome, histamine intolerance, gut microbiome imbalances, will all influence the ways your body can deal with nutrients too. It is not normal to feel bloated, nauseous, or have diarrhoea- those are signals from your body that something is not right. Listen to them.