Certain lifestyle practices, including exercising regularly and eating a nutritious diet rich in protein and fiber, can help naturally balance your hormones.

Hormones are chemical messengers that have profound effects on your mental, physical, and emotional health. For instance, they play a major role in controlling your appetite, weight, and mood.

Your body typically produces the precise amount of each hormone needed for various processes to keep you healthy.

However, sedentary lifestyles and Western dietary patterns may affect your hormonal environment. In addition, levels of certain hormones decline with age, and some people experience a more dramatic decrease than others.

A nutritious diet and other healthy lifestyle habits may help improve your hormonal health and allow you to feel and perform your best.

Learn more about how you can balance your hormones naturally.

Consuming adequate amounts of protein is extremely important.

Not only does protein provideTrusted Source essential amino acids that your body can’t make on its own, but your body also needs it to produce protein-derived hormones — also known as peptide hormones.

Peptide hormones play a crucial role in regulating many physiological processes, such as growth, energy metabolism, appetite, stress, and reproduction.

Research has shown that eating protein decreasesTrusted Source the hunger hormone ghrelin and stimulatesTrusted Source the production of hormones that help you feel full.

Experts recommend eating a minimum of 25–30 grams of protein per meal. You can do this by including high protein foods such as:

  • eggs
  • chicken breast
  • lentils
  • fish

Physical activity strongly influences hormonal health. Aside from improving blood flow to your muscles, exercise increases hormone receptor sensitivity, meaning that it enhances the delivery of nutrients and hormone signals.

A major benefit of exercise is its abilityTrusted Source to reduce insulin levels and increase insulin sensitivity.

Insulin is a hormone that allows cells to take up sugar from your bloodstream to use for energy. However, if you have a condition called insulin resistance, your cells may not effectively react to insulin. This condition is a risk factor for diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

However, while some researchers still debate whether the improvements come from exercise itself or from losing weight or fat, evidence showsTrusted Source that regular exercise may improve insulin resistance independently of body weight or fat mass reduction.

Many types of physical activity have been found to help prevent insulin resistance, including high intensity interval training, strength training, and cardio.

For people who cannot perform vigorous exercise, even regular walking may increase key hormone levels, potentially improving strength and quality of life.

Weight gain is directly associated with hormonal imbalances that may lead to complications in insulin sensitivity and reproductive health.

Obesity is strongly relatedTrusted Source to the development of insulin resistance, while losing excess weight is linked to improvementsTrusted Source in insulin resistance and reduced risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Studies indicate that eating within your own personal calorie range can helpTrusted Source you maintain hormonal balance and a moderate weight.

Your gut contains more than 100 trillion friendly bacteria, which produce numerous metabolites that may affect hormone health in both positive and negative ways.

Here are some tips to maintain healthy gut bacteria, which may also help you maintain a healthy hormone balance.

Minimizing added sugar intake may be instrumental in optimizing hormone function and avoiding obesity, diabetes, and other diseases.

Sugar-sweetened beverages are the primary source of added sugars in the Western diet, and fructose is commonly used commercially in soft drinks, fruit juice, and sports and energy drinks.

Fructose intake has increased exponentially in the United States since around 1980, and studies consistently showTrusted Source that eating added sugar promotes insulin resistance — at least some of which are independent of total calorie intake or weight gain .

Reducing your intake of sugary drinks — and other sources of added sugar — may improve hormone health.

Stress harms your hormones in several ways. The hormone cortisol is known as the stress hormone because it helps your body cope with long-term stress.

Your body’s response to stress activates a cascade of events that leads to cortisol production. Once the stressor has passed, the response typically ends.

However, chronic stress impairsTrusted Source the feedback mechanisms that help return your hormonal systems to normal.

Chronic stress causes cortisol levels to remain elevatedTrusted Source, which stimulates appetite and increases your intake of sugary and high fat foods. In turn, this may lead to excessive calorie intake and obesity.

It can be helpful to focus on reducing stressors in your day-to-day life. Try to devote at least 5 minutes per day to these activities.

Including high quality natural fats in your diet may help reduce insulin resistance and appetite.

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are unique fats that are less likely to be stored in fat tissue and more likely to be taken up directly by your liver for immediate use as energy, promoting increased calorie burning.

Healthy fats such as omega-3s help increase insulin sensitivity by preventingTrusted Source cortisol levels from increasing during stress.

These healthy fats are found in:

  • pure MCT oil
  • avocados
  • almonds
  • peanuts
  • macadamia nuts
  • fatty fish

No matter how nutritious your diet or how consistent your exercise routine, getting enough restorative sleep is crucial for optimal health.

Poor sleep is linked toTrusted Source imbalances in many hormones, including insulin, cortisol, leptinTrusted Source, ghrelin, and HGH.

Plus, your brain needs uninterrupted sleep to go through all five stages of each sleep cycle. This is especially important for the release ofTrusted Source growth hormone, which occurs mainly at night during deep sleep.

To maintain optimal hormonal balance, aim for at least 7 hours of high quality sleep per night.

Fiber is essential to a healthy diet.

StudiesTrusted Source have found that it increases insulin sensitivity and stimulates the production of hormones that make you feel full.

Although soluble fiber tends to produce the strongest effects on appetite by increasing fullness hormones, insoluble fiber may also play a role.

Try to eat several high fiber foods each day, such as avocados, beans, and nuts.

Estrogen is a hormone involved inTrusted Source both female and male reproductive health, as well as blood sugar balance, and immune and brain function.

Dietary choices may contribute to changes in your estrogen levels.

Research shows that the Western diet — primarily composed of refined sugars and animal products — is linked to higher estrogen levels, which are a risk factorTrusted Source for breast and ovarian cancers.

However, following a Mediterranean diet rich in whole grains, fish, and cruciferous vegetables may help reduce estrogen levels and, thus, cancer risk.

The bottom line

Your hormones are involved in every aspect of your health. You need them in very specific amounts for your body to function optimally.

Hormone imbalances may increase your risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other health conditions.

Although aging and other factors that affect hormones are beyond your control, you can take several steps to help manage your hormone levels.

Consuming nutritious foods, exercising regularly, and engaging in other health-promoting behaviors such as meditating and getting enough sleep may go a long way toward improving your hormonal health.