Hormones and CBD Oil – What You Need to Know
We often hear that we need to balance our hormones and that hormonal health is very important, but what are hormones and why is balancing them so important? Today we discuss CBD oil and hormones.
Hormones are chemical messengers that tell organs and cells throughout the body what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. There are over 50 known hormones that are responsible for thousands of bodily processes. Hormones work together and if you change one hormone the rest get influenced similar to a domino effect. Hormones are made all over our body, some in organs such as the pancreas and ovaries, some in glands such as the pituitary or thyroid gland, and some in cells such as fat cells. We should never underestimate the importance of hormones and the powerful influence they have on our bodies. Especially those in particular that are related to metabolism, mood, sleep, pain, and stress.
If you think you don’t get affected much by hormones because you don’t struggle with PMS, let us convince you otherwise. Do you feel sleepy at night? That’s due to the hormone melatonin. Do you feel awake and energized in the morning? That’s due to the hormone cortisol. Do you feel hungry at lunchtime? That’s due to the hormone ghrelin. Do you feel full after dinner? That’s due to the hormone leptin. Do you feel happy or depressed? That’s from the hormone serotonin. So most of your natural everyday feelings and processes are simply due to hormones. We aren’t even talking about hormones you don’t feel working like the ones that affect the immune system, cardiovascular system, metabolism, digestion, and many more.
Are you convinced yet that we want to have balanced hormones? Let’s break down hormones and CBD oil.
So, how do we balance hormones naturally?
Well, it’s both simple and difficult at the same time. Since there are so many hormones, living a holistically healthy lifestyle will be most important, however, a few simple steps can make a huge difference on the bigger picture.
Remember how we mentioned that if you influence one hormone then the rest also get influenced? Well, there are a few hormones that we influence the most with our lifestyle, so if we learn how to balance those, we will be on the right track to the perfect our hormonal health! Many hormones work in pairs, meaning that if one is high the other one has to be low and vice versa, so when we are trying to achieve a balance we need to work with both of them.
Let’s look at the ones we can bring into balance with our lifestyle the most and then go over hormones and CBD oil.
1. Cortisol & Melatonin
Cortisol is the stress hormone and melatonin is the sleep hormone with cortisol being the highest an hour after waking and lowest in the evening (melatonin being highest in the evening). If you are feeling stressed out during the day, you won’t be able to sleep at night. You will also have energy crashes since cortisol is responsible for energy production, as well as the immune system, digestive system, and cardiovascular system functions. You can balance both hormones if you:
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Avoid drinking coffee past noon and don’t eat chocolate or sugar after 6 pm.
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Improve your sleep hygiene by going to bed at the same time, no computers or cell phones in bed, and taking CBD oil 30 minutes prior to bedtime.
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Manage stress by meditating, doing breathing exercises, not drinking too much coffee or alcohol, and taking CBD oil.
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Find out if you have hidden food sensitivities or allergies since they might be causing your body stress that you might not even be aware of.
2. Insulin & Glucagon
Insulin is the hormone that helps cells absorb sugar thus lowering blood sugar levels and glucagon is the hormone that helps the liver release glucose into the blood thus raising blood sugar levels. Consuming sugar spikes insulin, making you feel more energetic at first but then causing energy and mood swings after. Since you need your blood glucose to be at a consistent level at all times, glucagon makes sure to burn stored energy like glycogen and fat for energy when levels are too low. We can easily balance these two hormones by:
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Limiting sugar consumption.
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Avoiding sugar and simple carbs particularly in the morning, so no cereal, bagels, quick oats, muffins, etc.
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Adding protein, fibre, and/or fat if you are consuming simple carbs or sugars.
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Not overeating before going to bed.
Balanced insulin and glucagon will give you steady energy levels, prevent mood swings, and decrease inflammation.
3. Estrogen & Testosterone
Estrogen is considered to be the female reproductive hormone and testosterone is the male equivalent. While in reality, everyone has a combination of both estrogen and testosterone. Too much estrogen and not enough testosterone can lead to weight gain, muscle and bone wasting, cardiovascular problems, and increased risk of certain cancers. We want to make sure we, as women, focus on increasing our testosterone levels while lowering estrogen by:
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Exercising, specifically resistance training.
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Avoiding sugars and simple carbs including alcohol since they lower testosterone.
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Avoid eating food from plastic since it contains xenoestrogens that bind to our receptors.
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Choosing hormone-free meats and animal products only.
Balanced estrogen and testosterone will help you build muscles and burn extra body fat, as well as they will lower your risk for cardiovascular diseases.
4. Ghrelin and Leptin
Ghrelin is the hunger hormone and leptin is the satiety hormone. Imbalances will make you hungry all the time and/or cause the inability to feel full. The best ways to balance them are:
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Sleeping at least 7 hours per night.
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Not overeating since this causes imbalances in your satiety hormone.
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When you get hungry, eating high protein and low sugar snacks.
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Trying intermittent fasting and using CBD oil to help you control appetite.
Balanced ghrelin and leptin will help you feel full when you have eaten enough and help you only feel hungry when it is time to eat. We also often mistake our thirst for hunger, so it will be important to pay attention to hydration.
The Bottom Line
Hormones are very complex chemical messengers, but you can easily help balance them by implementing a few simple lifestyle changes:
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Avoiding sugar, simple carbs, caffeine, and alcohol.
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Taking CBD oil throughout the day to manage stress and before going to bed.
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Sleeping a minimum of 7 hours per night.
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Consuming healthy fats and proteins, since hormones are made from them.
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Exercising your body and your mind regularly.
A few small changes can have a massive impact on your health in the long run. Now we also know that hormones and CBD oil go very well together for boosting general health.
Curious to give CBD oil a try for yourself? We suggest ICARIA’s Theia Double Strength since it provides a higher concentration with zero flavoring, making it easy to take throughout the day whenever you need it.
You can also check out what our happy customers are saying here!
