Balancing hormones goes beyond taking a pill or supplement. If you want to improve them, you’re going to have to approach them with a lifestyle-based strategy. This is going to be the foundation of your health. Not only that, but hormones are highly sensitive to everyday habits, including exercise, sleep, stress (which can become habitual), and, yes, diet. Here’s a list of the top worst foods for your hormones. Those of you that are dealing with imbalances should pay even more attention since cutting out or reducing them can make a world of difference.

Processed Soy

This is a controversial one, but stick with me. When I, as well as several experts, talk about soy, we’re referring to conventional, processed soy. The ones that are often found in fake meat substitutes, dairy replacements, and other vegetarian and vegan products. Fermented soy like miso, soy sauce or tamari, and tempeh is a preferable alternative, but even with hormone imbalances, it may not be appropriate. (Check with your doctor for their take!)

Here’s what makes soy a hormone disruptive food. It contains isoflavones that mimic estrogen and block its activity, causing the normal routines of other hormones to become imbalanced. They also block estrogen receptor sites in cells, which causes normal estrogen to wander throughout the body and become dominant. Symptoms of high estrogen include irregular periods, tender or swollen breasts, sudden weight gain (that’s very stubborn and tricky to lose), mood swings, anxiety, low energy, bloating, hair loss, and fibrocystic lumps in the breasts. Women with high estrogen are also at risk of developing breast cancer.

To add insult to injury, soy is a common GMO that’s loaded with pesticides that are both toxic and hormone disruptive.

With all of that being said, there’s some research showing that soy doesn’t affect hormones or increases breast cancer risk. However, I doubt that people these days are eating natural, organic soy or the fermented varieties and are instead getting it from processed foods. Which is why I recommend limiting soy for the time-being when restoring hormone balance. [1] [2] [3]

 Sugar 

Just like with soy, I’m going to be specific here. By sugar, I’m talking about things like raw cane or table sugar, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, and all of its alter egos, which is found in baked goods, desserts, candy, soda, and snack foods. All of these contribute to rising levels of the hormone insulin, which is responsible for regulating blood sugar that also spikes after eating sugary foods. Over time, chronically elevated levels of both blood sugar and insulin create resistance, followed by metabolic syndrome or diabetes. While our body struggles to keep blood sugar under control, other hormones like estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, and cortisol become imbalanced.

Sugar itself comes packaged in foods that are also easy to overeat, leading to weight gain and further blood sugar and hormone imbalances. The result? Hormone-related conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) can develop due to problems with insulin. It’s also worth mentioning that excess sugar also contributes to fungal acne, yeast overgrowth, and PMS. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Alcohol

A 2013 study published in Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America found the effects of alcohol on the hormones to be significant, noting, “These alcohol-induced hormonal dysregulations affect the entire body and can result in various disorders such as stress abnormalities, reproductive deficits, body growth defect, thyroid problems, immune dysfunction, cancers, bone disease, and psychological and behavioral disorders. This review summarizes the findings from human and animal studies that provide consistent evidence on the various effects of alcohol abuse on the endocrine system.” [8]

Our hormones are very sensitive and closely regulated. Any break in the chain can lead to a domino-like effect of decline. Alcohol packs a nasty punch on all of them. First of all, it can damage the liver, which removes excess estrogens. Any damage or strain can lead to a state of estrogen dominance. Second, alcohol disrupts blood sugar levels. A moderate amount spikes it, with an excess surprisingly causing it to drop to dangerously low levels. Either way, we do not want to be messing with blood sugar, since it will lead to problems with insulin. Third and finally, alcohol increases the stress hormone cortisol. Too much cortisol interferes with sleep, muscle growth, menstruation, and testosterone production. [9] [10] [11]

Over-Fished or Farm-Raised Seafood

There may be plenty of fish in the sea, but not all of them are safe to eat. Over-fished or farm-raised seafood are contaminated with toxic substances that are notorious for disrupting hormones and causing serious damage to the body. These include mercury, cancer-causing PCBs, dioxins, potential strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and other pollutants. [12] [13] Mercury is especially concerning when it comes to hormones since it acts both as a neurotoxin and xenoestrogen. Xenoestrogens bind to hormone receptors and interfere with their function. A build-up of them is associated with infertility, obesity, endometriosis, early onset puberty, cancer (breast, testicular, and prostate), and miscarriage. [14] [15]

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, the top fish to avoid include imported tuna, tilapia (China), orange roughy, mahi-mahi (imported), cod (Japan and Russia), crab (Argentina, Asia, and Russia), lobster (imported), shrimp (imported), shark, swordfish, whitefish (from lakes), calamari (imported), tilefish, and salmon (Chile, Norway, Scotland, and Canada Atlantic). [16] [17]

Be Smart, Eat Right!

What do all of these have in common? Excess! Overeating is never a good thing. And when it comes to these foods, you’ll get more than a few extra pounds or bloating. Your hormones will turn inside out and cause a laundry list of symptoms. While I’m by no means a doctor, I suggest steering clear of these foods, especially if you’re trying to bring everything back into balance. But I’d like to hear from you. What are your top hormone-disrupting foods? Did any of mine make the list? Share with me in the comments below!

Sources:

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soybean-fertility-hormone-isoflavones-genistein/
[2] https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/soy-may-turn-on-genes-linked-to-cancer
[3] https://www.healthline.com/health/high-estrogen#symptoms-in-men
[4] https://health.clevelandclinic.org/polycystic-ovary-syndrome-pill-not-remedy/
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3277302/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC302772/
[7] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3970831/
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3767933/
[9] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/estrogen-metabolism
[10] https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/guide/drinking-alcohol
[11] https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-11-26
[12] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/farm-raised-fish-not-free-mercury-pcb-dioxin/
[13] https://www.drperlmutter.com/5-reasons-avoid-farm-raised-fish/
[14] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408440903057029
[15] https://womeninbalance.org/2012/10/26/xenoestrogens-what-are-they-how-to-avoid-them/
[16] https://www.seafoodwatch.org/-/m/sfw/pdf/guides/mba-seafoodwatch-central-guide.pdf?la=en
[17] https://www.nrdc.org/stories/mercury-guide