Emily T Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Finally got my test results back and its confirmed, my hormones are all out of whack. Particularly I am showing excess androgens/testosterone dominance. Main symptom for me has been hormonal acne. Obviously the best thing to do is to keep eating a whole30 compliant diet and get plenty of sleep. However, are there any tweaks I should consider? Do I need to avoid nuts/seeds? Do I need to avoid caffeine? Eat more (or less) coconut? Any particular veggies I should look for? Extra supplements to take? The web seems to provide mixed responses. Some people say no caffeine, others say eat more soy, etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 You intuitively know the answer to many of your questions. Yes...cut back on nuts and seeds. Yes...avoid caffeine and coffee. Yes...cut back on coconut. No...to soy. Extra supplements seldom help. More is not better. Yes...plenty of sleep. Yes....do more research how to eat for excess hormone dominance. No fast food/fried foods...you already know most of your answers. Check out some of the PCOS threads for additional tips/tweaks. http://youngwomenshealth.org/2014/02/25/polycystic-ovary-syndrome/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Hi There, Two big things for hormones: Stay away from sugar, and increase starchy veggies. Hormones like starchy veggies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily T Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 @MeadowLily - I thought coconut was good for hormonal imbalance? Confused... @Carlaccini - awesome...I love starchy veggies anyway. Thoughts on cruciferous and nightshade veggies? Should I increase, decrease, or stay the same? Last question on coffee...I have heard that women with PCOS or adrenal fatigue can enjoy coffee if it is mixed with fat, like coconut oil. Anyone know if this is true? I do not drink coffee but I love black tea and was wondering if I could drink that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I think the context that MedowLily means is that we should be wary of coconut chips and coconut butter. They tend to be sweet crutches for many and so we should tread lightly with those. Coconut oil is fine. Coconut Milk can cause some tummy problems with those people who have issues with FODMAPs (Types of sugars that our body has issues breaking down) With regards to cruciferous veggies and nightshades - this totally depends on your reactions to them. I found out over time that I need to limit both of these groups. I don't need to eliminate them - just limit them to once or twice a week. So eating sauteed cabbage in duck fat (sooo good) 3 days in a row will make me extremely uncomfortable and my stomach distended (not a look that I enjoy) I have been battling my hormones for a while - they were really , really messed up. I also have multiple autoimmune diseases (mainly skin reactions) But I would have to say the number one thing that should be avoided is sugar - it is the hardest one for me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 @MeadowLily - I thought coconut was good for hormonal imbalance? Confused... @Carlaccini - awesome...I love starchy veggies anyway. Thoughts on cruciferous and nightshade veggies? Should I increase, decrease, or stay the same? Last question on coffee...I have heard that women with PCOS or adrenal fatigue can enjoy coffee if it is mixed with fat, like coconut oil. Anyone know if this is true? I do not drink coffee but I love black tea and was wondering if I could drink that. More fiber. Need more fiber. Vege fiber...excellent. Try leafy greens if you can't do cruci-nightshades. I think the caffeine/coffee/cortisol/hormone connection is something to ponder....including black tea. Correct..Coconut chips/coconut butter - sparingly I don't think bulletproof coffee helps with adrenal fatigue. It may give you an initial boost but you can end up further in the hole with diminished returns of boosting your energy levels with coffee and caffeine. I used to do that. I ended up in a real fine mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily T Posted July 7, 2015 Author Share Posted July 7, 2015 Thanks for the guidance. I do not eat coconut chips or butter or anything like that, just use a lot of coconut in my daily life (I use to it shave, moisturize, etc). I also cook with coconut oil and often coconut milk. I do not seem to have major issues with any particular family of veggies. So I will keep on eating whole30, sleeping a lot (I have NO trouble with this one!!!), drinking lots of water, etc. And I will now avoid nuts and seeds, and I will avoid caffeine for a while, and see how I do.....really hope I can bring caffeine back soon though! Sometimes I wish there were a magic pill to balance my hormones. Also I have some saffron tea and I read that saffron can really help balance your hormones. Fingers crossed!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 A fella who just finished his Whole 30 with success related how coffee/caffeine were the catalysts that led him down the wrong path. Me, too. Ooooo, Emily...when I started drinking a pot of coffee aday, I started stacking it on in leaps and bounds. Everything went haywire and abby normal. When I stopped the coffee fix, my life, body, hormones have returned to normal. I think we start self-medicating with coffee because it is a stimulant and we may be dog tired and dragging ourselves around. An overabundance of anything puts you further in the hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/29138-day-30/#entry310870 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlaccini Posted July 7, 2015 Share Posted July 7, 2015 Meadowlily - you have me seriously contemplating giving up coffee. I have never consumed a large amount - at most 2 cups a day (the second one is generally a decaf) - and I enjoy it more now black than I ever did before.... But I have a funny feeling about coffee.... that it is messing me up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeadowLily Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I started drinking an entire pot aday because I was dragging around. High stress job. I started out with a cup and worked up to a pot for 14 years. It messed with my adrenals and blood sugar...cortisol levels. It was really hard to give it up. It's the best think I've ever done. Everything is going back to normal, including blood sugar. I stacked all of my weight on around my middle section. It's taken me 14 months but most of that has disappeared. This may sound bizarre and it did alarm me.... When I started to release this belly fat, I felt large marbles under my skin. They were the size of marbles and I made my husband validate this process. "Feel these things between my ribs!! What are those?!" "Don't ask me!" "Fat marble blobs!" Call them cortisol blobs, I don't know...but after about 6-8 months, those went away. Fat marbles under the skin. You could see and feel them. Cray cray. Unhealthy, whatever they were but they're gone. Yeehawww! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily T Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 MeadowLily - Can I ask about how long it took? Going on day 6 without caffeine, day 24 of whole30. Skin still a mess, it goes 3-4 days clearing up and low oil, to 3-4 days massively oily and breaking out. As far as I can tell, unrelated to food I am eating, my menstrual cycle, my stress levels, etc. Quite sure this takes time, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.