How Can I Balance My Hormones Without Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Do you have symptoms of hormonal imbalance and are wondering how you can balance your hormones naturally?

It’s possible to treat hormonal imbalance naturally through diet, exercise, stress management and liver detoxification. The estrogen-progesterone ratio is fragile and with age, estrogen typically decreases leading to low levels of estrogen. If we’re chronically stressed, it can lead to low progesterone levels. Sluggish liver metabolism and digestion, increased body fat and other lifestyle factors can lead to estrogen dominance. How we live can affect our hormones, which means, we may also naturally bring them back in balance.

In order to address how you can balance your hormones without HRT, we’ll talk about what HRT is and how you can test your hormones. We’ll go through how you can naturally balance your hormones through liver detoxification, diet, exercise, stress management and supplementation.

Can You Balance Your Hormones Without HRT?

If you’re having hormonal imbalance due to age, menopause or low levels of estrogen, it’s possible to decrease the unpleasant symptoms and balance your estrogen-progesterone levels naturally.

Hormone replacement therapy, also called HRT, is medication containing synthetic estrogen, that helps relieve symptoms of menopause by increasing estrogen levels.

Disclaimer; Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is only to be discussed with your doctor. This site is purely for information, not self-diagnosis. 

Reaching menopause, our ovaries stop producing estrogen which not only can lead to unpleasant symptoms, but also increase the risk of diseases like osteoporosis.

Even though HRT medication can relieve menopausal symptoms, studies suggest that long-term use of HRT can lead to:

• Breast cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Uterine cancer 
• Heart disease
• Stroke 
• Blood clots 

Furthermore, HRT can lead to an imbalance in estrogen-progesterone balance, which can lead to estrogen dominance. 

Estrogen dominance is when we’re producing too much estrogen and can stem from:

• Hormones replacement therapy (HRT)
• Sluggish liver metabolism
• Increased adipose tissue (body fat)
• Imbalance in estrogen-progesterone ratio 
• Diet, stress management and exercise 

Estrogen dominance often happens due to lifestyle factors such as chronic stress, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise and sluggish liver metabolism.

Our liver is responsible for breaking down hormones, such as estrogen, and then eliminating them through feces. Furthermore, the liver is responsible for breaking down food, toxins, chemicals, alcohol, medications, etc.

This means, if our liver is overloaded and doesn’t have the right nutrients to work properly – our liver metabolism can become slow. This can lead to excess estrogen. 

It is my opinion that we have the remedies to heal naturally and ease symptoms of menopause or low estrogen. 

When reaching perimenopause or menopause we’ll naturally get our hormones imbalanced. HRT can surely help ease symptoms – but not without the risk of an imbalance in the estrogen-progesterone ratio which can lead to estrogen dominance.

Fortunately, you can balance your hormones naturally, without hormone replacement treatment.

Is There A Natural Alternative To Hormone Replacement Therapy?

If you’re experiencing an imbalance in your estrogen-progesterone ratio and are seeking a natural way of balancing your hormones, I’ll personally recommend you to test your hormones.

Testing your hormones through a DUTCH Complete test, which is one of the most advanced hormone tests on the market, can give you a clear indicator of the root cause.

The DUTCH test measures 35 hormones including estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, cortisol, melatonin and DHEA-S. The DUTCH test gives a clear indicator of how we metabolize and break down hormones in our liver.

When getting the test result, you’ll get a clear indicator of where to set, and in cooperation with a practitioner, you’ll get a tailored treatment plan for you.

Besides testing your hormones, there are a few alternative methods to hormone replacement therapy.

Detox Your Liver To Balance Hormones 

Since the liver is responsible for breaking down and eliminating hormones through feces, it’s a must to support optimal liver detoxification and digestion.

The first step is eliminating everything that burdens the liver which includes:

• Toxins
• Medication 
• Processed food 
• Saturated fat 
• Alcohol 
• Pollution 
• Nicotine 
• Chemicals 
• Additives
• Colors 
• Sweeteners 

When removing all the toxins and aid in supplements such as NAC, Glutathione and milk thistle that support liver detoxification, everything will run more smoothly. I cannot stress enough what an important role the liver has in estrogen metabolism.

Furthermore, supporting your liver and gut with an anti-inflammatory diet will reduce general inflammation in our body. Inflammation can lead to chronic stress – which both have an impact on how well our liver functions. 

Limit Stress To Balance Hormones 

When talking about chronic stress, whether it’s from physiological or psychological reasons, stress management is important in balancing hormones.

Chronic stress increases cortisol, our stress hormone – progesterone is a precursor of cortisol. This means chronic stress can lead to an imbalance in the estrogen-progesterone ratio.

At some point, our adrenal glands can’t keep up with the increased production of cortisol which can lead to adrenal fatigue. Adrenal fatigue can lead to estrogen dominance. 

Besides taking care of our liver, digestion and stress levels – the nutrients we eat are just as important in balancing hormones.

Foods That Balance Hormones 

If you’re looking for natural ways of balancing your hormones without hormone replacement therapy, incorporating an anti-inflammatory diet to support your liver, digestion, and hormones is crucial. 

This includes eliminating all the toxins mentioned earlier but also grain, dairy, inflammatory fats, refined sugar and caffeine.

It’s not only specific food groups that support our hormones – but also how and when we eat.

When we eat the first thing in the morning – or lastest hour after waking up, we’ll nourish our body with energy and stabilize blood sugar. Keeping the blood sugar stable requires eating every 3-4 hours – a meal containing complete protein, complex carbohydrates and fats (and of course, vegetables).

It is my recommendation to eat both cooked/raw vegetables at first, then protein, fats and carbs – that way, you’ll make sure not to spike your blood sugar, which affects cortisol.

Furthermore, I’ll recommend an anti-inflammatory diet containing up to 1000 grams of vegetables a day – included in raw juices. 

Vegetables for estrogen support contain: 

• Broccoli
• Broccoli sprouts
• Cauliflower
• Brussel sprouts
• Onion
• Kale
• Cabbage
• Beets 
• Spinach 
• Celery
• Carrots

Regarding protein, I’ll recommend grass-fed beef, chicken, turkey, eggs and fish – and for complex carbohydrates sweet potato, quinoa, beans, berries and apples.

Fatty acids like flaxseed oil and coconut oil are important for our cells. Plant estrogens such as flaxseed, sesame seed and pumpkin seeds function as phytoestrogens.

Phytoestrogens are plant-based compounds that mimic estrogen and can be very helpful during hormonal imbalance or menopause.

When wanting to balance hormones without hormone replacement therapy, it’s possible to do so naturally through diet, liver detoxification, stress management and supplements that support hormones.

Over The Counter Natural Estrogen Replacement

Whether you have estrogen dominance or low levels of estrogen and want to balance your hormones naturally, without hormone replacement therapy, I’ll recommend you test your hormones before using any supplementation.

Testing your hormones gives you a clear indicator of where your hormones need support. 

If you have estrogen dominance and are wondering which supplements get rid of excess estrogen, I’ll recommend the following:

• DIM and I3C
• Omega 3
• Flaxseed
• Vitamin B6
• Calcium D-Glucarate 
• Magnesium
• Sulforaphane 

If you have low levels of estrogen, I’ll recommend the following supplements:

• Red clover
• Flaxseed
• Chaste tree berry (vitex)
• Maca
• Black Cohosh 
• Dong Quai 
• Tribulus

If you have low levels of progesterone, I’ll recommend the following supplements:

• Vitamin B6
• Chaste tree berry (vitex)
• Maca
• Evening primrose oil
• Borage oil 

If you’re considering taking any supplements, I’ll recommend talking to your healthcare provider and considering that supplements can lead to side effects.

Final Thoughts

If you’re considering balancing your hormones naturally, without hormone replacement therapy, it’s my personal recommendation to test your hormones to find the root cause of hormonal imbalance.