The body is the world’s most fascinating ecosystem. Here, system A influences system B and organ C interacts with chemical D to force system A to change the way it works, and so on. It’s why the body is beautiful. It’s why the body is enigmatic. And it’s also why simplifying complex topics is not always easy.
The area where that is most certainly the case is the hormonal system. For us to break down “hormones” into one simple chapter is like saying you can learn to build a car engine with a three-minute YouTube video. The reality is that hormones ooze throughout this whole book (ewww!). We’ve addressed hormonal issues in a variety of areas, such as hot flashes (this page) and sex drive (this page) and the prostate (this page).
That said, we do think it’s worth addressing some uber-hormone issues—which is to say that many people have dysfunctional hormonal systems that are frustrating, complex, and difficult to treat. Some of those treatments involve medication, and some of them involve lifestyle changes. Those treatment methods are far too complex for this book—and yet it is worth exploring some more common hormonal issues and how you can address them with dietary choices.
Hormones—chemical messengers made in your endocrine glands and sent throughout the body—play a role in how you feel every day. Your metabolism, your body temperature, your heart rate, your libido, your mood, and more are all affected. The pituitary gland, located deep in your brain, acts as the main controller; some have compared it to the conductor of an orchestra. Other glands—for example, the thyroid and adrenal gland—receive signals from hormones released by your pituitary and then send out a second group of hormones to your body. How they interact with various organs, systems, and chemicals plays a role in how you feel via the symptoms and body functions mentioned previously.
Here’s why hormones are trickier than a street performer’s card game: There’s so much subjectivity when it comes to reading hormonal levels and figuring out how to control them. Although we have blood tests to show levels of a hormone, the same “number” doesn’t always mean the same thing for everyone. It’s not like clogged arteries, where we can see specific percentages of blockages. It’s nuanced, and good endocrinologists can help you figure out if and how your symptoms can be treated with medical interventions.
Our job here is to help you figure out how food can help your hormone systems stabilize—that is, what you can eat to optimize how your hormones function. As you may have guessed, that depends on which hormones need to be addressed.
Thyroid: The hormones produced by the thyroid are associated with symptoms like increased heart rate, anxiety, weight gain or loss, insomnia, and more. You can have an overactive thyroid (that’s called hyperthyroid) or an underactive one (that’s hypo). As you might imagine, those would manifest themselves in opposite ways—typically, you gain weight with hypothyroidism as everything slows, but can have heart palpitations and insomnia with hyperthyroidism as everything revs up. Here’s a simplified version of how to tweak your When Way of eating, based on thyroid issues:
Hyperthyroidism. In hyperthyroidism, the gland pumps out more hormones than you need, which revs up your metabolism. Although some people might want the weight loss that comes along with this, it also means that many of your body’s cells are turning over so quickly that you need to maximize your nutrients to support your skin, bones, hair, heart, and other organs. And the condition can damage some of those organs, as with hyperthyroid heart disease or eye disease. If you suffer from hyperthyroidism, you want to make sure to eat the When Way, getting lots of plant-based proteins that help build new cell components, as well as cruciferous vegetables like kale and broccoli, which are high in calcium to help protect bones. Cruciferous vegetables also contain a substance that can potentially interfere with the production of thyroid hormones, though there is likely not enough to make a difference if you have hyperthyroidism.76 One thing you may not need more of is iodine, so your doc may suggest avoiding iodine-rich foods like iodized salt, seafood, and iodine-enriched grains.
Hypothyroidism. The thyroid needs iodine to make hormones, so a small amount is required to ramp up a slowed thyroid that has been deprived. The best food source is low-mercury fish or algae, as well as iodized salt. You may also be able to help your thyroid by avoiding processed meats, which contain nitrates. (Nitrates block the thyroid from taking in iodine, therefore decreasing thyroid hormones.) One study found that people with higher dietary intake of nitrates had an increased risk for thyroid cancer.77 If you’re taking hormones for a low thyroid, don’t wash them down with soy milk or other soy products; studies suggest soy can block absorption. But it’s OK to eat them later in the day.78
Adrenal: The adrenal hormones consist of an inner adrenal that releases epinephrine or adrenalin and norepinephrine or noradrenaline, as well as an outer adrenal that produces cortisol. Together, they orchestrate many functions of the body, including metabolism, energy, stress response, blood pressure, digestion, and immune functions.
For these purposes, we’re most concerned with the adrenal production of cortisol—the stress hormone. Too much cortisol circulating in your bloodstream may increase hunger, which can lead to overeating, and this hormone can also increase storage of abdominal fat.79 That fat is dangerous because it’s so close to your vital organs and puts you at risk of developing heart problems among a number of other disorders. That’s one of the reasons you want to avoid high-sugar and simple-carb foods when you’re stressed; they make everything worse. Your body tends to crave sugary foods when you’re stressed because these foods can help lower cortisol levels.80 Although that might help in the short term, in the long run stress eating leads to the fat we just explained.
So when you’re experiencing stress, what to eat when is actually nothing. Instead of reaching for a snack (even a healthy one), you may be better off trying to divert the emotional reflex to grab food by trying a quick meditation session that helps control your breathing and instead divorce yourself from the eating-as-a-stress-fix reaction. You can practice meditation with the help of a variety of apps, or just experiment yourself: Sit in a quiet room with your eyes closed and no distractions. Pick a mantra, a phrase, or some guttural sound (like ohm), and repeat it over and over, breathing slow and controlled breaths.
Skin: You probably don’t think of your skin as a gland or even as an organ. But in fact, it is the body’s largest of both! The skin is responsible for production of vitamin D, which is actually a hormone. Vitamins technically aren’t made by the body, but “vitamin D” is. The skin uses the power of the ultraviolet B rays from the sun to convert a form of cholesterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol, into vitamin D3.
This inactive form of vitamin D then travels in the blood to the liver, where oxygen and hydrogen are added, and on to the kidney, where it is finally converted to its active form, known as calcitriol. Active vitamin D helps the gut absorb the calcium needed to support strong bones, regulates cell growth to help prevent cancer, protects from heart disease, and serves many other functions throughout the body.81
But let’s face it: In this day and age, many of us probably aren’t spending the 15 or more minutes a day in the sun, especially in the winter. Also because of skin cancer concerns (sun exposure is a big risk factor), the American Academy of Dermatology actually recommends against getting vitamin D from the sun, suggesting that we turn to other natural sources.82 Many of those sources are foods you’re probably not eating much of anymore if you’re eating the When Way: fortified milk, cheese, and egg yolks. But you can find a lot of vitamin D in When Way-approved foods like salmon or leafy greens. If you’re not eating salmon just about every day like Dr. R, you may want to consider a supplement.