Binge Eating Guide for Hormonal Balance & Menstrual Health

HORMONAL BALANCE & MENSTRUAL HEALTH

Reproductive Health and Food

Binge Eating is defined as frequently consuming unusually large amounts of food in one sitting or feeling that your eating behavior is out of control. Foods such as dairy, red meat, sugar and processed foods need to be eaten in moderation to promote hormonal balance. Consuming these types of foods in large quantities can become too much for our organs to handle and causes them to stop functioning properly, which leads to a hormonal imbalance. There is not a self-help book, positive affirmation, strength of will or detox tea that can stop someone who is binge eating due to nutritional deficiencies and hormonal imbalances. This guide will teach about the nutrients you need to consume to satisfy your cravings for these foods and how to heal the hormonal imbalances that make the body want to binge on these foods.

You should check in with your physcian to see if it’s safe for you to make the recommended dietary changes and use the supplements.

This information is meant to bring awareness to how nutritional deficiencies and hormonal imbalances can cause binge eating behavior but is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not wait to seek medical counsel, diagnosis or treatment.

BEFORE YOU READ THIS GUIDE...

RED MEAT

Red meat is one of the hardest foods for your digestive enzymes to breakdown, which causes the digestive process to move way slower than normal.

This can also slow down the removal of estrogen from the body, which causes a hormonal imbalance called estrogen dominance. Red meat includes: beef, lamb, pork, goat, veal and venison. Reducing your intake of red meat down to one meal every two weeks keeps your estrogen levels stable.

Since we get a lot of our iron from consuming red meat, reducing your red meat consumption can deplete your iron levels, which can easily cause you to start craving red meat and eat more than your body and hormonal processes handle. You have to make sure your eating other foods that also are rich in iron or take an iron supplement to prevent binge eating behavior. People who menstrate need 18 milligrams of iron daily. Its recommended that we don’t exceed 40 milligrams per day.

Click here to see the iron supplement that I like to use

Estrogen dominance is a hormonal imbalance that can also contribute to binge eating red meat because of the large amounts of iron loss due to the excessive bleeding that can occur due to too much estrogen being in the body.

Click here to read the Estrogen Guide and learn how to heal estrogen dominance naturally with a balanced diet.

SUGAR & HIGH CARB FOODS Binge eating foods that are are rich in sugar and high in carbohydrates cause your insulin levels to rise rapidly. Insulin is a hormone that helps to control the amount of glucose that is present in the blood. Insulin keeps your blood glucose level from getting too high or too low.

Glucose is a sugar you get from foods you eat that your body uses for energy.

Eating these foods in moderation throughout the day helps maintain healthy blood glucose levels and prevents you from having intense cravings for sugary and high carbohydrate foods. You could also be binging on these types of foods because you're not consuming at least 50-60 grams of protein daily to keep your blood sugar levels balanced. Including a food that is high in protein in each meal and snack can easily provide you with the amount you need daily. Its important that you never skip meals because you need to eat 3-5 meals per day to keepyour glucose levels stable. It's best that you drink a small 8 oz. smoothie that includes a plant-based protein powder when you don't feel like eating at all.

Click here to see my recommendation for a high-quality plant-based protein powder.

When your appetite hormones such as insulin, leptin, ghrelin and glucagon are not balanced with each other you will want to binge on sugary, high carb foods. It is nearly impossible to heal hormonal disorders like PCOS, insulin resistance, high testosterone levels or thyroid disorders when you're binging on the foods that cause your appetite hormones to become imbalanced.

Click here to read the Appetite Guide and learn how you should be eating throughout the day to keep these hormones in sync with each other.

Dairy causes enzymes in the ovaries to activate inactive hormones and overstimulates the ovaries and knocks them out of sync with your circadian rhythm, which causes cysts to develop.

Your circadian rhythm is a natural, internal process that regulates your sleep–wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. The circadian clocks in the ovaries play a major role in the timing of ovulation, which is why its important to reduce your dairy intake down to one meal every two weeks. The problem with dairy reduction is that if you don't eat other foods that are rich in calcium and vitamin D, you're going to end up having intense cravings for dairy because your brain associates that food with those two nutrients. The parathyroid gland that regulates the amount of calcium in the body needs 1,000 milligrams of calcium daily. The body can not absorb calcium properly without vitamin D. Taking a calcium + vitamin D3 supplement is a stressfree way to heal your craving for dairy.

This is my Calcium+Vitamin D3 supplement recommendation

Having excessively high amounts of testosterone moving throughout your body is often a sign that you are overworking the organs that regulate your thyroid hormone and calcium levels which can contribute to having uncontrollable cravings for dairy.

Click here to read the Testosterone Guide and learn how to reduce your testosterone levels naturally with a balanced diet.

DAIRY

PROCESSED FOODS

The adrenal glands are small glands that sit at the top of each one of your kidneys. They produce stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. They also produce sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA. The adrenal glands can begin to malfunction due to eating too many processed foods throughout the day. Reducing your processed food intake down to one meal per day takes unnecessary stress off of your adrenal glands.

Intense cravings for processed foods can easily occur due to low magnesium levels.

Magnesium is the mineral that is responsible for keeping the body calm and relaxed during stressful situations, which prevents the adrenal glands from being overworked. When the body is depleted of magnesium, the brain associates processed, fast food as a quick source of nourishment. The recommended daily intake of magnesium for people who menstruate is 320 milligrams.

Clicking here to see the magnesium supplement that I recommend

Adrenal Fatigue is a condition that can also trigger the onset of binge eating processed foods. When you are experiencing Adrenal Fatigue you may notice that you're having trouble sleeping or you are still having low energy levels after sleeping for 8 or more hours. This occurs due to an imbalanced secretion of stress, sleep and sex hormones.

Clicking here to read the Sleep & Energy Guide and learn how to heal Adrenal Fatigue naturally

"AN OVERINDULGENCE OF ANYTHING, EVEN SOMETHING AS PURE AS WATER, CAN INTOXICATE." ~CRISS JAMI