How are you feeling? The holidays are coming and it’s possible you’re already starting to feel the hustle and bustle of the season. If this is leaving you feeling worn out, depressed or stressed, then you might be battling the holiday blues and the solution might be as simple as balancing your hormones.
Why is this happening? Well, during the holidays we tend to consume more alcohol and sugar than usual and this quickly irritates your hormonal balance. It’s not fair at all but it can increase your mood swings, hot flashes, depression and insomnia.
How do we enjoy the holidays without being miserable? It isn’t easy (I say this as I guiltily sip an Eggnog Rum and try to ignore the fudge we made that’s sitting in a shinny tin across the room). Regardless of my own choices, the answer is to go light on the caffeinated and alcoholic beverages and to try to only take a bite of fudge instead of eating 4 pieces. Caffeine and alcohol tend to raise cortisol levels and that makes it a lot harder for your body to deal with stress and it can cause low progesterone. And that fudge… well all that added sugar will affect your insulin hormones and that will cause irritability because it impacts your estrogen levels.
It’s a difficult balance. However, the side effects are far from worth it. Your body is a temple and if you’ve ever heard the phrase “garbage in garbage out” then you know where I’m going with this.
My suggestion this holiday is to keep a food journal. Clearly separate the things you ate that were good for you and the things you ate or drank that maybe could be affecting your hormones. That way you can better track your symptoms and better evaluate what you can get away with day to day. I’ve also found that I feel better if I’m incorporating my daily S’moo scoop! We don’t want you to miss all the fun treats this holiday but we do want you to be happy and healthy because at the end of the day, that will make your holidays great!
Here are some fun recipes that are low in sugar:
The Ultimate Healthy Blueberry Crumble3 Ingredient Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Fudge