Morgana Lakatos-Hayward is a health coach and business owner of This Isn't a Diet where the primary focus is to help women lose weight without dieting and balance their hormones, blood sugar and gut health. She is the host of Listen to This When You're Done Dieting on Spotify, with her new book, Read This When You're Done Dieting on the way.
It’s no coincidence that you might be struggling with both your hormones and gut at the same time. The two systems are interconnected, and it, unfortunately, has become the norm to treat them interdependently. This could be where the problem arises. My new book, “Read This When You’re Done Dieting,” illustrates in detail how a woman’s endocrine system and gut are connected and how you can hack them both into balance (without ever dieting)! If you would like to get an in-depth explanation, visit the link below to purchase a copy on Amazon.
Connecting the dots
Your endocrine system is made up of several glands that exist throughout your body where hormones are secreted. They act as little messenger molecules circulating throughout the body, reporting back to the brain. Similarly, the gut is connected to the brain through the vagus nerve and the enteric nervous system (the millions of nerves wrapped around the vagus nerve).
Your gut acts as an apartment building that hosts microbes. There are good and bad tenants (aka bacteria) that work to help digest and excrete food and primarily feed on fibre (from whole foods). The gut even hosts the majority of serotonin (the happy hormone) produced in the body. Some other key examples of how hormones and the gut interact are through insulin release secreted by the pancreas with the intake of sugar and carbohydrates, as well as through cortisol release in stressful times. Cortisol is a powerful hormone that can impact digestion to either completely halt the digestive system, or rather speed it up (giving you the urge to go at the most inconvenient of times). Your gut also excretes hormones via your stool, and it is an important component to achieve hormonal balance.
Hacking your hormones and gut health
There are several ways to hit these two birds with one stone.
Detoxing your liver: Your liver is responsible for metabolizing hormones, and you can give it an extra kick through starting your morning with warm lemon water, using castor oil patches over your liver as you sleep and utilizing seed cycling tools.
Detoxing your skin: Pesky hormones may get trapped in the skin leading to a hormonal imbalance. Therefore, hitting the sauna, exfoliating and dry brushing 2-3x per week are great skin detoxing techniques which also stimulate your lymphatic system.
Having a predominantly whole foods-based diet: The fiber from whole foods nourishes your gut microbes and protects your gut lining. Adding in a variety of colored whole foods to your diets benefits your hormones!
Hydrating with 2-3L of water per day: Hydration is key for helping your digestion and stool formation, as well as detoxing your hormones.
Decreasing caffeine and alcohol: Caffeine spikes cortisol and adrenaline which impact other hormones, as well as your gut. Try for a caffeine source with a slower release such as matcha lattes or limiting yourself to a cup of coffee per day. Alcohol is a toxic mixture which adds to bloating and gut-related symptoms, as well as increasing the strain on your liver to filter out toxins and hormones.
Taking a pre and probiotic supplement: Pre and probiotics add more good tenants to your gut apartment and aid digestion.
Balancing your blood sugar: Getting insulin under control is key for weight loss, improved digestion and hormone balance. See the blood sugar balancing chapter in my latest book linked in the introduction.
Utilizing destressing techniques: Getting your cortisol levels balanced are key to improved hormones and digestion. Some great ideas are nature walks, hot baths with Epsom salts (for additional magnesium), hot tea, meditation, gratitude journaling, etc.
These are some great ideas to get you started on your journey to healing your hormones and gut without medication or diets. Check out “Read This When You’re Done Dieting” on Amazon for a more in-depth exploration of natural balancing methods.
Read more from Morgana Lakatos-Hayward
Morgana Lakatos-Hayward, Health Coach, Podcaster, Author
Morgana is a former world champion Latin dancer turned health coach. From making under $25k per year to now owning a thriving health coaching practice called: "This Isn't a Diet", a podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts "Listen to This When You're Done Dieting", and a book on the way entitled "Read This When You're Done Dieting", she has turned her financial situation around to become financially independent and open 6 different income streams. She is currently working on developing two more income streams and claims that her financial shift started with a simple mindset change.
References:
Lakatos-Hayward, Morgana. Read This When You’re Done Dieting: Hack Your Way to Your Dream Body, Take Back Your Power, and... Keep the Unwanted Weight Off! TRANSCENDENT PUBLISHING, 2024.
