Steps for Healing A Stressed Body Pt 3 - Supplements

-Since managing stress and rebalancing my hormones remain my main goals right now, it’s important that I'm taking steps towards both lowering the stress I'm faced with (i.e. ensuring adequate nutrition, proper rest, eliminating lifestyle stressors etc - all covered here) as well as strengthening my body’s ability to better cope with stress and rebalance my hormones whenever they get out of whack in the future.

Conventional treatments for many hormonal imbalances usually include synthetic hormone replacement therapies, medications and the contraceptive pill. Personally (really emphasising that this is a personal opinion), I’m of belief that while these treatments have their place, for the majority of us, relying on these only does three things:

1. Simply masks our symptoms, but doesn’t solve them. 
2. Makes us depended on taking them over a long-term basis to keep our symptoms under control.
3. May cause side effects (controversial, so I'm not going to delve into this here!)

For the sake of my own journey and recovery, I’ve made sure to read LOADS of research and have also consulted with numerous GPs and specialists to devise a more natural/holistic treatment plan that will (hopefully!) work for me. I’ve been given 6 months to heal my body naturally after a period of chronic stress and excessive cortisol,  hypothalamic amenorrhea and now adrenal fatigue and hypocortisolism.

WWithin these 6 months, I’ll be playing around with natural supplements with the hope that they will accelerate the normalisation of key hormones that have become imbalanced and deregulated in my body - such as cortisol, testosterone, oestrogen and progesterone. 

Like I’ve emphasised a few times, changing things in my diet and re-evauating some of my lifestyle habits are going to be the most crucial for balancing my cortisol levels and managing my hormones, but supplements can give me a big advantage in achieving that balance - and it would be foolish for me to ignore that advantage.

There are a ton of natural supplements out there, and many of them will be specific for healing different hormonal imbalances - so for the sake of my own experiences and blog, I’m going to 'skim over’ the really technical jargon of these, and just  outline the supplements I’m personally trialling and why. I suggest you do your own research and consult a professional before putting anything into an already stressed body!

Adaptagens:
Honestly, I’d never heard about these before I faced all these health issues - so don’t be skeptical if you haven’t heard of them before either!  

Adaptogens are a class of natural remedies that counter the physical and mental effects of stress - they are neither stimulating nor sedentary, and instead work to bring the body back to a state of balance/homeostasis - in whichever direction is needed (e.g. they will work to lower cortisol levels if they're too high, or will boost them if they'e too low).

There’s a few key ones that have been shown to effectively manage cortisol levels and rebalance sex hormones,  two I've which I'm trialling at the moment:

Ashwagandha - a traditional adaptogenic herb in Ayurvedic medicine used to treat anxiety and promote relaxation and healing. This herb has been shown to have powerful effects for lowering stress responses and regulating cortisol levels within the body. It benefits thyroid function and can help overcome adrenal fatigue.  I take in the form of daily CortRX supplementation, as well as in a herbal tea blend 1-2 x daily.


Rhodiola rosea - another adaptogenic herb used in traditional Chinese medicine. It significantly reduces chronic cortisol and increases resilience to stress. It’s also been found to alleviate symptoms of depression, and can offer energising relief to a fatigued system.  Again, I take this one in the form of daily CortRX ​supplementation. 


Conventional supplements:
A lot of these nutrients you can easily obtain from an adequate and varied diet, but keep in mind that in a stressed or compromised system, your body may not be capable of effectively extracting these nutrients from what you're eating, or it may need a little extra than you’re able to realistically consume through your diet alone.

• Fish oil - a source of omega-3 essential fatty acids that have a positive effect on brain functions such as mood, memory, cognition and general wellbeing.  Fish oil has been shown to blunt the stress response and effectively reduce cortisol levels in humans. As a pescetarian, I’m open to incorporating fish oil into my diet, but for those of you who are vegetarian/vegan, a great alternative is Flaxseed oil tablets. I've started taking 1 x flaxseed capsule a day.
• Phosphatidylerine - this is a fat that naturally occurs in the brain and our nervous system. It acts to reduce the effects of physical and mental stress by keeping cortisol levels down. 
• L-theanine - an amino acid found in black, green and white tea that’s been shown to indue a state of calmness and lowered cortisol.  I've switched out most of my long black coffees with green tea for this reason! 
• Prebiotics and probiotics - aid in repairing your gut lining - which in turn can balance your hormones. A leaky gut or poor gut health can cause inflammation and an imbalance in the production of key hormones like insulin. Currently, I'm taking ATP Science's GutRight instead of  pre/probiotics to really 'reset' my gut flora. I'll discuss this in another post!
• Magnesium - while it hasn’t been proven to reduce cortisol levels directly, magnesium has a relaxing, calming effect on the muscles which can help offset tension and stress within the body, as well as relaxing the muscles for a more peaceful sleep. I use a magnesium spray every night and have noticed a HUGE difference in my sleep quality and recovery from the gym.
• Zinc - an essential nutrient for hormone creation and balance - especially thyroid hormones, progesterone, testosterone and cortisol. As a vegetarian/vegan/pescetarian obtaining enough zinc through your diet can be tricky (but not impossible), so a supplement may be necessary. Apart from increasing my intake of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and egg,  I’ve started taking one zinc capsule a day.
• Vitamin D - works to keep inflammation levels low and to regulate the release of parathyroid hormone. It has also been implicated in balancing levels of oestrogen and offsetting insulin resistance. Personally, I have very low Vitamin D levels so I’ve been advised to take a double dose at the moment. 
• Glutamine - an essential amino acid for supporting gut health (especially leaky gut), boosting growth hormones and maintaining hormonal balance, especially during prolonged periods of exercise. I take one scoop post workout with some BCAAs or just with water.

Specific/specialised supplements

• ATP Science CortRX - a blend of adaptogenic herbs to reduce anxiety, lower cortisol and help cope with stress better. Expensive, but hands down the most effective supplement I’ve found to noticeably improve my stress response.  I took a double dose for the first week (honestly have never slept better in my life than I did that week) and now take 3 capsules each evening before bed.
• ATP Science Alpha Prime - improves your androgen to estrogen ratio. It detoxifies estrogen and boosts anabolic androgens (testosterone, DHEA and progesterone), whilst also reducing levels of catabolic cortisol from stress. Again, this one is composed of adaptogens and other natural ingredients.  I take 2-3 capsules throughout the day.  Note: I wouldn't recommend this to females suffering from PCOS or similar issues (instead try Alpha Venus which has Vitex in it instead of the testosterone-boosting Tongkat Ali).
• ATP Science GutRight - stress and unbalanced hormones come hand in hand with poor gut health. I've only JUST started taking this, so I'm going to save all things 'gut' related for another post, because it is a whole other (and really important) topic when it comes to mastering metabolic and hormonal health!

Which supplements to try first?
Firstly, to drive home this point again, make sure you’ve satisfied your core nutritional needs and eliminated some lifestyle stressors. Remember, supplements aren’t going to ‘cure’ you in isolation - so make sure you’re prioritising the tips I covered in Parts I & Part II before trying any of these supplements! 

Since stress and hormone imbalances are notorious nutrient drainers, your ‘safest’ and probably cheapest bet is to start with a high-quality multivitamin-mineral supplement and an omega-3 supplement (either fish oil or flaxseed oil). Starting here will ensure you’re building up a healthier system to combat stress, and to nourish your body with the nutrients it needs to regain an optimum balance.

Next, I’d start experimenting with some adaptogens to work directly on managing the cortisol and other stress hormones naturally - especially since you may not know which direction your hormones are falling out of balance. I went from having extremely high cortisol, to now what they suspect is chronically low cortisol. Adaptogens make sure you're not driving your hormones too far in the wrong direction - especially at the start of your recovery when you might not have clear answers as to what's out of balance and in which direction. Ashwagandha is probably the most researched and effective adaptogen for stress management, as well as being one of the easiest to find. You can buy it in capsule or powder form from most supplement or health food stores. 

I’d also recommend researching ATP Science products - they have a range of natural remedies that combine a lot of adaptogens and natural ingredients effectively to relieve common hormonal imbalances. This is completely unsponsored, but I would personally call their products life-changing, and well worth the price. (Note: I'm more than happy to review each product separately if there's enough interest!)

If you’re a gym-junkie and will be maintaining a moderate training regime throughout your healing, I would also prioritise the magnesium, zinc and glutamine for recovery and to give your body a greater chance at managing the demands of training on a stressed system (note: it’s up to your discretion and the advice of a professional to determine whether you should still be training right now).

So what is my supplement stack right now?
I feel like a bit of a pill popping junkie, but right now here’s what I’m doing:

Morning:

• 1 x Iron supplement (not necessary for hormone health, but a crucial supplement for my pescetarian diet and to prevent anaemia which I've suffered in the past.)
• 1 x Vitamin D
• Scoop of Glutamine post workout 

During the day:

• 1 x Fish oil with my breakfast 
• 3 x serves of Gut Right with my 3 main meals

Evening/Before bed:

• 2-3 x Cort RX
• 2 x Alpha Prime
• 1 x Vitamin D
• 1 x Zinc
• Magnesium spray 

So far, I am noticing a huge difference in how my body feels after implementing this supplement routine for 2 weeks now. I’m sleeping so much better (honestly it’s been amazing), my anxiety during the day is much more manageable (before this I was literally jumping out of my skin at the smallest of sounds I was that on-edge), and I can feel myself breathing more steadily and feeling more at ease. Physically, the inflammation around my gut as decreased a little, and I'm feeling lighter and holding on to less water!

I feel really hopeful that all these extra investments into my daily routine will pay-off, and I can’t wait to prove to myself and to my specialists that I can heal myself naturally - and make a comeback feeling stronger and happier than ever before. xx