Is Your Hormonal Health Being Sabotaged by Everyday Habits?
- Carla
- Aug 1
- 3 min read
You may be eating well and trying to manage stress, yet still feel tired, foggy, or emotionally out of balance. If this sounds familiar, it may be time to look deeper. The reality is that many women’s hormonal health is being silently disrupted by small, everyday habits, often without them even knowing it.
At The Heart of the Matter Nutrition, I work with women to uncover how modern routines and stressors affect oestrogen clearance, cortisol rhythms, and thyroid function, and how to gently support hormonal health through real-life strategies.
Why Hormonal Health Is More Than Just PMS
Your hormones do far more than control your cycle. They affect your energy, digestion, mental clarity, weight, skin, and sleep. When hormonal pathways are disrupted, even slightly, symptoms can build slowly, including:
Irregular or heavy periods
Mood swings or irritability
Fatigue, especially in the morning
Difficulty concentrating
Sluggish digestion or bloating
Trouble falling or staying asleep
Understanding how your hormonal health is influenced by daily patterns gives you the power to make changes, without judgement, shame, or all-or-nothing thinking.
1. Skipping Meals or Delaying Breakfast
Waiting until late morning to eat or constantly skipping meals can impact your cortisol rhythm and blood sugar levels. When your body senses a lack of fuel, cortisol rises, which can interfere with ovulation, sleep, and thyroid function over time.
A nourishing, protein-rich breakfast can support hormone balance and energy. If this is a struggle, we explore gentle, realistic steps through one-to-one consultations tailored to your routine.
2. Living in a Constant State of “On”
Your nervous system is not designed for 12-hour days, back-to-back meetings, or relentless multitasking. Chronic stress elevates cortisol, reduces oestrogen clearance, and creates inflammation that directly affects hormonal health.
We often support clients in creating daily rhythm, breathwork practices, and boundaries that help restore hormonal balance, without needing to overhaul your life.
3. Over-Reliance on Coffee and Sugar for Energy
If caffeine or quick carbs are your main way of getting through the day, your body may be stuck in a cycle of peaks and crashes. This pattern can stress the adrenals, reduce progesterone, and affect thyroid conversion.
During our online nutrition programmes, we look at how to reduce these dependencies in a nourishing, sustainable way, often by increasing fibre and protein intake, rather than cutting everything out.
4. Poor Oestrogen Clearance
Your body must process and eliminate oestrogen efficiently through the liver and gut. Without good clearance, oestrogen can recirculate, leading to symptoms like:
PMS and painful periods
Breast tenderness
Mood swings
Water retention or skin flare-ups
Supporting gut health, liver function, and bowel regularity is essential. Through functional testing, we can investigate how well your body is managing hormonal metabolism.
5. Ignoring Gut Health and Thyroid Links
The gut and thyroid are deeply connected. Poor gut integrity can affect thyroid hormone activation and absorption. Likewise, low thyroid function can slow digestion, contributing to bloating and constipation, both of which impact oestrogen levels.
This is why we never look at hormonal health in isolation. Instead, we build a whole-body picture, helping you connect the dots between symptoms and systems.
What Hormonal Health Support Really Looks Like
At The Heart of the Matter Nutrition, we don’t treat hormone issues with blanket advice. Instead, we:
Explore your full health story
Identify patterns through food, mood, and symptom tracking
Use optional functional testing to investigate oestrogen, thyroid, or cortisol imbalances
Create tailored strategies that work with your daily life and personal goals
Whether you're recovering from burnout, navigating perimenopause, or simply want to understand your cycle more deeply, you're not alone, and there's a personalised way forward.
If you're wondering why your energy, cycle, or mood feels out of sync, your hormones may be signalling for support. Let’s explore how your habits are shaping your hormonal health and what you can do to rebalance.
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