Hormonal Balance

TESTOSTERONE

Losing sleep, poor diet, high stress and environmental factors can all have an effect on our health. If we're aiming to get fit and gain muscle, we have to ensure we're in good physical shape before we train. One of the factors affecting our training ability could be a hormonal imbalance.

Certain hormones like testosterone are required by both men and women for maintaining a healthy and balanced state and it is essential for gaining muscle too. There are natural ways to boost testosterone levels and some of those methods are centred around having regular forms of exercise. So the key is to have regular daily exercise, even if they are just walking and stretching just to keep the functions of the body working and in a healthy state. Yoga is a great way to do this.

Oestrogen-Mimicking foods
Oestrogen is another sex hormone found in the body when controlling reproduction in women as well as maintaining bone health and other factors in both men and women. There are some plants and foods that have natural oestrogen-mimicking properties, like Soy.

Having too many foods that contain high levels of Oestrogen can have an impact on hormone balance and particularly effect men's fertility. So, understanding which environmental factors and foods could have a negative effect on us are well worth learning about if we wish to remain healthy, avoid negative symptoms ranging from mood swings to hair loss and increase the chances of remaining disease free.

Keeping A Balance
The advantages of maintaining good testosterone levels can be witnessed in both men and women alike. Often, a busy lifestyle, along with the stresses and strains it presents daily, coupled with a tough training routine, can all negatively impact our hormones and ultimately, our health. Fenugreek has been used for centuries and is said to boost testosterone levels, essential for recovery after exercise.

Supplementing diets with the right minerals, vitamins and health-boosting supplements, can aid in combatting fatigue and assist the body in maintaining optimum health. Supplements are not and should never be substituted for a balanced nutritional diet – but certainly, in the right amounts and for the right circumstances, can be invaluable to those seeking loftier training goals.

There's many more brands of supplements on the market today offering solutions for boosting performance. Always be sure to make your own judgements about what's right for you/your body and consult your doctor if there are prolonged bouts of low energy, problems with sleep, recovery and mood etc.

Additional information on the above brand of supplements, can be found here.