Eating for Hormonal Health: A Practical Guide
So you've heard that food and hormonal health are related. But how, and what does that mean you should eat?
Marisa Faye, a holistic nutritionist specializing in hormonal health, has helped countless women cut through the noise and find sustainable approaches that support their hormonal health for the long term.
"Our hormones are messengers for what's going on underneath," explains Marisa. "They're deeply connected to pretty much every other area of health." This connection is why nutrition plays such a critical role in hormonal balance. The food we consume provides the raw materials our bodies need to produce hormones, regulate stress responses, and maintain energy throughout the day. When we understand this relationship, we can transform our plates into powerful tools for health.
Marisa emphasizes sustainable, consistent practices over complicated protocols. After working with countless women struggling with irregular cycles, fatigue, weight management issues, and stress, she's developed practical strategies that address the root causes of hormonal imbalance through everyday food and lifestyle choices. This guide explores her balanced plate methodology and how simple nutritional adjustments can build up to big impacts on your quality of life.
The Foundation: The Balanced Plate
At the core of Marisa's approach is the balanced plate—a simple yet powerful framework for constructing meals that support hormonal health. "For most women, this kind of plate makeup is magical," Marisa notes.
The balanced plate divides your meal into sections:
25% Protein Sources
Aim for complete proteins that provide all essential amino acids—like eggs, chicken, fish, or beef. Marisa recommends at least 30 grams of protein per meal to support hormone production and muscle maintenance.
25% Quality Carbohydrates
Focus on whole food sources of carbohydrates like oats, root veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes), and rice. These provide sustained energy without the dramatic blood sugar spikes that can disrupt hormone balance.
50% Fruits and Vegetables
Fill half your plate with colorful produce, which provides essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Focusing on getting a variety of colors on your plate ensures you get a variety of the nutrients that produce provides.
14-28 Grams of Healthy Fats
Include 1-2 thumb-sized portions of fats like avocado, olive oil, coconut milk, or nuts. These fats are crucial for hormone synthesis, as many hormones are derived from cholesterol and fatty acids.
Why the Balanced Plate Matters
Why does the balanced plate approach work so well for many women? The power lies in the way macronutrients work together to support hormonal systems. This isn't merely about calorie counting—it's about creating the optimal environment for hormone regulation.
Blood Sugar Stabilization
When we consume carbohydrates alone (like a bowl of oatmeal with fruit and honey), our blood sugar rises rapidly, triggering an insulin response. This roller coaster disrupts cortisol patterns and can lead to insulin resistance over time. By pairing carbohydrates with protein and fat, we create a gradual release of energy that prevents these harmful spikes.
Sustained Energy vs. Spikes and Crashes
Marisa uses a campfire analogy to illustrate this concept: "If you went on a camping trip and just brought kindling, you could get the fire started, but that fire is going to go out fast." Similarly, eating single macronutrients in isolation (e.g. carbs alone, then protein later) creates a metabolic environment of constant peaks and valleys. The balanced plate approach keeps your energy "fire" burning steadily throughout the day.
Hormone Signaling and Production
Hormones require specific nutrients to function properly. Proteins provide the amino acid building blocks for many hormones, healthy fats support steroid hormone production (including estrogen and progesterone), and fiber from vegetables helps eliminate excess hormones through the digestive tract. When these elements work together, they create the optimal environment for hormone signaling pathways to function properly.
This balanced approach also supports satiety hormones like leptin and ghrelin, which regulate hunger and fullness cues. "It's maddening to be craving food all day and never feeling satisfied," Marisa notes about imbalanced eating patterns. The right macronutrient balance helps these hormones function properly, reducing cravings and supporting a healthier relationship with food.
Common Nutritional Pitfalls
Even with the best intentions, several common eating patterns can undermine hormonal health. Understanding these pitfalls can help you identify habits that may be contributing to hormonal imbalances.
The Oatmeal Example: Carb-Heavy Breakfasts
Marisa frequently encounters clients who believe they're making healthy choices with breakfasts like oatmeal with fruit and honey. "There was all this marketing years ago about how heart healthy oatmeal was," she points out.
However, this carbohydrate-dominant meal creates a rapid blood sugar spike followed by a crash, setting up a hormonal stress response first thing in the morning.
Instead, she recommends transforming that same breakfast by adding protein (eggs and chicken sausage), reducing the oats portion, and incorporating healthy fats (coconut milk). This simple adjustment creates a dramatically different hormonal response, supporting stable energy and stress resilience throughout the morning.
Grazing vs. Complete Meals
The popular advice to "eat small meals throughout the day" can actually disrupt hormonal balance. It often leads to eating different macronutrients in isolation, instead of as part of a balanced plate. "If we break it up like that, we're not getting the benefit of all these great things traveling together," Marisa explains.
Constant grazing can prevent the body from properly utilizing the complementary effects of different macronutrients and disrupt important digestive hormones. This pattern can lead to continuous insulin secretion, interfere with satiety signals, and create a "maddening" cycle of never feeling satisfied. Marisa recommends 3 to 4 balanced meals per day, which is a meal or balanced snack every 3 to 5 hours. Complete, balanced meals allow hormonal systems to function as designed, with natural cycles of digestion and rest.
Processed Foods and Hormone Disruption
Many processed foods contain ingredients that directly interfere with hormone function. Refined sugars and artificial additives can trigger inflammatory responses that disrupt communication between hormonal systems. Additionally, many packaged foods lack the nutrient density needed to support hormone production.
"We have to have good raw materials," Marisa emphasizes. "If we don't have the right raw materials coming in, everything downstream suffers." Choosing whole, minimally processed foods provides the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that serve as the building blocks for optimal hormone function.
Should I be Cycle Syncing?
While "cycle syncing" (adjusting diet and lifestyle according to menstrual cycle phases) has gained popularity, Marisa takes a refreshingly practical stance on hormonal health that prioritizes consistency and sustainability.
Rather than constantly shifting dietary patterns, she advocates for establishing consistent, hormone-supportive eating habits that work throughout the entire month. This predictability allows the body to establish stable hormonal patterns and reduces the cognitive load of constantly changing meal plans.
"I still think our body likes predictability," Marisa explains, noting that women have both a 24-hour circadian rhythm and a cycle-length infradian rhythm. The body and mind thrive on routine—waking, eating, and sleeping at relatively consistent times—and this extends to the nutritional content of meals as well.
Why Constant Dietary Changes Create Stress
"If you take a woman and tell her every couple of days she has to change the bulk of what she eats, how she exercises... that's really freaking hard," Marisa points out. The stress of implementing complex cycle-syncing protocols can actually counteract their intended benefits by activating stress responses.
Many women, particularly those with irregular cycles, find it frustrating and impractical to constantly adjust their diets based on cycle phases they may not even be able to identify clearly. This added pressure can create a stress response that further disrupts hormonal balance.
Try Simple Adjustments During Symptomatic Periods
While Marisa doesn't advocate for wholesale dietary changes throughout the cycle, she does acknowledge the value of gentle adjustments during particularly symptomatic times. "Some people who are really symptomatic with their period may want to adjust things a little bit during that time," she notes.
This might include increasing anti-inflammatory foods during menstruation, ensuring adequate iron-rich foods to support blood loss, or emphasizing magnesium-rich foods to help with cramping. These targeted, minimal adjustments honor the body's changing needs without creating the stress of a completely different dietary approach.
The key takeaway is building a consistent nutritional foundation that supports hormonal health all month long, rather than chasing perfect timing with constantly changing protocols. This approach is not only more sustainable but often more effective for creating long-term hormonal balance.
Practical Implementation: Overcoming Common Obstacles
Understanding hormonal nutrition principles is one thing—putting them into consistent practice is another. Marisa's approach emphasizes practical, sustainable strategies that work within the constraints of busy modern life.
"It's too expensive"
Contrary to popular belief, hormone-supportive eating doesn't require expensive superfoods or supplements. "There really is this idea that healthy food is more expensive. It's not," Marisa emphasizes.
Eggs provide complete protein and essential fats at a fraction of the cost of many processed foods. Frozen vegetables retain their nutritional value and reduce waste. Buying in-season produce or shopping at farmers' markets can yield fresher, less expensive options. Beans, lentils, and other legumes offer affordable protein and fiber that support gut health and hormone metabolism. Buying certain items in bulk (nuts, seeds, oats) reduces per-serving costs while providing pantry staples for balanced meals.
People are often surprised to find that healthy, home cooked meals save them substantial amounts of money compared to the more processed food they previously chose.
"I don't have time"
Marisa challenges the assumption that healthy cooking must be time-consuming. "If somebody's saying, 'Oh, I don't have time to cook healthy food,' what they should be saying is, 'I'm not prioritizing the time to cook healthy food,'" she notes.
She often works with clients to identify extra time in their weekly routines that could be repurposed — like that 1 hour you might spend scrolling on social media when you get home from work.
Cooking itself can also be faster and easier than you might think. Implement time-saving techniques like using multi-cookers or sheet pan meals that require minimal active preparation. Pre-chop vegetables during weekend prep sessions to eliminate weekday cutting time. Keep pre-mixed spice blends ready to quickly flavor simple proteins. Repurpose leftovers into new meals to reduce cooking frequency—for example, transform roasted chicken into a quick salad or soup the next day.
The key to successful implementation is finding the balance between planning ahead and maintaining flexibility. Start with small changes rather than overhauling your entire approach at once. As balanced eating becomes habitual, you'll likely find the process becomes more intuitive and less time-consuming, creating a sustainable foundation for long-term hormonal health.
Beyond Food: Supporting Factors
While nutrition is one key to hormonal health, Marisa points out that other lifestyle factors also play important roles.
Stress Management
Chronic stress creates the perfect conditions for hormonal disruption, regardless of dietary choices. "When we are in a state of stress and we are releasing a lot of cortisol or dysregulating our cortisol, we then create the perfect conditions for all kinds of other issues," Marisa explains.
Implementing simple stress management techniques can dramatically improve hormonal outcomes. These might include breathwork, meditation, or simply building transition periods between activities. Marisa recommends identifying your stress triggers and creating personalized strategies to address them.
Sleep Quality
Sleep is when many hormones are produced and regulated, making it non-negotiable for hormonal health. Poor sleep directly impacts stress hormones, hunger hormones, and sex hormones.
Marisa advises creating a consistent sleep schedule and implementing a technology-free wind-down period: "Two hours before bed, technology goes away. TVs go away. You're reading. You're doing a craft. You're talking on the phone to someone, but you're not staring at a screen." This allows the body to produce melatonin naturally and prepare for restorative sleep that supports hormone production.
Movement and Exercise
Marisa is "the biggest fan of walking." Walking provides gentle, bilateral movement that regulates cortisol and supports overall hormone function. "Come hell or high water, every day you are walking," she instructs clients. This doesn't require expensive equipment or memberships—just comfortable shoes and commitment.
For those unable to walk, any bilateral movement (where one side moves and then the other) can provide similar benefits. The key is consistency rather than intensity.
Light Exposure
Perhaps the most overlooked factor in hormonal health is light exposure patterns. "One really simple thing that has a big impact is to get outside without anything blocking your eyes as close to when you wake up as possible," Marisa explains. Morning sunlight exposure—even on cloudy days—helps regulate cortisol and supports healthy melatonin production later in the day. Equally important is reducing artificial light exposure in the evening by dimming lights and creating what Marisa calls a more "romanticized" environment. These light patterns help synchronize hormonal rhythms with natural day-night cycles.
Make it Simple, Personal, and Sustainable
Hormonal health doesn't have to be complicated. As Marisa says, "Simple doesn't mean easy, but simple does mean you can do it." The most effective approach to hormonal nutrition is one you can actually maintain over time.
Start by implementing one balanced plate per day rather than overhauling your entire diet at once. Notice how your body responds—the energy levels, mood shifts, and physical sensations that follow. This personal feedback loop is invaluable for understanding your unique hormonal needs. What works for someone else may not work precisely the same way for you, which is why Marisa spends significant time with clients understanding their individual circumstances.
Remember that sustainability comes from alignment with your life, not perfection. "We are a generation of women who are stressed," Marisa observes, and adding complicated nutritional protocols often compounds that stress. Instead, focus on progress over perfection. A simple, consistent approach that you can maintain through life's inevitable disruptions will yield better results than an elaborate plan abandoned after two weeks.
By focusing on balanced nutrition, consistent habits, and complementary lifestyle factors, you create an environment to feel your best. This approach doesn't require special products, elaborate meal plans, or constant vigilance—just thoughtful attention to the basics that support your body.
As you implement these principles, remember that hormonal health is a journey, not a destination. Your needs will evolve throughout different life stages, but the foundational approach remains the same: provide your body with the raw materials it needs, minimize unnecessary stressors, and trust in your body's remarkable capacity to find balance when given the right support.
Marisa Faye is the founder of Marisa Faye Wellness. She blends Functional Medicine with Holistic Nutrition to help women all over the world balance their hormones & restore their health naturally.