There is, however, one food group that I consistently find interferes with my patient’s hormone goals. It’s deemed healthy, but time and time again in my practice, I’ve found it to get in the way of my patients’ abilities to find natural hormone balance. Apples, oranges, pineapples, and cranberries have 24, 21, 32, and 31 grams of sugar, respectively. Fruit-filled smoothies often contain more sugar than a candy bar! Cortisol, a glucocorticoid (steroid hormone), is the one that’s known as our fight-or-flight hormonal response. Cortisol release in the setting of insulin resistance has been thought to be the link between fructose (fruit sugar) and disease. For example in type 2 diabetics, cortisol secretion has been suggested to be a possible link between insulin resistance and hypertension, obesity, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia, and worsening type 2 diabetes. In addition to this cortisol problem, insulin also reduces the amount of sex hormone binding protein, which usually binds excess estrogen. With insulin resistance comes lower levels of SHBP and more estrogen. Lastly, it turns out that fruit sugar (fructose) may be even worse than glucose. It seems that the digestive tract doesn’t absorb fructose as well as other sugars. More fructose then goes into the liver. Too much fructose in the liver creates a series of events that can lead to hormonal imbalance, fatty liver disease, systemic inflammation, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. For example, when you create your morning smoothie, go heavy on the greens and add a little fruit just to cut the taste. Keep the ratio simple. Toss in about 2 to 3 cups of greens (kale, spinach), 2 cups of liquid (almond milk, water, or coconut water), and 1 to 2 cups of berries. For an added boost, toss in some chia or flaxseeds; for extra antioxidants, you can add cinnamon, which mimics the idea of sugar to your taste buds and actually tricks your brain. There’s also evidence that cinnamon can actually combat the effects of sugar—in one study1, cinnamon was shown to have a significant effect on increasing the body’s HDL (good cholesterol) and decreasing glucose levels (counteracting how sugar raises them). If you want to learn more about eating for hormone balance from Dr. Shah, be sure to check out mbg’s functional nutrition program! A cutting-edge nutrition deep dive taught by 20+ top health & wellness experts
