Why lifestyle impacts on health?

Long naps, irregular meal timings, use of non-stick cookware are among the top culprits behind your imbalanced hormones. Here's what an Ayurveda expert says.
Hormonal imbalance is common in people of all age groups specifically during certain stages in life like puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, aging. But did you know that even your faulty lifestyle choices could be affecting your hormones and causing chronic diseases? Stress, sedentary routine, fattening foods and insufficient sleep can all lead to hormonal imbalance and in turn unexpected health issues. (Also read: Hormonal imbalance: Nutritionist on how to eat cashews for balancing hormones).
Hormones are chemicals that are produced in endocrine glands and help control many important functions of the body. There are over 50 of them that help in metabolism, growth, reproduction, moods, skin and hair health and even sleep. Hormonal imbalance happens when their levels are either lower or higher than required and can lead to many chronic diseases from thyroid, diabetes, acne to infertility.

So how do we know if our hormones are not balanced? According to experts, any unexplained weight loss or weight gain, fatigue, numbness or tingling in your hands or legs, high blood cholesterol levels, mental health conditions like depression or anxiety could signal imbalance of hormones.

Many lifestyle factors could be affecting your hormones. For optimal hormonal balance, one should be avoiding certain mistakes that could lead your hormones to go haywire.
Avoid these hormone disruptors for optimum hormonal balance.

1. Coffee on empty stomach,

Love your coffee first thing in the morning to kick-start your day? However, having caffeine before anything else is probably the worst thing you can do to your metabolism, and this may lead to every kind of gut and hormonal issues.

2. Stress

Restless mind and body may increase cortisol (stress hormone) which disturbs all other hormones in the body. Peaceful mind on the other hand ensures balanced hormones.

3. Day-sleep

This may be affecting your health adversely. Sleeping during the day for more than 30-40 minutes increases in the body, which slows your metabolism. Poor metabolism is the major cause of all diseases according to Ayurveda. So, it should be avoided.
4. No fixed meal times

taking diet at fixed times daily is mandatory for optimum gut and hormonal health and eating at improper time confuses your gut and disturbs the release of digestive enzymes and hormones which is the major cause of gut issues like acidity, gas, bloating, leaky gut, IBS, etc.

5. Lack of sound sleep

Your liver detoxifies and your body and mind relax when you have sound sleep. The better you sleep, the quicker you heal. Improper or disturbed sleep disrupts your hormones and can lead to gut issues, obesity, irregular periods, etc.

6. Unhealthy foods

Excessive white sugar, alcohol, processed foods leftover and deep-fried foods, fermented foods, gluten and dairy can increase inflammation and disrupt your hormones. You are what you eat and digest. Just limiting these foods can improve your hormonal balance to 70%.
7. Sedentary lifestyle

Lack of exercise leads to weight gain, reduced digestive fire, poor flexibility and laziness which gives rise to metabolic and hormonal disorders.

8. Excessive use of plastic and non-stick cookware

They have Bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates and parabens - chemicals that are endocrine disruptors. Hence, it is best to use stainless steel, iron, glass and earthen cookware.