By Wendy Fedele, Women's Health, Fertility and PCOS Dietitian
Hormones often get the blame for everything: from bad moods to breakouts to stubborn weight gain. But the truth is, your hormones aren’t the enemy. They’re super important chemical messengers, working around the clock to regulate your energy, appetite, mood, metabolism, menstrual cycle, sleep, and more.
And the good news? Nutrition plays a key role in keeping them balanced. As a women’s health dietitian, I’m super passionate about teaching my clients how their diet and lifestyle can support hormone regulation, especially when navigating conditions like PCOS, endometriosis, PMS/PMDD, hypothalamic amenorrhoea, and other hormone-related symptoms.
Let’s break down some of the ways your daily food choices impact hormone health, and how small shifts can make a big difference.
Blood Sugar regulation: The Foundation of Hormonal Health
If there’s one thing that influences almost every hormone in your body, it’s blood sugar regulation.
When your blood sugar spikes (from high-GI, low-fibre meals or too much added sugar), insulin rises - and that can throw other hormones out of rhythm too. Over time, this can contribute to symptoms like energy crashes, cravings, mood swings and more. It’s an especially important consideration for those with PCOS and Insulin resistance.
Try this: Choose more low GI, high fibre carbs like wholegrains, beans and lentils, starchy veg and fruit, in place of refined/ highly processed and high sugar carbs. Build meals with protein, fibre, and healthy fats to slow digestion and keep blood sugar steady. Think oats with Greek yoghurt and berries, or eggs on grainy toast with avocado.
Fibre & Hormone Detox: Yes, Your Poo Matters!
Fibre isn’t just for gut health, it plays a direct role in hormone regulation too.
Soluble fibre feeds your beneficial gut bacteria, which are involved in metabolising and excreting hormones like oestrogen. Insoluble fibre keeps things moving, helping to eliminate excess hormones via the bowels. Without enough fibre (or if you’re constipated), your body can reabsorb hormones it was trying to get rid of, leading to a build-up over time.
Try this: Include fibre rich foods in all of your meals and snacks: Get your 5 servings of veg and 2 servings of fruit daily, eat whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds.
Gut Health & The Hormone-Microbiome Link
You might have heard of the gut-brain axis, but did you know there’s a gut-hormone axis – and it’s totally fascinating! Your gut microbiome can influence oestrogen metabolism, mood-regulating neurotransmitters (like serotonin), and even your stress response.
An unhealthy gut, from low-fibre and pro-inflammatory diets, stress, antibiotics, or a lack of diversity in plant foods, can affect how your body produces, activates, and clears hormones.
It also goes both ways – your hormones have a BIG impact on your gut health (yup, period poops are a real thing!)
Try this:
As well as meeting your overall fibre needs, aim to include prebiotic-rich foods like oats, onion, garlic, lentils, and green bananas to feed your beneficial gut bacteria. Fermented foods like yoghurt, kefir, and kimchi can also be helpful.
Eating a wide variety of plant foods is key: some research shows that including at least 30 different plant foods per week is linked to a more diverse, resilient microbiome. A healthier gut = happier hormones!
And don’t forget cruciferous veggies (like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts). These support oestrogen metabolism and also provide natural compounds that feed your gut bugs and reduce inflammation.
Finally, include a variety of colourful plant foods rich in polyphenols and antioxidants, like berries, herbs, extra virgin olive oil, green tea, and dark chocolate (seriously!). These plant compounds help protect your cells (and your hormones) from oxidative stress and support a balanced microbiome.
Healthy Fats: Building Blocks of Hormones
Your body needs fats; not just for energy, but to make hormones.
Cholesterol and dietary fats are the raw materials for steroid hormones like oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Omega-3 fats (from oily fish, walnuts, flaxseed, chia) also help reduce inflammation, which can be a key driver of hormonal conditions like PCOS and endometriosis.
Try this: Include sources of healthy fats daily. Add flaxseed to your smoothie, snack on raw nuts, use Extra Virgin Olive oil in cooking and salad dressings, add some avocado to your toast, or sardines or salmon to your salad.
Try to limit saturated and trans-fat sources like fatty or processed meats, deep fried food, blended vegetable oils, processed snacks and confectionery, cakes, pastries, biscuits, chips, chocolate, cream, butter.
Protein: Hormone Helper and Appetite Anchor
Protein provides the amino acids your body needs to build hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters. It also helps regulate appetite hormones like ghrelin and leptin, which influence hunger, fullness, and cravings.
Try this: Most women benefit from including a protein source at each meal and snack: think eggs, Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, tofu, legumes, chicken, or fish.
Eat with your Circadian Rhythm
Your body thrives on rhythm, including when we eat. Skipping meals, eating erratically, eating late in the night or under eating during the day can all mess with your hormonal regulation.
Try this: Eat at regular intervals during the day. Start your day with a protein rich breakfast and aim to eat at regular intervals during the day (proper meals, don’t just graze all day). Aim for a relatively early dinner and try to avoid the late-night snacks.
Nutrition - a Key piece of the puzzle…but not the only piece!
While food plays a powerful role in supporting hormone health, it’s just one part of the picture. Regular movement, quality sleep, stress management, and reducing exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (like certain plastics, non-stick pans, tins, pesticides, harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances etc) all influence how your hormones function. Think of it as a toolkit, and nutrition is a key tool.
Final Thoughts
Your hormones are influenced by so many moving parts, but your daily food choices are one of the most powerful levers you can control. You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight or chase the latest “hormone balancing” trend. Start by focusing on the foundations: balanced blood sugar, enough fibre, a wide variety of colourful, plant-based foods, quality fats and protein, and eating in rhythm with your day. Small, consistent changes really do add up.
And if you’re feeling overwhelmed, confused, or like your symptoms aren’t making sense, that’s where individualised support can make all the difference.
About the Author
Wendy Fedele is an experienced Women’s Health, PCOS, and Fertility Dietitian. She helps women cut through confusion and overwhelm to feel more in control of their symptoms, their cycles, their fertility, and their bodies, without extremes or restriction.
With a strong background in hospital and clinical dietetics and experience teaching and mentoring the next generation of dietitians, Wendy combines practical, evidence-based strategies with a compassionate, real-world approach to women’s health.
She is also the founder of the PCOS Balance Method™: a high-touch nutrition and coaching program designed to help women with PCOS break free from rigid diets, understand their hormones, and build sustainable habits for long-term health, symptom relief, and future fertility.