Thursday, March 10, 2011

Diet For A Healthy Endocrine System

The endocrine system is a central control system for your body. It controls growth, reproduction, mood and mental functionality, hormone output, immunity and more. If your endocrine system isn’t running efficiently, you can suffer from fatigue, depression and insomnia, weight gain or loss, hypersensitivity to temperature and hair loss. You become more susceptible to disease and your ability to fight off infection is weakened. A diet rich in lean protein, omega oils and certain herbal supplements will help you maintain a healthy endocrine system.


Instructions


1. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein are part of any healthy diet. To directly affect your endocrine system, you need to include certain foods. One of these foods is fish. Fish provides your body with Omega-3, Omega-6 and Omega-9 oils. These oils are fats that directly affect cognitive function, cellular function, kidney function, all the things under the control of the endocrine system. Eating fish twice a week will aid in keeping a balanced endocrine system. Omega oil supplements are also available, and can be used to bolster your oil intake.


2. Understand that garlic is also important to the endocrine system. Garlic boosts your immunity, increasing your ability to fight off infection. It also helps regulate blood sugar levels. You can chew one or two cloves of garlic a day, but for many people, this is not pleasant. Instead, you can include it in your cooking or take advantage of available supplements. However, the supplements are not as effective as fresh garlic.








3. Know that certain herbs, considered adaptogenic herbs, also aid in keeping your endocrine system running smoothly. These include ginseng and ginkgo. Ginseng is high in hormone-like substances that help keep the body’s normal hormone output in balance, as well as helping regain hormonal balance. Another important herb is ginkgo, which aids in cognitive function. Both ginseng and ginkgo are available as supplements.


4. Though the supplements mentioned above will target your endocrine system and improve its function, you still need to maintain a healthy diet. And a diet aimed at helping the endocrine system includes calcium intake, a high content of Vitamin B, Vitamin B Complex and Vitamin C.


5. Include in your diet foods rich in calcium such as milk, cottage cheese, cheese, leafy greens, dried beans and yogurt. For Vitamin B and B Complex, you need chicken, fish, eggs, whole grains, beans and nuts. Fresh fruits such as oranges and berries contain Vitamin C, as do sweet peppers and sweet potatoes.








6. Your endocrine system will benefit from a healthy diet that includes all the foods and supplements mentioned here. Another important part of maintaining a healthy endocrine system is stress management. Stress levels affect digestion. When you eat, eat slowly. Don’t rush through your meals. Allowing your body to properly digest food will boost your immunity system, reduce after-meal fatigue and enable your endocrine system to properly process nutritional intake.

Tags: endocrine system, your endocrine system, your endocrine, endocrine system, healthy diet