Hack Your Hormones
Why Does it Feel Like I'm Losing My Mind?
A Review of Davinia Taylor's, Hack Your Hormones
Firstly, you’re not. It’s your hormones! You are still just as capable and brilliant as you have always been, and DT assures that you can absolutely hack your way back to feeling like the superhero you are! So, put your cape back on, pull your underwear up and over your trousers and let me tell you, with the help of Davinia Taylor’s Hack Your Hormones, how you can stop your hormones from making you feel like you’re going loco!
In this blog, we will be exploring the following hormones:
- Dopamine - our desire hormone.
- Serotonin - our happy hormone.
- GABA - the hormone that stops us feeling anxious
- Cortisol - our stress hormone.
- Acetylcholine - our main neurotransmitter behind memory and learning.
"Gutness"
Now, the good old gut really is the key to our overall health and well-being. Not only does our gut health massively impact our hormonal regulation, have a knock on effect on our sleep, supports our appetite and helps us to maintain a healthy weight (see Why Can’t I Sleep? and Why Can’t I Stop Eating? for more information), feeding your gut the good stuff can also help to dispel that brain fog that can leave you feeling like you’re losing the plot.
Here’s how…
DT explores a plethora of ways that can banish feelings of overwhelm and therefore reduce the fog in Hack Your Hormones:
Brain Savers
Salts - kick start your cortisol and adrenal response with an electrolyte powder mixed in water to glug in the morning. Willpowder’s ElectroTide is utterly delicious and the perfect way to ignite your brain. You can also simply mix water, lemon juice and unprocessed salt, like Maldon, for a truly homemade affair.
White noise- increase your focus, memory and activate your dopamine pathways with sounds like whirring fans, a whizzing washing machine, or crack a window and listen to the melodies of the natural world.
Good Fats
Stack your diet with MCT and olive oils. DT explains that clean fats help us to transport nutrients around our bodies and they generate the essential oils and neurotransmitters that make us feel happy, content and focused. MCT (Medium Chain Triglycerides) bypass your normal digestive system and go straight to your liver where they are converted to Ketones. They are involved in the production of ATP (Adenosine 5’-Triphosphate), which improves alertness. MCT also increases antioxidant levels and serotonin in the brain, which has an anti-stress effect. Yes please!
Fermented Foods
DT explains that our gut produces 95% of our serotonin and GABA. As previously explored, eating can really boost and increase the diversity of your gut microbiome. How does this support brain? Well, by taking care of our microbiome, you encourage the production of hundreds of neurochemicals which influence your mood and behaviours. Here are some other Serotonin and Gaba boosting scran that you can try and weave into your diet: tea; kombucha; a hot chocolate recipe to die for (cacao powder, dates, MCT Powder, Bovine Collagen and full fat milk = gut bliss); eggs, sourdough bread; oily fish; chicken/ turkey/ red meat; rice; spinach; broccoli; full fat yoghurts; homemade soups with a bone broth base and Bovine Collagen.
Connections
Increase your serotonin through human connections. DT explains that when we tap into that human to human vibe, we dispel that panicky overwhelm that can impact our mood and memory. This could be in a way that requires zero effort: by simply giving that nod or smile to a mum of a tantruming toddler in a supermarket, that silently says, ‘I understand and you’re a rockstar!’ our serotonin levels increase exponentially. Or, go big and reach out to your community and see if there are any groups that consist of like minded folk, who you share an interest with. However you decide to find or share the love, you are guaranteed to feel really good about it.
Exercise
Research shows that exercise increases Dopamine and rewires your reward system, making your Dopamine receptors work better. Anything that gets your heart pumping triggers a Dopamine and endorphin release, as well as supporting GABA, which reduces anxiety.
Caffeine with MCT Oil and Theanine
Caffeine opens up your dopamine receptors which means that you feel the effects of that gorgeous dopamine hit more. It’s important for you to figure out what triggers your dopamine and to keep it fresh. If you trigger your dopamine in the same way, all the time, the effects will diminish over time.
Hot and Cold
Cold water exposure - cold water can impact your clarity and focus by increasing levels of noradrenaline and dopamine by as much as 530%.
Heat - help your liver to detox with an infra-red sauna. When your liver is sluggish it impacts Dopamine synthesis. Heat and light exposure is a natural anti-depressant and can help the production of all the feel good hormones we desperately need to expel that fog.
Finally, DT provides a brilliant list of supplements that can support brain fog in Hack Your Hormones:
- Acetylcholine - our body’s natural neurotransmitter which helps us to learn. A daily dose of a choline supplement can really support in banishing the fog.
- Nicotine - Fear not! DT is not suggesting you buy a packet of Marlboro Lights! Nicotine is actually a nootropic and a very small dose of around 2mg can boost your mood and focus.
- EPA - a type of fatty acid found in fish oil. This is one of DT’s faves as it is a highly effective way of battling the fog.
- Valerian root - boosts your GABA in the brain and reduces anxiety.
- GPC - a precursor to Acetylcholine and can support short term focus.
Nootropic Energy Boost
- Ginkgo Biloba leaf extract benefits brain function and circulation.
- Theanine supports dispelling that hideous nervousness. It’s such a calming force. WillPowder’s Calm is all you need to get your Theanine hit.
- Nootropics - used by Silicon Valley coders to improve cognitive performance, Tyrosine, Phenylalanine, Nicotinamide and Panax Ginseng root extract will all support your motivation and your get up and go! WillPowder’s Brain Powder is the perfect combination of Nootropic power.
Expel that Fog, Once and For All!
So, if you’re ready to feel more like yourself and take the next step towards clarity, joy and the ability to focus for more than 5 seconds, give these hacks a go! Your brain will thank you!
Disclaimer
Our blogs are written with love in the hope that they go some way in helping you feel like the rockstar you are, and whilst we do our due diligence, research like maniacs and fact check our stuff, we know everyone’s journey is different. They are intended to educate and empower you, not usurp medical advice. We would never advise you to stop, adjust, or modify any prescription medication without the direct supervision of your healthcare practitioner, but don’t be afraid to talk to your doctor about your new found knowledge, brought to you by the marvels of nature because they don't know everything! Blogs are always informed by Davinia but often written by a member of the team. Not all blogs reflect Davinia's experiences and sometimes provide alternative perspectives