Hormone support: why I look at stress, blood sugar and the gut first
Many women arrive in my clinic having already tried to sort out their hormones. They have taken a herb for their cycle, read about oestrogen, perhaps paid for a test. Often the herb helped a little or not at all, and they are still tired, irritable and unsure what is going on. This article explains why I look at stress, blood sugar, the gut and sleep before I focus on hormone support itself, how each of those connects to your hormones, and where herbs fit once the groundwork is in place.
Hormone support starts with knowing what hormones do
Hormones are chemical messengers. Your glands release them into the blood, and they travel to tissues all over the body carrying instructions about energy, growth, mood, reproduction, sleep and how you respond to stress.
Three features of this system matter for everything that follows.
The messengers talk to one another. Cortisol from the adrenal glands, insulin from the pancreas, thyroid hormones and the reproductive hormones all influence each other. Change one and the others tend to shift too.
They respond to your surroundings. Light, food, sleep, movement and stress all send signals that the glands pick up.
They are processed and cleared. After a hormone has done its job, the liver prepares it for removal, and the gut plays a part in what leaves the body and what is taken up again.
Seen this way, a hormone symptom often has company. A heavy period, a low mood in the second half of the cycle or waves of heat that disturb sleep may sit on top of a stressed nervous system, an unsteady blood sugar pattern or a gut under strain. This is why I rarely start with the hormone itself.
The common mistake: starting at the end of the chain
In my practice, the most common mistake I see is going straight to a hormone herb, a hormone test or a hormone-focused supplement while the conditions around it stay the same.
It is an understandable choice. The symptom is a hormonal one, so the answer feels like it should be too. But think of a river. If the water upstream is muddy, there is only so much you can do about it at the harbour. Stress, blood sugar and the gut all sit upstream of your hormones.
I want to be careful here. I am not saying hormones are never the main issue, and I am not saying that lifestyle alone will resolve every hormonal symptom. Some conditions need medical care, and some people benefit a great deal from the care their GP or consultant offers. What I am describing is the order in which I like to look, and the reasons for it.
Stress and your hormones
Your adrenal glands and your ovaries both take their instructions from the same part of the brain. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland send signals to each, and those signals are shaped by how safe or threatened your body feels.
When stress is sustained, the brain gives priority to the stress response. Studies have linked high or prolonged stress with changes to the menstrual cycle, including later or missed periods, in some women. The research varies and people respond differently, yet the connection is well recognised.
In practice, I hear this in a few ways:
cycles that change length during a demanding year
a premenstrual week that feels harder when work is heavy
sleep that worsens in the days before a period
mood that feels more raw than usual in the second half of the cycle
None of these proves that stress is the cause for you. They are patterns I notice often enough to look at stress early. I explain the wider picture in how chronic stress affects your body, and my reasons for starting with the nervous system in why I start there with most people.
Blood sugar and your hormones
When you eat, your blood sugar rises and the pancreas releases insulin to move glucose into your cells. If meals are irregular or very high in refined carbohydrate, the swings can be large, and your body responds to a fall in glucose by releasing adrenaline and cortisol.
Insulin is also closely connected with the reproductive hormones. This is easiest to see in polycystic ovary syndrome, where insulin resistance is common and is managed as part of the condition. If you have been told you have PCOS, or you suspect it, please work with your GP, because it is a medical diagnosis with its own management.
For many women without a diagnosis, the link shows up more quietly. Energy that falls in the afternoon, sugar cravings that are worse before a period and a mood that dips when a meal is late are all things people describe to me. I do not claim that food alone changes your cycle. I do find that steady meals make everything else easier to work with. I give practical steps in eating regularly when life is busy.
The gut and your hormones
Your gut is part of how your body handles oestrogen. The liver prepares oestrogen for removal and sends it into the bile. In the intestine, certain bacteria produce an enzyme that can release some of that oestrogen again, so it returns to the circulation. The collection of gut bacteria involved is sometimes called the oestrobolome.
This is an area of active research, and the understanding is still developing. I find it a helpful way of thinking, and I would not claim that it has been shown to cause any particular symptom.
What I take from it in practice is that regular bowel movements, a varied diet with plenty of fibre and vegetables, and attention to digestion are all sensible parts of looking after your hormones. If you have constipation, bloating or discomfort after eating, I would want to look at that. I describe how stress shuts digestion down in the gut-stress connection.
Sleep and light
Sleep is when much of the body's hormonal activity happens. Cortisol follows a daily rhythm, melatonin rises in the evening and growth hormone is released during deep sleep. Poor sleep affects appetite, mood and how you handle stress the next day, and that feeds back into everything above.
Two habits make the biggest difference to most people I see. The first is getting outside in the morning, since daylight helps set your body clock. The second is a calmer evening: lower light, less screen time and a regular wind-down. I describe the evening routine in tired but wired.
Perimenopause and midlife
Hormone symptoms often arrive in your forties, sometimes earlier, as the ovaries begin to change how they work. This stage is called perimenopause, and it can last for several years before periods stop. Common experiences include cycles that change in length, sudden waves of heat, night sweats, sleep that becomes lighter, a shorter fuse and difficulty concentrating.
I want to be clear about what I can and cannot say here. These changes are a natural transition, and I do not claim that any herb or habit alters them. Your GP can talk through the options available to you, including HRT, and for some women that is the right choice.
What I find in practice is that the same groundwork makes this stage easier to live through. A woman who is sleeping poorly, skipping meals and running on caffeine will usually find heat waves and mood swings harder to cope with than one who has those things in order. That is an observation from my clinic and not a research finding. If you are in this stage, it is worth starting with sleep, steady meals and the evening routine, and then looking at wider support alongside your GP.
A simple week to begin
If all of this feels like a lot, start small. Here is a week I sometimes suggest to people who want a first step that does not need any special products.
Monday: walk outside for ten minutes within an hour of waking.
Tuesday: add protein to your lunch and note how you feel at three o'clock.
Wednesday: finish work at a set time and take a screen-free half hour before bed.
Thursday: add a portion of vegetables or pulses to your evening meal.
Friday: practise four slow breaths in and six slow breaths out, for five minutes, once in the day.
Weekend: read back over the week and note which change you could keep.
Keep the one that helped most and add another next week. Small, steady changes tend to last longer than a complete overhaul.
What about hormone tests?
I am often asked whether a test would tell you what is going on. My honest answer is that it depends on the question.
A blood test ordered by your GP can be very useful for specific questions, such as thyroid function, iron, blood sugar, or whether you have reached menopause.
Hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone change through the month and through the day, so one reading may not show the pattern.
Home and private tests vary in quality, and readings can be hard to interpret without a clinician who knows you.
I do not think a test is a bad idea. I think it works best as one piece of information alongside your symptoms, your history and a conversation. If you are thinking of testing, I would speak to your GP first, and I would be cautious about any programme that promises to read your hormones from a single sample and sell you a long list of supplements to match.
A practical order of working
When someone brings me a hormone concern, this is the order I like to follow. It is a guide and I adapt it to the person.
Rule out what needs medical attention. Heavy, very painful or irregular bleeding, bleeding between periods or after menopause, new symptoms in midlife and signs of thyroid change all deserve a conversation with your GP.
Settle the stress response. A daily rhythm, outdoor time, slow breathing and finishing the working day at a set hour.
Steady the food. Regular meals with protein, fibre and fat, and less reliance on caffeine and sugar.
Look after digestion. Fibre, water, variety and attention to any bloating or constipation.
Protect sleep. A regular bedtime, a lighter evening and a bedroom that is cool and dark.
Then add hormone-focused support. By this point the groundwork is in, and herbs or other support have a clearer picture to work with.
Many people feel better at step two or three and decide they need nothing more. Others reach step six and find the herbs make more sense there. Both outcomes are fine.
What to expect
People understandably want to know how long this takes. I do not have a reliable answer, because it depends on how long the pattern has been there, how much stress you are carrying, what else is going on in your health and how consistently you can make changes.
Cycles take time to show a pattern, so I usually suggest tracking for at least three cycles before drawing conclusions. A simple note of your sleep, mood, energy and any symptoms against the days of your cycle is often more informative than any single test. Bring it to your GP or practitioner if you decide to seek further advice, since it gives them something concrete to work from.
If you see no change after a few months of steady effort, that is useful information as well. It may mean the cause lies elsewhere, and it is a good moment to speak to your GP.
Where herbs fit
Herbs have a long place in women's health, and I use them in my practice. I see them as one part of a wider approach.
The four herbs in Hormone Harmony each have a traditional use in women's health or in the stress response:
Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera). An adaptogen traditionally used in Ayurveda to support the body's resilience under strain.
Shatavari (Asparagus racemosus). A traditional Ayurvedic women's herb, long used across the stages of a woman's life.
Vitex, or Chaste Tree (Vitex agnus-castus). A traditional European women's herb, long associated with the menstrual cycle.
Holy Basil, or Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum). Traditionally used in Ayurveda to support the body's response to everyday stress.
Alongside it, Calm Nerve is built for the nervous system side, with Passionflower, Skullcap, Lemon Balm and Ashwagandha, herbs traditionally used to support relaxation and a settled mind.
I put the two together in the Hormone & Mood duo, because stress and hormones so often move together. The product page carries the full safety information. This matters particularly for anyone using hormonal contraception, HRT or fertility care, anyone with a hormone-sensitive condition, and anyone pregnant or breastfeeding, because Vitex and Shatavari may influence hormonal activity. If any of that applies, please speak to your GP or a practitioner first.
A herb is not a shortcut around the steps above. I would rather you take one steady habit and a tonic together than a tonic on its own.
When to see your GP
Please see your GP if:
your periods are very heavy, very painful, have stopped, or have become irregular without an obvious reason
you have bleeding between periods, after sex, or after menopause
you think you may be pregnant or you are trying to conceive and have not conceived after a year
you have a new lump or breast change, or unexplained weight change
you have a known thyroid condition, PCOS, endometriosis or another diagnosis and your symptoms have changed
you feel low or anxious most of the time, or your mood has become heavy
you take hormonal contraception, HRT, thyroid medication, sedatives or antidepressants, before you add any herbal product
you feel overwhelmed and unsafe. In that case please call NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency
Where this fits
Hormone support works best when it rests on steady foundations. If you would like to see where your own starting point might be, the EarthWise health quiz is a good place to begin.
Sarah Burt is a registered naturopath, medical herbalist and iridologist with 25+ years of clinical experience. All EarthWise tonics are formulated by Sarah based on her clinical protocols.
Looking to explore more ways to support your body naturally? Browse our video library or discover our full range of educational content
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any health condition. Always consult a qualified health practitioner before making changes to your health regimen.
