Foods That Boost Oestrogen Naturally: Best Diet Choices for Hormonal Balance

What is Oestrogen, and Why is it Important?

Oestrogen is the primary female sex hormone associated with the female reproductive organs and the development of sexual characteristics. Oestrogen is not just about fertility – this steroid hormone regulates everything: your mood, energy, reproductive health, and overall well-being.

Here’s how oestrogen influences different systems of the body:

Bone Strength and Density

• Oestrogen maintains bone density and keeps bones strong. A decline in oestrogen leads to osteoporosis, which makes your bones fragile and prone to fractures.

Heart and Vascular Care

• Oestrogen balances the levels of cholesterol, reduces inflammation, and keeps the blood vessels healthy, thereby improving heart health.

Skin and Hair Health

• Oestrogen keeps your skin moisturised and plump and your hair strong and lustrous. Oestrogen deficiency can lead to dry skin and brittle, frizzy hair.

Mood Regulation

• Oestrogen interacts with neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which are crucial for mood regulation. Therefore, a decrease in oestrogen could lead to mood swings, anxiety, or even depression.

Cognition and Other Brain Functions

• Oestrogen influences brain function through its interaction with the cholinergic system that regulates memory, attention, learning, and a variety of other cognitive functions.

“What oestrogen does for you often goes unnoticed – until it starts to decline. Only when the symptoms set in do you truly understand how vital this hormone is.” - Dr Israa Ismail, Senior Ayurveda Consultant and Assistant Ayurveda Manager, Nirva Health.

A decline in the levels of oestrogen in your bloodstream, especially during the menopausal shift, can lead to hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings, sleep disturbances, and bone loss. 

Certain natural, everyday food items can help restore hormonal balance and keep these uncomfortable symptoms away. Read on to learn more about these superfoods.

Best Foods That Boost Oestrogen Levels Naturally

Here are some of the best, easy-to-find, hormone-balancing foods you can add to your diet to boost your oestrogen levels.

1. Flaxseeds

Flaxseeds are full of lignans, a type of phytoestrogen (a plant-based substance that mimics oestrogen produced in the body). Lignans interact with oestrogen-synthesising hormones and help modulate oestrogen levels in the body. 

Flaxseeds also provide alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid that is good for health! 

How to Include Flaxseeds in Your Diet: 

• Grind up the flaxseeds and sprinkle them on your smoothies or shakes, yoghurt, oatmeal, or salads for that extra crunch. 
• For optimal health benefits, it is recommended to consume 1 to 2 tablespoons (10-20 grams) of flaxseeds daily.

2. Soy Products

Soy foods are rich in isoflavones, a type of phytoestrogen. Foods prepared from soybeans, such as miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and soy milk, contain isoflavones, which bind to the oestrogen receptors in the body, mimicking their action and reducing symptoms caused by declining oestrogen levels.

Delicious Ways to Enjoy:

• Swap regular milk with soy milk in smoothies, coffee, or tea.
• Add tofu and tempeh to stir-fries, curries, salads, or sandwiches.
• Use miso in soups or salad dressings.

3. Sesame Seeds

Just like flaxseeds, sesame seeds also contain lignans called sesamin, which get converted by the gut bacteria to a compound with oestrogen-like activities.

Additionally, sesame seeds also contain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that help support the body’s natural oestrogen production as well as your overall health.

How to Add Sesame Seeds to Your Diet:

• You can sprinkle sesame seeds on salads, smoothies, or yoghurt.
• Use tahini (sesame seed paste) as a dip, as a spread, or in dressings.

4. Legumes (Chickpeas, Lentils, and Beans)

Legumes contain different kinds of phytoestrogens that exhibit strong oestrogenic effects on the body.

Apart from this, legumes are also rich sources of dietary fibre, proteins, and other essential nutrients that are beneficial for your overall well-being.

Ways to Use:

• Add sprouted lentils or boiled chickpeas to salads or soups.
• Enjoy roasted chickpeas as a crunchy and healthy snack.
• Make curries using legumes or use the flour to make pancakes or rotis.

5. Red Clover

Many women choose red clover as a natural substitute for synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT), especially to relieve menopausal symptoms. Red clover contains isoflavones (a phytoestrogen) that exhibit oestrogenic activity.

Red clover also has antioxidant activity and offers protection against osteoporosis and heart disease, in addition to its oestrogenic activity.

How to Use:

• Prepare red clover tea by steeping 1 - 2 teaspoons of dried red clover flowers in hot water for 15 minutes.
• You can also take red clover as supplements, tinctures, or powder.

6. Nuts (Especially Almonds and Walnuts)

Studies have shown that nuts, particularly almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and peanuts, have high amounts of phytoestrogens and exhibit oestrogenic activity when consumed. Along with that, nuts are packed with healthy fats and proteins, which support natural hormone production in the body. 

Ways to Include It:

• Enjoy nuts as a healthy snack.
• Add them to smoothies or oatmeal or as a crunchy topping for salads.

7. Pomegranate

Pomegranates have long been viewed as a natural treatment for hormonal imbalances. The juice, seeds, and pomegranate skin also have high levels of phytoestrogens (genistein) that behave like oestrogen in the body. 

Additionally, this fruit contains high amounts of antioxidants and other natural nutrients that increase oestrogen production in the body. 

How to Use: 

• Drink freshly squeezed, unsweetened pomegranate juice to help raise oestrogen levels. 
• Eat the pomegranate seeds (arils) for a snack, or add them to your yoghurt, smoothies, and salads. 

8. Fruits & Vegetables (Especially Cruciferous Vegetables) 

Certain fruits and vegetables, especially cruciferous veggies such as broccoli, cabbage and kale, contain indole-3-carbinol and isothiocyanates (ITCs), which help support oestrogen metabolism and maintain balanced oestrogen levels in the body. 

What to Do: 

• For a snack, munch on broccoli or cauliflower florets with yoghurt or hummus dip. 
• Toss these vegetables raw into salads. 
• Prepare curries or dishes out of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and kale.

9. Berries (Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries) 

Berries also include phytoestrogens called lignans, isoflavones, and stilbenes, which are compounds that exhibit oestrogen-like activities in the body. 

Berries are also a rich source of antioxidants and can help decrease inflammation and oxidative stress for overall health and wellness. 

How do you add berries to your diet?

• Eat fresh berries as a healthy snack. 
• Put berries in your smoothies, oatmeal, porridge, or yoghurt. 
• Put fresh berries on top of your desserts. 

10. Apples

Apples contain phytoestrogen, specifically phloridzin, which is structurally very similar to estradiol (a female sex hormone). 

Apart from this, apples are a great source of fibre and antioxidants, making them a perfect food to help protect against hormonal imbalances. 

What to Do:

• Snack on fresh apples or enjoy a glass of apple juice. 
• Add apples to salads, oatmeal, or yoghurt for extra sweetness and crunchiness. 
• Make apple cakes or pies. 

11. Whole Grains (Oats, Brown Rice, Quinoa) 

Whole grains have high levels of lignans, a class of compounds that have oestrogen-like effects. Whole grains support the balance of hormones and are also high in fibre and nutrients, which are important for stable oestrogen production. 

How to Implement:

• Incorporate grains like quinoa, oats, or millet for breakfast. 
• Replace refined flour with whole-grain flour when baking, such as whole-wheat flour, oats or millet flour. 
• Experiment with whole-grain pasta and noodles.

Foods to Avoid for Hormonal Balance

We have seen beneficial foods that can help boost oestrogen levels by mimicking its effects, enhancing natural oestrogen production, and improving your overall well-being.

However, equally as noteworthy as consuming these foods in your diet is avoiding the foods that can disturb the hormone balance! Here are some foods you will want to avoid or eat minimally to achieve good hormone levels! 

Processed Foods

• Eating a diet high in processed food, sugar and unhealthy fats will lead to inflammation, alter hormonal production and may lead to metabolic diseases.

Excessive Alcohol Intake

• Alcohol messes with the body’s ability to produce and regulate hormones like oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, which, in the long run, may lead to reproductive health issues and increased risk for certain types of cancers.

Excessive Caffeine Consumption

• Caffeine found in beverages like tea, coffee, and caffeinated cold drinks acts like a stimulant and increases the production of cortisol (a stress hormone), potentially impacting hormone levels.
• Caffeine also causes sleep disturbances, which further contribute to hormonal imbalances.

Hormone-Treated Meat and Dairy

• Synthetic hormones are used on cattle to increase growth rate and milk production. When you consume products from such hormone-treated animals, these hormones enter your body and may affect your natural hormone levels.

The Bottom Line

Oestrogen is essential for a woman’s overall well-being – it doesn’t just keep your bones strong and your heart healthy – it also plays a big role in your mental and emotional health.

Include oestrogen-boosting foods (that contain phytoestrogens) that are rich in healthy fats, fibre, and other essential nutrients to help support your hormonal balance by mimicking the function of oestrogen while naturally supporting oestrogen production.

By incorporating beneficial foods into your diet, along with limiting the consumption of foods that disrupt hormonal balance, you can naturally support your body, especially during menopause and beyond.