Insulin, Cortisol & Estrogen — The Trifecta of Modern Imbalance

How Three Hormones Quietly Disrupt Your Weight, Mood, Cycles & Energy

If you’re constantly tired, gaining weight around your belly, snapping emotionally, skipping periods, or waking up at 3 a.m. with your mind racing…

You’re not broken. You’re not weak. And it’s not just aging.

It’s likely a hormonal traffic jam involving three powerful players:

• Insulin (blood sugar)
• Cortisol (stress response)
• Estrogen (reproduction, mood, growth)

These three hormones have become misaligned in most modern bodies. This is especially true for women. The symptoms are so common that they’re often normalized.

Let’s unpack how they work, how they collide, and how to begin restoring balance.

🥜 1. Insulin — The Sugar Switch

Insulin helps move sugar (glucose) out of your blood and into your cells.
If your meals are off-rhythm, it includes having too much sugar or seed oils. It also includes snacking all day or skipping breakfast. Then, insulin stops listening. This is called insulin resistance.

Signs:

• Belly fat that won’t budge
• Afternoon energy crashes
• Sugar or carb cravings (especially at night)
• Feeling shaky, irritated, or foggy if you delay meals

Insulin resistance doesn’t just cause prediabetes. It also messes with your mood, focus, and even skin (acne, melasma).

It also triggers more cortisol.

⚡️ 2. Cortisol — The Stress Amplifier

Cortisol is your body’s alarm system.
When your body senses danger (physical or emotional), cortisol rises. In the modern world, we face constant low-grade stress. Traffic, deadlines, screen time, skipped meals, grief, noise, and never-ending notifications contribute to this stress.

When cortisol is always high:

• Your sleep gets shallow
• You crave sugar (especially at night)
• You gain belly fat
• You lose muscle
• Your periods become irregular
• Your patience wears thin

Cortisol also interferes with estrogen metabolism and estrogen receptor sensitivity. This is why women under long-term stress often develop hormonal symptoms.

🌸 3. Estrogen — The Growth Messenger

Estrogen is essential for skin, bones, mood, fertility, and memory.
But it has to stay in balance with progesterone and be cleared properly by the liver.

Today, many women have estrogen dominance — too much circulating estrogen compared to progesterone.

Why?

• Liver congestion (due to seed oils, meds, toxins)
• Gut issues (constipation = estrogen recycling)
• Stress (lowers progesterone)
• Exposure to plastics, perfumes, chemical cosmetics (xenoestrogens)

Signs:

• Heavy or painful periods
• Breast tenderness
• Fibroids, PCOS, or ovarian cysts
• Bloating and mood swings before your cycle
• Fatigue that worsens during PMS

🪤 The Collision: When All Three Go Off

Here’s what I see in real clients:

• Woman in her 30s, dealing with weight gain, fibroids, cravings, insomnia, and emotional overload.
• Her insulin is unstable, cortisol is spiking from constant stress, and estrogen is dominant but poorly detoxed.

She’s told to lose weight, take birth control, or “relax.”
But none of that gets to the root cause: her internal rhythm is broken.

🔄 NHG Approach to Rebalancing the Trifecta

1. Meal Rhythm Reset

• No snacking. 2–3 solid meals.
• Protein + fat at lunch, fermented starch at night.
• Reset insulin and reduce cortisol swings.

2. Liver & Gut Support

• Dandelion root, beetroot, managu, fermented uji
• Daily bowel movement = no estrogen recycling

3. Calm the Stress Signal

• Chamomile, lemon balm, stretching
• Magnesium-rich foods (pumpkin seeds, uji, greens)

4. Seed Oil Detox

• Remove industrial oils (vegetable, canola, sunflower)
• Use ghee, coconut oil, or cold-pressed olive oil

5. Support Progesterone

• Deep sleep before 10 p.m.
• Flaxseed, pumpkin seeds, gentle movement

📆 Where This Fits in the Series

This is part of Phase 1: The Hormone Map.

• What Are Hormones, Really?
• Master Controllers: The HPA-T Axis
• Next: Everyday Hormone Wreckers

💬 Want to reset these 3 hormones at the root?

contact us on:

🌐 Free articles & masterclass: Hormones Healing

You don’t need more willpower.
You need hormonal rhythm.

Mike Ndegwa | Natural Health Guide