Hormones don't just appear and disappear - they move through a lifecycle involving: production, transport, activation, metabolism, elimination.

My last post covered metabolism - how your liver breaks hormones down once they've done their job - today: the final stage, elimination.

Once metabolised, hormones need to leave the body via urine, stool, and (to a lesser extent) sweat. If this step doesn't work properly you get a bottleneck, and all that earlier processing can be undone so hormones get reabsorbed back into circulation instead of cleared out.

What drives good elimination?

Fibre and a healthy gut microbiome are key. Without enough fibre, hormones can be reabsorbed in a more toxic form rather than fully excreted.

Ultra-processed foods, refined carbs, and sugar work against you on two fronts: they're low in the fibre you need to support elimination and they feed the gut bacteria that make reabsorption more likely. Cutting back on these is one of the simplest ways to support this stage.

Hydration matters too, to help both healthy bowel movements and kidney function.

It's not just your own hormones your liver has to clear. Everyday chemicals called xeno-oestrogens are structurally similar enough to oestrogen to confuse the body by locking onto your oestrogen receptors, also im-pacting your hormonal load.

On top of that, your liver is also processing everything else you're exposed to daily: BPA from plastics, pesticides, heavy metals, and chemicals in beauty and cleaning products. The higher the toxin load, the less capacity your liver has to clear hormones efficiently.

Simple swaps that help:

✔️ Choose organic where you can
✔️ Skip toiletries and cleaning products containing parabens and SLS
✔️ Prioritise fibre-rich foods
✔️ Cut back on ultra-processed food and refined sugar

Why this matters?

Poor elimination allows hormones to recirculate or build up. Over time, this can contribute to symptoms like PMS, mood swings, fatigue and skin issues.

The takeaway: a healthy hormone lifecycle isn't just about having enough hormones - it's about clearing them out too. Production without elimination is like running a bath with the plug in!