Scroll through Instagram or TikTok long enough and you’ll almost certainly see enthusiasts for special diets, supplements, or a 30-day lifestyle overhaul with promises that they’ll “reset” your hormones. These plans often claim they can fix everything from fatigue and brain fog to stubborn weight gain and mood swings. The idea of wiping the slate clean and starting over with a body in better balance sounds tempting—but is that actually how hormones work?
Short answer: not really. The idea of a quick hormonal “reset” misunderstands what hormones are and how your body already works to keep them in check, Deena Adimoolam, MD, endocrinologist and spokeswoman for the Endocrine Society tells SELF.
“I see many young patients in my office who are concerned about their hormones after seeing a post about it on social media,” she says. She’s careful to ask about supplements people might be taking, especially the “adaptogens” which Adimoolam says can cause a real hormonal condition instead of solving one.
“Hormones are invisible, powerful, and affect everything—so when symptoms are vague or overlapping, hormones become an easy explanation but they are generally not to blame,” she says.
How do hormones work, then? And can you influence them at all? Here’s a helpful primer about what hormones do, how your body regulates them, and tips for supporting your hormone health in ways that actually work.
First, a quick biology lesson on hormones.
Hormones are chemical messengers that tell different parts of your body what to do and when to do it. They influence nearly every major system in your body—metabolism, growth, reproduction, sleep, mood, and more. Your glands (think pituitary, adrenal, pancreas, etc.) make these hormones (think growth hormone, adrenaline, insulin, etc.) and send them out like soldiers carrying out orders to cause certain biological reactions and keep your body in check.
For example: You eat some ice cream, your blood sugar rises, and your pancreas makes and releases insulin into your bloodstream. This tells your cells to grab up some of that sugar and store it or use it for energy, which in turn balances out your blood sugar levels. Hormones and the glands that excrete them make up your body’s endocrine system.
Because of how they work, hormones are always naturally in flux, but it’s a flux with order and purpose, Dr. Adimoolam says. They’re controlled through positive and negative feedback loops, like a system of internal checks and balances. If levels of a hormone get too high, the body signals to slow or stop production. If levels dip too low, it signals to make more.
