Food Matrix
A curated guide to hormone-supportive foods for metabolic balance, energy, & vitality
The foods in this document have been carefully selected to help support digestion, prioritize micronutrient consumption, enhance hormone balance, and optimize health. These are some of the most nutrient dense foods a person can eat. Please understand though, that everyone is unique and different. The majority of these foods will be tolerated well with most people, but others may have issues. Carefully analyze how you feel in response to consuming the foods on this list. If you experience any of the following symptoms, discontinue eating the suspected food:
- Heartburn
- Constipation
- Skin issues and poor skin complexion
- Ulcers
- Low energy
- Brain fog
- Gas or burping
- Getting sick very easily
- Mood issues
- Dandruff
- Overeating
- Low testosterone
- Issues related to bone density and oral health
- Liver issues
- Excessive simple carb cravings
Additional Recommendations
Prioritize Column
Consume these foods 80-100% of the time
Neutral Column
Consume these foods 0-20% of the time
Avoid Column
Consume these foods 0% of the time
Food Type
Food Type
Protein
Starchy Carbohydrates
Fruit
Veggies
Dairy
Nuts, Seeds, & Legumes
Oil & Fats
Sweeteners
Spices & Flavorings
Beverages
Protein
Prioritize
- Bovine serum
- Colostrum
- Grass-fed beef
- Grass-fed beef bone broth
- Grass-fed bison
- Grass-fed elk
- Grass-fed lamb
- Organic grass-fed collagen
- Organic grass-fed gelatin
- Pasture-raised eggs
- Pastured chicken/pork (not raised on grains)
- Pasture-raised chicken bone broth
- Grass-fed organ meats
- Beef liver
- Beef heart
- Beef Kidney
- Oysters
- Scallops
- Shellfish
-
Wild caught seafood (calamari/squid,
crab, lobster, mussels, shrimp, etc.)
Neutral
- A2 Dairy
- Organic grass-fed whey
- Low-mercury wild caught fish (Anchovies, haddock, petrale sole, sardines, salmon, summer flounder, trout)
Avoid
- Beans
- Cage free eggs
-
Cheese and other pasteurized or cooked
dairy (except butter) - Factory or conventionally farmed eggs
-
Factory/conventionally raised/grain fed/
vegetarian fed meat (chicken, turkey, beef, pork, fish)
- Farmed seafood
- Heated whey
- Hemp protein
- High mercury seafood
- Rice and pea protein
Starchy Carbohydrates
Prioritize
- Butternut squash
- Cassava
- Pumpkin
- Sprouted rice
- Sweet Potato
- Taro
- Yam
Neutral
- Well cooked potatoes
- White rice
Avoid
- Alcohol
- Barley grass
- Black rice
- Brown rice
- Bread (All)
- Buckwheat
- Bulgar
- Cereal
- Cookies
- Corn and corn products
- Corn starch
- Crackers
- Flour products
- Gluten-free powders & products
- Maltodextrin
- Millet
- Oats/oatmeal
- Other grains
- Pasta
- Popcorn
- Potato chips
- Potato starch
- Quinoa
- Rye
- Spelt
- Tortilla chips
- Tortillas
- Wheat
- Wheatgrass
- Wheat einkorn
- Wheat kamut
- Whole grains
- Wild rice
Fruit
Prioritize
- Acerola Cherries
- Banana (Ripe)
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cantaloupe
- Coconut
- Cranberries
- Cucumber (peeled/deseeded)
- Grapefruit
- Honeydew
- Kiwi
- Lemon
- Lime
- Lychee
- Mango
- Nectarine
- Olives
- Orange
- Papaya
- Peach
- Pineapple
- Plums
- Pomegranate
- Raspberry
- Strawberry
- Watermelon
Neutral
- Apple (skin peeled)
- Apricot
- Avocado
- Dates
- Dried fruit
- Figs
- Grapes
- Guava
- Passion fruit
- Pears
- Persimmon
- Plantain
- Raisins
Avoid
- Canned fruit
- Fruit leather
- Jam
- Jelly
Veggies
Prioritize
- Acerola Cherries
- Banana (Ripe)
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cantaloupe
- Coconut
- Honeydew
- Kiwi
- Lemon
- Lime
- Lychee
- Mango
- Peach
- Pineapple
- Plums
- Pomegranate
- Raspberry
- Strawberry
Neutral
- Algae
- Artichokes
- Arugula
- Asparagus (cooked)
- Basil
- Bok choy (cooked)
- Broccoli (cooked)
- Brussels sprouts (cooked)
- Cabbage (cooked)
- Cauliflower (cooked)
- Celery (cooked)
- Chicory (cooked)
- Chives (cooked)
- Apple (skin peeled)
- Cilantro
- Collards (cooked)
- Endive
- Fennel
- Green Beans
- Green onion
- Kale (cooked)
- Kimchi
- Leeks
- Lettuce
- Mint
- Mixed greens
- Okra
- Onion
- Collards (cooked)
- Endive
- Fennel
- Green Beans
- Green onion
- Kale (cooked)
- Kimchi
- Leeks
- Lettuce
- Mint
- Mixed greens
Avoid
- Beets
-
Bell peppers
(unless peeled/deseeded) - Canned veggies
- Chickpeas
-
Chili peppers
(unless peeled/deseeded) - Corn (all types)
- Eggplant
- Peas
- Peppers
- Raw chard
- Raw collards
- Raw kale
- Raw spinach
- Soy
- Sprouts
- Sugar snap peas
- Summer squash
- Tofu
- Tomatoes (unless peeled/deseeded)
Dairy
Prioritize
- Colostrum
- Grass-fed ghee or butter
- Organic grass-fed butter
- Organic grass-fed cream
- Organic grass-fed ghee
- All Raw Dairy (Organic)
- Raw Milk
- Raw Cheese
- Raw Cottage Cheese
- Raw Cream
- Raw Kefir
- All Raw Dairy (Organic)
- Raw Half/Half
- Raw Yogurt
- Goat Dairy
Neutral
- Algae
- Artichokes
- Arugula
- Organic grass-fed full-fat raw milk
- Organic grass-fed full-fat raw yogurt
Avoid
- Most Pasteurized Cheese
- Casein protein powders
- Condensed or evaporated milk
- Pasteurized Cottage cheese
- Conventional ice-cream
- Dairy replacer
- Eggplant
- Factory dairy
- Fake butter/margarine
- Frozen yogurt
- Greek yogurt
- Pasteurized Ice cream
- Kefir
- Non-organic grass-fed full-fat raw milk or yogurt
- Pasteurized non-organic milk or yogurt
- Powdered milk
- Skim or low-fat milk
Nuts, Seeds, and Legumes
Avoid
- All beans
- All legumes
- All nuts
- All seeds
- Almonds
- Brazil nuts
- Cashews
- Chestnuts
- Coconut
- Corn nuts
- Dried peas
- Flaxseeds
- Garbanzo beans
- Hazelnuts
- Hemp seeds
- Hummus
- Lentils
- Macadamia nuts
- Most legumes
- Peanuts
- Pecans
- Pine nuts
- Pistachios
- Psyllium
- Sesame seeds
- Soy
- Soy nuts
- Sprouted legumes
- Walnuts
Oil & Fats
Prioritize
- Coconut oil
- Grass-fed butter
- Grass-fed ghee
- Grass- fed tallow
- Grass-fed red meat fat, and marrow
- Organic Olives
- Red Palm Oil
- Tallow
Neutral
- Avocado
- Avocado oil
- Coconut milk (no additives)
- Duck fat (pastured)
- Extra virgin olive oil (if pure/organic)
- Goose fat (pastured)
- Grain-fed butter
Avoid
- Canola oil
- Cashew butter
- Commercial lard
- Conventionally farmed chicken fat
- Corn oil
- Cottonseed oil
- Fish oil
- Grapeseed oil
- Hazelnuts
- Heated nuts and oils (roasted nut butters & roasted nuts)
- Krill oil
- Peanut oil
- Safflower oil
- Soybean oil
- Soy lecithin
- Sunflower oil
- Vegetable oil
- Virgin olive oil
- All refined/seed oils
Sweeteners
Prioritize
- Organic maple syrup
- Raw honey
Neutral
- Erythritol
- Stevia
- Xylitol
Avoid
- Acesulfame potassium
- Aspartame (NutraSweet)
- Agave
- Coconut sugar
- Fructose
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Honey
- Maltitol
- Maple syrup
- Non-GMO dextrose
- Sucralose (Splenda)
- Sugar (white, brown)
- Sorbitol
- All other sugar alcohols
Spices & Flavorings
Prioritize
- Apple cider vinegar
- Cacao powder
- Cilantro
- Coffee
- Ginger
- Lavender
- Oregano
- Paprika/Smoked Paprika
- Parsley
- Rosemary
- Sea salt
- Thyme
- Turmeric
- Vanilla extract
Neutral
- All-spice
- Black Pepper
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Garlic
- Mustard seed
- Nutmeg
- Onion Powder
- Organic mustard with no additives
- Table salt
Avoid
- Anything labeled “enzyme modified”
- Bouillon and broth
- Caseinate
- Commercial salad dressing (Vegetable oils)
- Commercial salad dressing (EVOO and avocado)
- Tofu
- Commercial spices and extracts
- Hydrolyzed gluten
- Miso
- MSG
- Tamari
- Textured protein
- Yeast
Beverages
Prioritize
- Coconut milk
- Coconut water (bottle/box/whole coconut)
- Filtered (reverse osmosis) water
- Mineral water in glass bottle
- Organic Coffee
- Raw milk
- Tea - Chamomile
- Tea - Green
- Tea - White Willow Bark
- Water with lemon/lime
Neutral
- Fresh squeezed fruit juice
- Kombucha
Avoid
- Aspartame drinks
- All Alcohol
- Bottled iced tea (all types)
- Bottled or boxed nut milks
- Diet drinks/soda
- Fresh brewed iced tea
- Fresh vegetable juice
- Packaged juice
- Pasteurized milk
- Soda
- Soy milk
- Sport drinks
- Sweetened drinks
- Tap Water