You know we love teaming up with empowered women to spread knowledge and support to Hormonas everywhere. Well, this time we’ve joined forces with not one, but two, incredible women. Who just happen to have a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) in Nutrition too! Meet Dina Søhoel, 27, and Hanna Danielsen, 25, both determined to prove that balanced hormones and nutrition are a partnership made in delicious food heaven.
Hello Dina and Hanna, and welcome to Team Hormona! Tell us about yourselves and your background…
Hey Hormona! We’re both from Norway and we grew up on different sides of the country, but met during our studies in 2018, and stayed friends throughout the course. It wasn’t until we’d finished the Nutrition degree that we decided to create a business regarding health and nutrition together.
We’re both so passionate about cooking and feeding our bodies real food. And we want to spread that love of cooking healthy foods to other people! We also love spending time in nature, so you’ll frequently find us outside, in a park, or on a mountain.
In the last few years, it’s also become very important for us to work towards a low-stress life as much as possible. So, meditation, breathwork, and mindfulness have become a part of our every day.
What sparked your interest in nutrition?
Looking back at our childhoods, we both just always seemed to be interested in learning about our bodies, being active, and eating healthy. For example, Hanna’s mom has told her that Hanna always would ask her, “Mom, are we not going to have a salad with this dinner?” whenever she had made a meal that didn’t consist of any greens.
We both also went through periods where Hanna was vegetarian and Dina was vegan when we were younger. And that took us both on a journey, learning the power of food and what role different types of foods play in our bodies. Neither of us is vegetarian or vegan now, but it definitely was a big entrance into the nutritional world.
What made you start a career using your knowledge?
We’ve also experienced firsthand how confusing it is to try and navigate the world of nutrition. There are so many different opinions everywhere, with the media writing contradictory articles about different subjects every day.
In addition, we feel like there is too little information about food and nutrition being taught in schools, and so therefore many people grow up without adequate knowledge of how to feed their bodies. This was partly why we started talking about starting our Instagram account together, to create a space with trustworthy knowledge about nutrition and food, where the information is easy to understand.
We also wanted to create something that inspires people to find their love of cooking, and making meals from scratch. Even if you want to start eating healthy, it can be very challenging when you don’t know what to make. And if that’s the case, we want to be there for you and help you make all of that easy!
How do you personally define a balanced, healthy lifestyle?
To us, a balanced and healthy lifestyle contains a little bit of everything. In terms of nutrition, no food is really a no-no.
We believe it should be a priority to choose real, whole, and nutrient-dense foods as often as you can — and to the biggest extent possible. But we also believe that giving in to our cravings every now and then. Letting ourselves enjoy certain foods just for the sake of pleasure is also healthy. We don’t deprive ourselves of anything if we want something, but our focus day-to-day is to eat home-cooked meals made from whole foods.
The most important part for us is being able to make informed choices in terms of what we put into our bodies. And that’s why we want to spread more knowledge about whole foods and ultra-processed foods. It can be quite confusing navigating all the different foods on the shelves, particularly as many are marketed to make you believe they’re healthy, when they may contain ingredients that could be messing with your health. Knowledge is power!
How do you find balance outside of nutrition?
We also don’t believe in strict rules, and don’t think food and meal times should bring stress into our lives. We want to help people find the joy in cooking, and also help them build a repertoire of go-to recipes, so that planning meals each day becomes easy, quick, and fun, a no-brainer.
Apart from the nutrition part, we think a balanced and healthy lifestyle contains some form of daily movement, a hobby, or doing something that brings you joy every day, spending time with loved ones, and getting enough sleep! But most of all, learning to be kind and compassionate to yourself, listening to your body, and not pushing yourself to do things you don’t feel like doing.
Why did you decide to collaborate with Hormona?
In short: Hormona very much aligns with our own values and the message we want to send to our followers. We want our followers to have the knowledge of how to take care of their bodies! Hormonal health is a big part of that, and it’s something we can all strengthen through the right nutrition.
Also, we really think it’s such a powerful mission that Hormona is on. Putting women’s health on the agenda, offering a way for every woman to learn about their health and hormones, and how to take back control is truly so important. And being able to do tests at home and learn how to nurture their body accordingly is groundbreaking.
We really want to be a part of spreading the word about Hormona to as many women as possible. The fact that you can be at home and get insights into your hormone levels by using your equipment is just so damn cool! We also love how accessible you’re making it for women everywhere!
Give us a few quick tips for using nutrition to improve your hormone health…
Absolutely! Here are some top Dina and Hanna tips:
- Firstly, food isn’t just calories in and out, it’s information to our cells. A calorie from an ultra-processed packaged pizza is not the same as a calorie from a whole fruit or vegetable. Unfortunately, foods are often considered to be just calories, but this is one of the focuses we want to highlight through our work. Food isn’t only calories, it’s nutrients, it’s information.
- Whole food heals. We live in a world where ultra-processing of our foods is at an all-time high. Sadly, these kinds of foods do no good to our bodies, especially our hormones. Ultra-processed foods — not to be confused with processed foods — destroy the harmony in our gut gardens, which also messes with our hormones.
- Work on managing your stress levels! Stress impacts your gut, hormones, and overall health negatively.
- Cooking meals from scratch and using whole foods does not have to be time-consuming!
- Eating at around the same time every day and having a routine is really good for your body!
- Different foods can help us regulate our hormones. You’re not helpless if you’re out of balance, there are things you can do.
What can Hormonas expect from our Dina and Hanna collaboration?
Hormonas can expect informative and important discussions and science specifically on gut and hormone health. We’ll also provide them with hormone-balancing recipes that taste amazing!
Because to us, it’s so important that the foods we consume are delicious. Otherwise living healthy and balanced would not be sustainable. You shouldn’t feel like you’re missing out on anything if you’re choosing to live healthy. Hopefully, our recipes will do wonders for Hormonas’ taste buds, as well as their hormonal and overall health!
As mentioned earlier, we want to also help spread the joy of cooking, and show that it can be a social thing you can do with others. And also help expand every Hormonas’ library of go-to recipes that are healthy and yummy, as well as quick and easy!
You’ll find Dina and Hanna’s amazing recipes on their Instagram account @bb_balancedandbeyond. Enjoy!