What Causes A Hormone Imbalance
There are many things that can disrupt the body and lead to a hormone imbalance. The longer your hormone levels are out of balance, the more difficult it is to rebalance your hormones. Finding the root cause of your hormone imbalance is key. Some of the common causes of a hormone imbalance include chronic stress, a poor diet, exposure to endocrine disruptors, diabetes, and thyroid disease.
How Menopause Disturbs Our Hormone Balance
Wondering how hormones send their messages to different parts of the body? Heres a rundown of the process!
The whole process begins when hormone production takes place in your glands. Your hormones travel via your blood to the different cells and organs in your body. When they reach their destination, they knock on your cellsgatekeepers, called receptors, where they will relay their message.
If your receptors feel like your cells need them, they allow entry to dock into your cells, and they will turn on a specific function. This is how your hormones keep the body balanced. But
During menopause, your hormone production changes big time. In the early stages, your ovaries start to falter, but they will still produce normal amounts of estrogen. On the other hand, progesterone production reduces. This causes an imbalance called estrogen dominance where estrogen is higher relative to progesterone. In the later parts of menopause, you experience declining hormone levels, which can make you deficient.
As the receiving end, your receptors will accept whats coming to them. Excessive estrogen in your body will hyperactivate your organs and the lack of progesterone may affect some body functions. Hormone deficiencies on the other hand slow down the majority of your body functions and you may experience symptoms such as:
- Changes in your monthly periods
- Slow digestion
- Sluggish metabolism
Types Of Hormone Imbalances
Estrogen Dominance Estrogen dominance is a quite common cause of hormone imbalance that occurs when estrogen levels are too high relative to progesterone levels. This can happen in a few ways:
Symptoms of estrogen dominance include: Tender breasts, irregular cycles long or short, bloating, acne, breast cysts, PMS, headaches, anxiety, weight gain, difficulty sleeping, fatigue, hair loss, and difficulties getting pregnant. However, this is not an all-inclusive list.
The graphic above shows a healthy pattern and 3 patterns of estrogen dominance. Please take note that all of the unhealthy patterns are still within a typical lab reference range. Your hormones will come back normal. Its the ratio between the hormones that are important! Adding a healthy pattern to the previously mentioned reasons for Estrogen Dominance leaves us with the following patterns for your hormones.
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Can Hormones Be Balanced Without Medication
It depends. If your hormones are out of balance due to a lifestyle factor , it is definitely possible to balance your hormones without medication.
However, if your hormonal imbalance is due to something outside of your control, such as PCOS or another underlying condition, you will likely require assistance from a doctor who may prescribe medication.
Natural Ways To Balance Hormones In Females That Work
Updates: 05/16/2022
Testosterone, progesterone, estrogen, thyroid, cortisol, insulin are main hormones in human body. We all heard these names but not everyone knows each ones function. Hormones imbalances are usually caused by many factors, which are well within our control by making some simple lifestyle changes. Here are 19 powerful natural ways to balance hormones in female for acne, fertility and weight loss that can help people keep their hormones happy!
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How Are Hormonal Imbalances Treated
Treatment for a hormonal imbalance will depend on whats causing it.
If you have lower-than-normal hormone levels, the main treatment is hormone replacement therapy. Depending on which hormone is deficient, you may take oral medication or injection medication.
For example, if you have low thyroid hormone levels , your provider can prescribe synthetic thyroid hormone pills. If you have growth hormone deficiency, youll likely have to take injections of synthetic growth hormone.
If you have higher-than-normal hormone levels, there are many treatment options depending on the cause. Options include medication, surgery, radiation therapy or a combination of any of these.
For example, if you have a prolactinoma, a benign tumor that causes excess prolactin , your provider may prescribe a medication to shrink the tumor or you may need surgery to remove it.
Eat Less High Sugar Foods
High sugar foods can impact hormone balance because they raise insulin levels in the body, making it harder for women to lose weight and increasing their risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, insulin affects other hormones, including sex hormones. Unfortunately, after 40, eating high amounts of sugar and simple carbohydrates is harder to manage, such as white flour, pizza, cookies, and other sweets.
Too much sugar builds up and contributes to the hormone imbalance associated with hot flushes, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, weight gain, and other wonderful perimenopause and menopause symptoms.
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Eat Foods Rich In Polyphenols
Polyphenols are plant compounds that have many health benefits, including reductions in blood pressure, inflammation, cholesterol levels, and oxidative stress .
Human cells cant always digest polyphenols. Because they arent absorbed efficiently, most polyphenols make their way to the colon, where they are digested by gut bacteria (
- blueberries
Polyphenols from cocoa can increase the amount of Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in humans and reduce the quantity of Clostridia .
Furthermore, these changes in the microbiome are associated with lower levels of triglycerides and C-reactive protein, which is a marker of inflammation .
The polyphenols in red wine have similar effects and have even been shown to increase levels of beneficial bacteria in people with metabolic syndrome .
Summary
Polyphenols cant be digested efficiently by human cells, but they are efficiently broken down by the gut microbiota. They may improve several health outcomes related to heart disease and inflammation.
Natural Ways To Balance Your Hormones
Hormones are chemical messengers that have profound effects on your mental, physical, and emotional health. For instance, they play a major role in controlling your appetite, weight, and mood.
Typically, your body produces the precise amount of each hormone needed for various processes to keep you healthy.
However, sedentary lifestyles and Western dietary patterns may affect your hormonal environment. In addition, levels of certain hormones decline with age, and some people experience a more dramatic decrease than others.
However, a nutritious diet and other healthy lifestyle habits may help improve your hormonal health and allow you to feel and perform your best.
Here are 10 natural ways to balance your hormones.
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Weight Gain Or Difficulty Losing Weight
Why do so many people struggle with weight loss and maintenance? Usually, its because they are eating nutrient-poor foods and working too hard. The body processes this hard work as stress and when the body is stressed, it goes into survival or fight or flight mode, producing cortisol. When youre chronically stressed, your cortisol is always high and in an effort to protect itself from whatever danger it senses, your body holds onto fat as a form of energy.
What Happens When These Hormones Become Imbalanced
When there is an excess of estrogen in your system, this can lead to heavy and painful periods, sore breasts, PMS, and weight retention around thighs and hips. The causes of estrogen excess include higher production from ovaries and poor metabolism and detoxification.
Low estrogen can also have negative effects on your health, which include low libido, missing periods, or very long cycles. The causes for low estrogen include under-eating, over-exercising, stress, and smoking.
The consequences of low progesterone include PMS, spotting before period begins, anxiety, and prolonged bleeding. The causes of low progesterone include stress and not ovulating.
Having high testosterone can cause acne, male pattern hair growth, hair loss, and irregular cycles. It is associated with polycystic ovary syndrome , which is associated with irregular cycles and excess androgens .
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Summary Of 12 Ways How To Balance Your Hormones Naturally:
How Is A Hormonal Imbalance Diagnosed
You must visit your healthcare provider in order to diagnose hormonal imbalances. Before requesting any tests, they will ask about your symptoms and suggest which hormone imbalance test you should get.
Be prepared to describe your symptoms and the timeline along which theyve occurred. Also, bring a list of all medications, vitamins, and supplements youre currently taking.
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Top Five Tips For Rebalancing Hormones
Maintain a healthy diet. Incorporate fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, plus raw nuts and seeds into your diet. Avoid high fatty foods, processed carbohydrates, fried foods, soft drinks, enriched flour, and processed vegetable oil. Avoid non-organic dairy products, which may contain harmful bovine growth hormones, steroids and antibiotics.
Add more Omega-3 fatty acids to your diet. These fats create healthy cell membranes, allowing hormones to bind to the cell more easily. Omega-3 fatty acids also repair receptor sites and keep it in optimal condition. Consider eating more foods with omega-3s or taking a high quality organic oil, such as hempseed or flaxseed.
Keep stress levels down. Studies show that women who mediate daily or practice yoga experience less hormonal swings than those who dont. Rest is important. Many women lead such hectic lives with many demands placed on them that they have little time to let their bodies re-adjust. Find small ways and time to relax. A massage can be a wonderful way to relax and remove the aches and pains caused by a busy lifestyle.
Get enough good quality sleep. Try to get at least 8 hours every night. During sleep the body recuperates and restores. Insufficient sleep is now recognised as a major cause heart disease, stroke, metabolic dysfunction and impaired mental health.
The Four Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle
What happens during each menstrual cycle? High-level, an egg develops and is released from the ovaries. If a pregnancy doesnt happen, the uterine lining sheds during a menstrual period. You bleed, and the cycle starts again. The four phases of the menstrual cycle are the menstrual phase, follicular phase, ovulation phase, and luteal phase. The length of each phase can differ from woman to woman, and it can change over time.
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Youve Lost That *spark*
If youve ever felt like youve lost that special something, your zest for lifeand your partnerthen you know what Im talking about. Maybe its a shift in energya change in your Qior perhaps situational factors like high stress, or the life of a busy mom. Either way, the last thing youre interested in is your hubby winking at you from across the dinner table.
Having a healthy sex drive is a really important marker for hormone health . This is because the hormones that regulate libido, like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, also regulate your mood, sleep, mental health, and metabolism. If your libido has gone missing for an extended period of timeits time to find out why.
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Questions Your Doctor Might Ask You Around Your Symptoms
- Have you lost or gained weight recently?
- Are you more stressed than usual?
- When was your last period?
- Are you planning to get pregnant?
- Do you have vaginal dryness or pain during sex?
- Does anything help relieve your symptoms?
Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may suggest one or more diagnostic tests. You can also request that your doctor perform these tests.
Since your endocrine glands release hormones directly into your bloodstream, blood tests are a great way of getting a snapshot view of your hormone levels. However, as certain hormone levels vary drastically throughout the day, providers may order other tests to measure your levels, such as a glucose tolerance test or insulin tolerance test.
These tests could be:
- Blood test: your estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroxine, TTH, insulin, and cortisol levels can be detected in the blood
- Pelvic exam: search for any lumps or cysts
- Ultrasound: images of your uterus, ovaries, thyroid, and pituitary gland
- Biopsy and MRI
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Be Mindful Of Your Gut Health
As we mentioned, following a hormone-balancing diet is crucial for optimal health. Since your gut contains over 100 trillion good bacteria, youll want to be mindful of the foods you consume for a healthy gut microbiome. Try to eat a diverse range of nutritious foods, consume plenty of veggies, beans, fruit, legumes , and fermented foods . Fermented foods are important for good health, as they are rich in lactobacilli, a bacteria type that aids gut health.
Which Hormones Are To Blame
Even though each hormone plays a specific role in the body, there are a few key hormones to keep your eye on as they can influence many different lifestyle factors. Here is a brief overview of each.
- Cortisol: the stress hormone that may cause insomnia, anxiety, and increased heart rate.
- Thyroid hormones: can affect our metabolism, and can be an underlying cause of irregular periods, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and hair loss.
- Estrogen: a female sex hormone responsible for female physical features and reproduction.
- Progesterone: another female sex hormone vital for a healthy pregnancy.
- Testosterone: the primary male sex hormone that influences sex drive, bone health, acne, and body hair.
- Insulin: controls the sugar level in your body.
- Leptin: helps to regulate body weight.
- Ghrelin: the hunger hormone that signals the brain to eat.
- Melatonin: a hormone that helps you fall asleep and stay asleep.
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Top 10 Foods To Restore Hormone Balance
Hormones have a huge impact on our overall health and well being as they affect everything from our menstrual cycles to health issues such as PCOS, Thyroid, PMT and Endometriosis. Nutrition can be a powerful tool when addressing hormone imbalances as when hormones are in harmony you reclaim your life back! Here are my top 10 foods to eat to help restore hormone balance.
Also read my read post on: Top 10 Daily habits to promote Hormone Balance
How To Balance Your Hormones Naturally: 7 Tips For Women
Hormones are your bodys chemical messengers and they affect many aspects of your overall health. When your hormones are unbalanced, it can lead to symptoms ranging from irregular periods to gastrointestinal issues to irritability and brain fog. Hormonal imbalances can be caused by a combination of factors including diet, medical history, genetics, stress levels and exposure to environmental toxins. If youre experiencing symptoms of unbalanced hormones and are wondering how to balance your hormones naturally, weve rounded up 7 helpful tips to get your health back on track.
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The Quickest Ways To Balance Your Hormones Fast
To regain balanced hormone levels, youll want to start with the two most important pillars: nutrition and lifestyle.
First, youll want to begin by tracking your cycle, and evaluating the feedback your body provides. Then, you can begin eating and making lifestyle changes in a way that better aligns with your hormones.
Quit Smoking And Alcohol Abuse
According to facts, women who are heavy drinkers can experience early menopause, menstrual cycles without ovulation, and irregular menstruation. Tobacco has a similar effect in disrupting hormones.
For instance, a study from 2018 found that smoking can alter thyroid hormone levels and elevate steroid hormone levels like cortisol.
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How Hormones Work And How To Balance Them Naturally
Women’s Best Health TeamAugust 28, 2019Reading time: 4min
Hormones could be often the reason why you gain weight even when following a diet or why you feel sluggish all the time. Hormonal imbalances affect millions of people worldwide, in the forms of diabetes, thyroid disorders, menstrual irregularities, infertility, low testosterone, and estrogen dominance. This article is all about your hormones and how to balance them!
Incorporate Healthy Fats Into Your Diet
Adding healthy polyunsaturated fats to your diet, such as omega-3 and omega-6 may help reduce your appetite and. Fatty acids signal the production of leptin, a hormone that reduces appetite by suppressing the area of the brain that controls our appetite and signals to us its time to eat. Without adequate healthy fats in your diet, youre more likely to have low leptin levels, which can induce overeating and an inability to feel satiated. That may be one reason women have been experimenting with seed cycling for hormone balance.
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A Healthy Diet Is Key
When it comes to getting all the essential macronutrients and micronutrients necessary to balance hormones, we should always turn to food first. Supplements are great, but theres no substitute for good, whole foods the ones that come directly from the Earth, just as nature intended. Your endocrine system needs certain foods, which contain specific nutrients, to do its job. Lets see which ones those are!