hormonesAre Hormonal Imbalances Wreaking Havoc On Your Body?

Are you experiencing painful periods, anxiety, low sex drive, and feeling completely overwhelmed lately? You may feel as though your body just isn’t working as optimally as it once was, but you can’t quite figure out why. You’ve tried birth control, loads of coffee, and ibuprofen to get you through the day… but now you’ve hit your breaking point.

You know your body isn’t supposed to feel this way and want to get to the bottom of it. Did you know hormonal imbalances are a very likely cause of these symptoms- and several more!

Women of all ages are seeing an increase in hormonal imbalances. 

Why is this? Let’s dive in. 

What are Hormones?

Your endocrine system (made up of organs and glands) is responsible for releasing hormones that regulate key bodily functions.

These hormones are chemical messengers that allow your body’s systems and organs to communicate with one another. These, as well as hormone receptors, are found all throughout your body. 

Why Hormones are Important to Your Health

When they are in balance, your organs give the correct messaging to carry out optimal functioning. However, when these hormones get out of whack (which is occurring more and more in women), your organs and glands are getting inaccurate signals, causing a cascade of unfortunate events – aka your symptoms. 

Types of Hormonal Imbalances

While fluctuations in your hormones are totally normal throughout the day (depending on the hormone) and depending on where you’re at in your menstrual cycle, when they get too imbalanced, that’s when issues occur. 

There are numerous hormones that circulate throughout the body, but some main ones that we see imbalance issues with are cortisol (stress hormone), thyroid, insulin, and sex hormones. Today we are going to talk about sex hormones in particular. These include estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. 

What Causes Hormonal Imbalances?

Abnormal hormonal imbalances can be caused by a number of outside factors, like our lifestyle behaviors, the food we eat, and our environment. Here are some of the top reasons why hormones get out of whack. 

Environmental Toxins

Toxins are found pretty much everywhere in today’s world. We find toxins in our household cleaning supplies, beauty products, food and water sources, and even hiding in our home. While our body has a natural detoxification process, the amount of toxins coming at it on a daily basis causes a backlog. 

Since your body can’t keep up with eliminating these harmful chemicals, they spread throughout the body. They can interfere with normal functioning by either inhibiting hormones or mimicking hormones, which contribute to hormone imbalances. 

Chronic Stress

We all tend to put unneeded stress into our lives. We overpack our schedules, put unrealistic expectations on ourselves, and stress out about finances and relationships. These non-life-threatening issues that bring us so much stress still cause our body to react as if it was life-threatening! 

Ultimately, this chronic stress keeps your cortisol hormones elevated, impacting your HPA axis. This then causes a chain reaction of negative effects on other hormones, including your sex hormones. 

Poor Diet

The food you consume can either harm you or heal you, depending on your choices. Sadly, the Standard American Diet (SAD) consists of large amounts of conventionally raised animal products (especially dairy products) and processed foods. These contain antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, low fiber, high amounts of added sugars, and artificial additives- nothing that heals the body there!

Why is that bad? Because these can all impact your body’s functioning. One way it does this is by damaging your gut microbiome. The SAD promotes harmful bacteria overgrowth and inhibits beneficial bacteria. 

Since many of your hormones are created or regulated by your gut microbiome, it can severely impact your hormone levels. Not only that, but a poor diet can damage your gut lining, which can also impact your hormones.

The Role of Estrogen

Estrogen is responsible for giving us ladies our female characteristics. For example, these include giving us breasts, building up our endometrium (lining of our uterus), and helping to regulate our menstrual cycle. Estrogen also plays a role in our bone, brain, and heart health. When estrogen levels stray too far one way or another, that’s when symptoms start to show up. 

Too High Estrogen Symptoms

When estrogen levels are too high (in relation to progesterone), it’s known as estrogen dominance. One reason we see more cases of estrogen dominance could be because people are exposed to more estrogen-mimicking chemicals. 

Here are some symptoms you may experience with estrogen dominance:

  • Headaches & Migraines
  • Hair Loss
  • Painful PMS
  • Tender and Swollen Breasts
  • Heavy Periods
  • Mood Swings
  • Weight Gain in the Thighs, Butt and Hips

Too Low Estrogen Symptoms

It’s vital that your body still has enough estrogen since it’s needed for organ protection and its role in the menstrual cycle. 

If your levels are too low, you may experience:

  • Fatigue
  • Vaginal Dryness
  • Brain Fog
  • Hot Flashes
  • Depression
  • Irregular Periods
  • Headaches

The Role of Progesterone

After ovulation, progesterone prepares the endometrium for the potential of pregnancy by thickening the lining to accept a fertilized egg. After you ovulate, progesterone levels are supposed to rise and then lower once again if an egg doesn’t get fertilized. However, it also has non-pregnancy benefits like helping to reduce anxiety and getting a good night’s sleep.

Too High Progesterone Symptoms 

If progesterone is too high, it can contribute to: 

  • Mood Swings
  • Bloating
  • Tender Breasts
  • Higher Rates of Yeast Infections
  • Dizziness

Too Low Progesterone Symptoms 

Issues with progesterone levels being too low are more common than progesterone levels being too high. Low progesterone can contribute to:

  • Miscarriages
  • Menstrual Cramps
  • Irregular Periods
  • Heavy Periods
  • Anxiety
  • Shorter Cycles
  • Fibrocystic Breasts

Role of Testosterone

While many people believe testosterone is only a male hormone, that’s not accurate. Females still need balanced testosterone levels for normal functioning. It helps with bone health and gives you that drive and motivation to get stuff done. 

Too High Testosterone Symptoms

However, having too much testosterone can start giving us more male characteristics, like having hair in places we’d rather not have it in! Here are some other symptoms of elevated testosterone:

  • Hair on Face (upper lip, chin, and chest)
  • Infertility
  • Aggressiveness or Irritability
  • Acne
  • Trouble Sleeping
  • Bad Body Odor
  • Oily Skin
  • Long Menstrual Cycles

Too Low Testosterone Symptoms

Like I said, it’s vital that you still have testosterone as a woman. If you don’t have enough, you’ll see unwanted symptoms like:

  • Depression
  • No Periods
  • Vaginal Dryness
  • Loss of Sex Drive
  • Fatigue
  • Hot Flashes

How to Maintain Hormonal Balance in the Body

If you are experiencing symptoms caused by imbalanced hormones, be aware that covering them up with OTC medications, prescription medications, or hormonal birth control will not truly treat them. 

To say goodbye to your symptoms in the long-term (and not have to rely on pills forever), getting to the root cause of the imbalance is key. So how do you treat hormonal imbalances naturally? Here are some things you can do to start.

Eat a Clean Diet

Opt for organic, whole foods as much as possible. If you are on a budget, at least buy organic foods that are found on the Dirty Dozen List. You can also add in cruciferous vegetables, flax seeds, and good fats to help balance your hormones.

Don’t Let Stress Build Up

We can’t always avoid stressful situations, so it’s important to start learning how to manage your stress when you are faced with it. Some ways to do this are to practice yoga, meditation, breathwork, spending time in nature, journaling, and practicing gratitude. 

Kick Out the Toxins

Start replacing all your conventional cleaning and beauty products with non-toxic alternatives. Invest in a water filter, and be sure to buy organic foods to avoid pesticides. We are in our homes the majority of the time. Be sure you have a good air filter to keep your home air clean. Open your windows as much as possible, even if it’s for 15 minutes a day. 

Supplementation

Depending on which hormones need balancing, you may want to consider using high-quality supplements. Be sure to work with your doctor to determine not only the best supplements to use but the dosage as well. 

Consider using the following supplements:

  • B Vitamin
  • Omega 3’s
  • Vitex
  • Magnesium

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Test, Don’t Guess

Because these symptoms overlap and could be caused by numerous factors, it’s vital that you get your hormones checked. This way you know which hormones are out of whack and other potential factors that could contribute to the hormone imbalance (if it is a hormone imbalance issue). 

The best way to do this is by using advanced functional lab testing, so your doctor can personalize a treatment plan unique to you. For hormone imbalances, the DUTCH Complete Test is often used to discover any imbalances. 

Work with a Functional Medicine Doctor

When you work with a functional medicine doctor, you will discover underlying causes (hormone imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, toxin exposure, etc) of your symptoms so that you can treat them in the most beneficial and effective way. 

Get in Contact with Annapolis’ Functional Medicine Doctor, Dr. Skye Stewart

If you are worried that your symptoms are caused by a hormone imbalance, please schedule a Free 10-minute Consult or New Patient Appointment with Dr. Skye Stewart at Whole Health Integrative Medicine. She is currently accepting patients for in-person appointments at the Annapolis office as well as virtual appointments for patients throughout Maryland.