Are your hormones off balance?
With more than 50 known hormones in our body sending out chemical messages to the various organs, it comes to no surprise the critical role they play in so many things from mood swings, to weight maintenance, to libido levels, to sleep quality and skin health to name just a few. In fact, the glands in our endocrine system use hormones as a vehicle to transmit information to various parts of the body regulating their proper functioning.
Hormonal changes are particularly visible during puberty and during the menstrual period when we might feel tired, have low energy and mood swings (that lead to those inexplicable cries), acne or other skin issues. A complex condition, which I briefly mentioned earlier, known as PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) whereby small cysts form in the ovaries, may be due to the thyroid gland not producing enough, or producing too much, of a certain hormone, which in turns result in unwanted weight gains. Weight gain may also be due to a particular stage of our life, such as menopause, when our body starts producing less of both estrogen and progesterone, leading to that unwanted belly fat.
How do you know if your hormones are off balance?
There are different symptoms when it comes to hormonal imbalances, for example, if you have painful periods it may be a sign you might have fibroids which, although non-cancerous, can cause a lot of pelvic pain, pain while urinating or during intercourse, constipation or diarrhea. More often than not fibroids are caused by unbalanced estrogen levels.
Skin breakouts or adult acne may be due to unbalanced hormones.
If you have frequent skin acne, particularly as an adult, it might be due to low levels of estrogen and progesterone combined with high values of testosterone or other androgen hormones, which is also another frequent cause of PCOS.
As hormones are responsible for sending signals to important organs, estrogen is responsible for sending serotonin to the brain, PMS syndrome is a result of fluctuations in the levels of estrogen which affects serotonin levels. If you suffer from frequent headaches, poor sleep quality or difficulty falling asleep, low libido or vaginal dryness it might be also due to hormonal imbalances.
If you have unpleasant hot flashes, when you feel hot waves through your body, which happens particularly during menopause, that may be a sign your hormones are changing and the levels of estrogen are decreasing.
The best thing to do is to ask your doctor for a specific blood test that can help you reveal some of those unbalances and look for remedies to restore balance. For example, ashwagandha is a very powerful ally when it comes to many hormonal issues, helping even with complex situations like PCOS by acting specifically on the stress hormone cortisol. Another powerful herb that can help with mood swings is St John’s Wort that can increase the hormones produced by the adrenal glands lowering the instances of depression.
A good way to start is to do either a blood or a simple saliva test to look at the levels of estrogen (estradiol), progesterone, cortisol, and the thyroid. Checking your estradiol levels can help you address issues related to the menstrual cycle or menopause.
Once you have a better picture of your hormone levels you can do more specific tests and look for the best approach to solve the issue you are trying to address.
One of the best natural ways to rebalance the hormones, which I tried and tested, is Semaine Health, which has developed a range of products that specifically tackle hormonal imbalances. The products are made entirely of a wide range of adaptogens and herbs that help with the ups and downs.
Try it and let us know what you think!
