Hormone Imbalances: An Overview
Hormones are chemical messengers produced by our endocrine glands, which help to regulate nearly every physiological process in our body, from growth and development to mood, metabolism, and reproduction.
What is Hormone Imbalance?
A hormone imbalance is not just too little of a hormone in the bloodstream. Because hormones play an essential role in the body, even slight hormonal imbalances can cause side effects throughout the body.
Common Causes of Hormone Imbalances
- Age and life transitions: Examples include puberty, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause, and andropause.
- Poor diet and nutrition: Consuming highly processed foods, excessive sugar, or lacking certain nutrients can disrupt hormonal balance. Not consuming enough healthy fats can play a role in hormonal imbalance.
- Environmental toxins: Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as BPA can interfere with hormonal production and function.
- Underlying health conditions: Disorders like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), thyroid conditions, pituitary tumors, or adrenal insufficiency can cause imbalances.
- Medications and medical treatments: Some treatments and medications can affect hormone levels.
Signs & Symptoms
While the signs can vary widely depending on which hormones or glands are affected, common symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Sleep disturbances
- Changes in weight or appetite
- Mood swings or depression
- Anxiety
- Low libido or sexual dysfunction
- Hot flashes or night sweats
- Infertility
- Irregular periods or heavy menstrual bleeding
- Hair thinning or excessive hair growth
- Dry skin or acne
Diagnosis and Treatment
Diagnosis: It typically begins with a detailed history and physical examination. Specific blood tests can help identify which hormones are out of balance. Regular blood tests could be better at identifying hormone imbalances. We prefer specialty testing like a DUTCH test.
Treatment: The treatment approach is holistic and may include:
Lifestyle modifications: This encompasses stress management techniques, a balanced diet, regular exercise, and sufficient sleep. Metabolic health and gut health is an essential part of hormone balance.
Supplements: Based on your labs and epigenetic testing we will choose supplements that make sense for your mental health healing.
Other modalities may include bio identical hormone replacement but unlike most other practitioners WE make sure epigenetic testing and DUTCH testing that you it is safe for you to have bio identical hormones.
Detoxification: Detoxification such as sauna can have a dramatic impact on hormonal imbalances like estrogen dominance.
