Are Your Hormones Out of Whack?!
Are your hormones out of whack? Maybe you just feel a little “off” or you lab work came back concerning. If there is an abnormal fluctuation in your hormones chances are your likely feeling the effects on your body. For women we notice changes in our monthly cycle, low energy, weight loss resistance, hot flashes, brain fog, thinning hair, brittle nails, dry skin, low libido or mood and energy irregularities. Men may notice low energy, weight gain in hips, pecs or thighs, thinning hair, low libido, impotence and oftentimes anger/irritability.
So what causes our hormones to go into disarray? Often times we think “my hormones are out of whack so now I have this chronic condition. PCOS, endometriosis, infertility, endocrine disorder, low testosterone, etc.” What came first the hormone imbalance or the diagnosis? The chicken or the egg? Instead of playing the blame game to infinity, let’s examine the real culprits of hormonal dysfunction.
I’m going to discuss four likely factors CAUSING your hormone disruption. All four of these key factors cause inflammation in the body. In most cases of hormonal dysfunction I work with, the client’s lab work shows the body is indeed still producing hormone, however, the problem lies within absorption or availability of that hormone to be used by the cell.
[This is where replacement hormone therapy can be detrimental. We must identify and resolve the root cause of the imbalance and not destroy the body’s innate ability to produce hormone independently.]
The inflammatory culprits stem from toxicity in the body, stress (perceived or physical), nutrient deficiency, and infections. Let’s dive into each one of these a little deeper!
Toxicity: toxic doesn’t have to mean you’re a drag to be around & won’t be invited to Thanksgiving dinner this year. If a practitioner refers to your body as being in a state of toxicity, they likely mean your body has a plentious burden of pathogens like viruses, bacteria, heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, or carcinogenic chemicals trapped inside causing inflammation. When the body creates inflammation surrounding the cell to protect itself from these organisms it surely does a great job of building “the great wall of inflammation” to keep out the bad guys, however, that inflammation also detracts from hormone absorption into the cell. If we can rid the body of toxicity, we can take down the proverbial great wall of inflammation and all systems return to happy homeostasis.
Stress: whether its a cupcake, concern, or a catastrophe the body can take a cortisol hit from a myriad of factors. Stress in the body releases cortisol. Cortisol induces insulin surges and if this continues for prolonged periods of time, then insulin resistance. Insulin resistance looks like out of whack hormones and extra weight around the middle. Your body is not picky when it comes to a stressor, it can literally be the thoughts in your mind that are creating your high levels of cortisol or the tiger chasing you down the street. Also, a crappy diet will give your body the same reaction. Processed foods or lack of adequate (nutritional) carbohydrate consumption will cause the body to release stress hormone as well!
Nutrient Deficiencies: proper nutrient intake is as vital as filling up your car with gasoline. Nutrients are the gasoline to the body’s car so EAT THE RAINBOW! A diet abundant in living foods, which contain high levels of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, is crucial to provide the body with the building blocks it needs to adequately produce and utilize hormone intrinsically. Supplements like B12, Zinc, selenium, glutathione, and molybdenum can ALL be found in food. The more living foods you consume the higher your nutrient intake will soar! Nutritional supplementation is helpful but ONLY AFTER you first seek to make changes within your diet. Due to the condition of most soil our food is already deficient in nutrients like vitamin B12 and zinc (I highly recommend everyone healthy or not incorporate these supplements for immune and brain health) so of course a little supplementation is recommended. However, if you are seeing a practitioner who is more concerned with selling you 2-6 supplements and not strategically addressing your living food intake, that is highly problematic. I healed my autoimmune disease, insulin resistance, and all chronic symptoms using nutrition and very little supplementation, about 2 products a day if that. Nature’s pharmacy is abundant and should be your focus when addressing nutrient deficiencies in the body.
Infections: this segment delves further into toxicity but solely focuses on living organisms hindering the immune system including: viruses like epstein barr and herpes family, bacteria like gram negative rod found in the gut and sinus cavities, mold, fungus like candida, and opportunistic parasites. A strong, healthy immune system can handle exposure to one or more of these infectious organisms and eradicate the pathogen from the body effectively. However, if your body already has an abundance of co existing infections (once you have one it is a vicious cycle involving the others) you are likely highly inflamed with a weakened (or distracted) immune system. We can support the body with nutritional therapy to strengthen its own immune system and sweep out the infections naturally. I have paid a heavy penny for supplements and medication I thought would be my cure. Only to find out (after a depleted bank account) the base of healing must begin with nutrition. We already pay money to eat so why not use it as our medicine as well! Once I started giving my body what it needed nutritionally to heal, it began to independently extirpate all disease from my body.
Our bodies are truly amazing! Your body CAN HEAL and organically correct hormone imbalance! Build a solid foundation with nutrition. Work with someone who understands the intricacies of nutritional therapy and isn’t just trying to get rich off a supplement brand. Ditch the sabotaging foods from your diet and bring in the amazing healing properties of living foods!
If you have questions about what nutritional approach you might need to heal drop me a line!
Healing abounds!
Love,
Jen
