What Causes Hormone Imbalance
There are a variety of things that can cause hormone imbalance in women. Many women experience hormonal changes during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause. Imbalances can also be caused by stress, certain health conditions, and certain medications. In addition, unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking and drinking alcohol can also contribute to hormone imbalance.
While some hormonal imbalances may resolve on their own, others may require treatment from a healthcare provider. If you think you may be experiencing a hormone imbalance, it is important to speak with a doctor to determine the cause and develop a treatment plan. But to do that, you need to know what to look for. Here are some of the most common signs of hormonal imbalance in women.
Hormone Balancing Tip #: Consider Supplementing
The above suggestions will go a long way to improving your bodys production and elimination of hormones. Consider these initial steps as the ground work for hormone balance. If you have implemented all of these tips, your next step is to consider adding 1 or 2 high quality supplements in to your regime
Magnesium: wonderful in helping the body cope with chronic, ongoing stress as magnesium is used in the stress response. Magnesium bisglycinate form is best for most people as it causes the least disturbance to digestive symptoms. 300mg per day is an effective dose for most people.
Zinc: Great for acne and digestive issues. 30mg per day in citrate or picolinate form after food .
Iron: great for heavy periods, low iron stores and fatigue. Please have your iron levels checked through a simple blood test which can be requested through your health care provider. Bisglycinate form is best as it causes the least digestive issues. 24mg every second day away from caffeine is a good dose for most people.
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What Are The Treatment Options
Hormone replacement therapy is one of the most common treatments of low hormone levels.
For people experiencing menopause, premature menopause, or primary ovarian insufficiency as well as after oophorectomy or chemotherapy estrogen therapy can offer some relief. Estrogen therapy alone is recommended for those who have had a hysterectomy. You can take estrogen in different forms, generally estrogen pills and estrogen patches.
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Treatment Of Womens Hormonal Imbalance
In most cases, female hormones balance can be improved or corrected with treatment. Often, changes in diet and lifestyle are sufficient to improve female hormonal imbalance and offer some protection against its potential health complications. Among the common changes recommended are:
- 30 minutes of exercise daily, including resistance and aerobic exercise.
- Dietary changes that include replacing processed, fatty and sugary foods with lean proteins, low-fat dairy and a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Limit alcohol consumption
- Eliminate tobacco consumption
Female hormonal imbalance that cannot be resolved with lifestyle changes is most commonly treated with hormone replacement therapy. Conventional HRT uses hormone drugs to normalize levels of estrogens or progesterone in the system, while bioidentical hormone replacement therapy enhances hormone levels as needed with plant-derived supplements. HRT has been associated with health risks with long-term use, so women considering this treatment should discuss risks and benefits carefully with their doctors.
Hormone Imbalance In Women: What To Do
Hormone imbalance- its something most of us struggle with at some point in our lives. Today I would like to just go back to the basics with hormones and discuss the importance of hormone balance. It isnt just a matter of having one hormone or the other whats truly important is how theyre balanced and how they work together in our bodies.
Balanced hormones help us to enjoy a long and healthy life. Long-term hormone imbalance can make life miserable for women. It can also make life miserable for their loved ones. So I think its important to understand what hormone imbalance can do as well as what you can do to start regaining that needed balance.
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Signs Of Hormone Imbalance In Women
So often we attribute our bodys changes incorrectly. As women progress through life, the body responds differently, and it plays out in a number of ways.
1- Estrogen Imbalance
Estrogen is made by your ovaries, your adrenal glands, and to a much lesser extent, by your fat cells. It has many functions, including:
- Maintaining Bone Calcium
- Regulating HDL and LDL Cholesterol in Blood
- Helping Maintain Blood Sugar Levels
- Helping with Memory
- Balancing Emotions
Estrogen imbalance can cause numerous symptoms which will depend on whether you are experiencing an overabundance of the hormone or less of it. The causes and signs can be discerned, but they take a watchful eye. Too little estrogen is often caused by:
- Hypopituitarism
- Failed Pregnancy
3- Testosterone Imbalance
Testosterone is not just a male sex hormone. Women also have lesser amounts of this hormone. It is produced by your ovaries and adrenal glands. Testosterone has the important function of aiding you by protecting you against developing osteoporosis. It has many other effects on your health, including sex drive, mood, energy levels and body fat percentage.
If you have too much testosterone in your body, such as when you have a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome, you could experience:
- Irregular Periods
- Increased Body or Facial Hair
Too little testosterone often occurs during menopause and can lower your sex drive, cause depression, weakness of your muscles and fatigue.
What Is A Hormone Imbalance
According to Carolyn Krieg, DO, an internal medicine physician specializing in functional medicine at Parsley Health, to understand what causes hormone imbalances you first have to understand the endocrine system. Our endocrine system is the system in our body that produces hormones, she says. Youve got multiple endocrine glands all over your body, including the ovaries, adrenals, and testes. The ovaries and testes produce sex hormones, like testosterone and estrogen, and the adrenals produce stress hormones, like cortisol.
In the case of a hormonal imbalance, the hormone production in one of these glands goes awry. And unfortunately, when one hormone is thrown out of balance, it can affect others. Indeed, one of the most important things to know about the endocrine system is that the hormones that are produced from each of those glands are very interrelated, says Dr. Krieg. This means that a cortisol imbalance can contribute to an estrogen imbalance and vice versa. One hormone imbalance can quickly become a snowball effect of different hormones getting knocked out of whack, says Dr. Krieg.
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Symptoms Of Hormonal Imbalances
- Mood swings: Estrogen affects serotonin a chemical that affects mood, so fluctuations in estrogen can cause premenstrual syndrome and depressions during perimenopause.
- Heavy, painful periods: Estrogen fluctuations can cause abdominal pain, lower back pain, frequent urination, constipation, painful intercourse, and heavy bleeding during periods.
- Low sex drive: Falling estrogen and testosterone levels at the onset of, during, and after menopause can cause low libido, anxiety, fatigue, mood swings, and sweating at
- Insomnia: Both estrogen and progesterone regulate sleep cycles, so falling levels of these hormones can cause low-quality sleep, and hence fatigue, lack of energy, and mood swings.
- Weight-gain: A combination of various unexplained factors triggered by hormonal imbalance can cause weight gain, especially in the abdomen area.
Magnesium Is Essential To Balancing Hormones
Magnesium is one of the most essential minerals to help balance hormones. While you can take a supplement, and even spray your skin with magnesium spray, theres no better way of getting the magnesium you need than from the foods you eat.
To ensure youre getting enough magnesium, be sure to eat plenty of the following:
- Dark leafy greens
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How To Cure Hormonal Imbalance In Females Ayurveda
Women’s health is experiencing a time of searching for natural alternatives and reviewing approaches. Ayurveda can contribute to this evolution.
Ayurveda is an integrative science, whose main objective is to treat human suffering. As with modern medicine, some Ayurvedic research is devoted to women’s health and gynecology.
Integrative medicine, like Ayurveda, is a practice focused on promoting health. It treats illness, but it is much more effective to treat the patient’s health and balance before he becomes ill. Because illness is a process that can be stopped, modified or accelerated, depending on your lifestyle.
Most diseases derive from complex and multifactorial processes, that is, they are not caused by just one isolated factor. Most of the time, people look at endometriosis, for example, looking for a single cause. Since most diseases can be alleviated or worsened depending on the patient’s long-term decisions. If we add habits like eating poorly, being stressed, not getting enough sleep, we end up cultivating the disease over time.
Hormone replacement treatments do not have a singular effect within the body. Often someone watches a story about testosterone and believes they can benefit from this replacement, but they need to understand that this treatment doesn’t just have an effect on the body.
The first thing is to ask yourself why your hormones need to be replaced. Our bodies have an innate health intelligence and don’t just break down without causal factors.
Hormone Imbalance Symptoms In Females
There are points in a womans life when she will experience hormonal imbalances. For example, hormonal changes at 40 prompt symptoms such as those associated with perimenopause. Puberty and pregnancy are other crucial stages for natural fluctuations.
At other times, a woman may experience symptoms of hormonal imbalance, such as:
- Heavy, irregular, or absent periods
- Mood changes such as anxiety and irritability
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Symptoms Of Hormone Imbalances In Women Include
1. Irregularities in menstruation, heavy or painful periods.
2. Symptoms of pre-post menstruation, such as painful abdominal cramps and tender breasts.
3. Hot flashes, night sweats, cold flashes, and dryness of the vaginal opening
4. White vaginal discharge
5. Deepening of the voice.
6. Hair loss or thinning.
Can Hormone Imbalance Cause Weight Gain
Yes, certain hormone imbalances can cause weight gain, including:
- Hypothyroidism: This condition happens when you have low levels of thyroid hormone, which causes your metabolism to slow down. This can cause weight gain.
- Cushings syndrome: This is a rare condition that happens when your body has too much of a hormone called cortisol. It results in rapid weight gain in your face , belly, back of your neck and chest.
- Menopause: During menopause, many people assigned female at birth gain weight due to hormonal changes that cause their metabolism to slow down. Its important to remember that this type of hormonal imbalance is natural and an expected part of life.
Several other factors contribute to weight gain. If youre experiencing unexpected weight gain or are concerned about your weight, talk to your healthcare provider.
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The Most Common Hormone Imbalances Explained
If youve ever spent time Googling symptoms like fatigue or mood swings or are interested in optimizing your health, youve almost definitely come across hormone imbalances being a factor that can keep you from feeling your best. But what is a hormone imbalance and which ones should you be looking out for?
Keep reading to learn about the most common hormone imbalances, what causes them, and how Parsley Health approaches hormonal imbalance treatment.
What Causes Hormonal Imbalances
Throughout your life and even throughout the day your hormone levels naturally rise and fall.
Certain periods of life cause more dramatic changes and fluctuations in hormones, including:
However, there are several other reasons why your hormone levels may be irregular at unexpected times. Some of the most common causes of fluctuating or imbalanced hormone levels include:
- Certain medications.
These hormonal imbalances are more likely to be temporary or fixable with a change in medication or properly managing stress.
Chronic hormone-related conditions can have several different possible causes. In general, the main conditions or situations that cause medically significant hormone imbalances include:
Tumors, adenomas and growths
Any kind of growth on a gland or organ that produces hormones, such as a tumor, adenoma or nodule, could affect its ability to do so.
Tumors
Rare endocrine tumors form in glands or in cells that produce hormones and can cause hormone imbalances. Some of the rare endocrine tumors include:
Adenomas
An adenoma is a benign tumor. Many adenomas are nonfunctioning, meaning they dont produce hormones. But some can produce excess hormones. These are called functioning adenomas. Adenomas that affect your endocrine system and cause hormone imbalances include:
Other growths
Damage or injury to an endocrine gland
Autoimmune conditions
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Go For A Hormone Test
A hormone test is one of the best ways to check on concerns with puberty, infertility, menopause, and other conditions.
Your doctor will advise you to go for a hormone test where your follicle-stimulating hormone will be tested. It will also give you a deep insight into your progesterone levels. It is a hormone that is present in the ovaries. A slight change in progesterone levels can cause menstrual periods and menopausal symptoms.
Thus, going for an all-inclusive hormone test can be your best bet. It is designed to identify the causes of hormonal imbalances and treat them before it wreaks havoc on your body.
Men And Estrogen: What You Need To Know
Estrogen is known primarily as a female hormone that helps regulate menstrual cycles, yet the hormone plays a bigger role in mens health than most people realize. Men produce small amounts of estrogen as part of their normal functioning male reproductive system, along with the male hormone testosterone. As they age, less testosterone is produced.
Yet questions are beginning to emerge as to what specific part estrogen plays in male development, especially as a man ages. Once largely ignored, estrogen levels in men are now under the microscope as researchers are trying to determine this hormones role in men and how it affects the bodys different hormone levels.
A decrease in estrogen, for example, may be a factor in fat accumulation in men as well as women. One endocrinologist at Harvard Medical School reported in a 2013 study that some of the symptoms of testosterone deficiency in males, including a decline in libido, were at least partially caused by lower estrogen production.
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Reasons Your Doctor Cant Give You A Hormone Imbalance Test
You may wonder why your doctor cant give you a quick test to determine if all your hormones are in balance. Testing hormones is very different from testing cholesterol or iron in your blood because your hormone levels are always changing, day by day, even hour by hour. They change based on where you are in your menstrual cycle, when you last ate, what your other hormones are doing, how stressed you are, and many other factors. Thats why a single hormone check cant really tell you if all your hormones are balanced.
Secondly, asking your doctor to check your hormones is a huge request. The human body produces more than 50 hormones! Hormones include melatonin adrenaline , oxytocin , cortisol , and progesterone , just to name a few.
The best way to discover if specific hormones are out of balance is by telling your doctor which symptoms you are experiencing so they can narrow down what should be checked and when. Your symptoms are your doctors first clues about what could be wrong.
What Is Hormonal Imbalance In Women & Its Symptoms Tests And Treatment
Posted on 12/07/2022 by RBH
Are you experiencing hormonal imbalance? Not sure? Dont worry, a lot of people having hormonal imbalances dont realise.
Feeling bloated, irritability, aggressiveness, etc. are some of the hormonal imbalance symptoms. It is important to understand that hormones are chemical messengers that affect the functionalities of cells and organs. So, it is very normal if your hormones are shifting from here and there.
Usually, women experience hormonal balance conditions more than men mainly because of periods, pregnancy, and during menopause. Research suggests that women must have an appropriate comprehension of hormonal imbalance. It assists them in upholding the levels of hormones and includes ways to prevent it through some lifestyle changes.
Before discussing the causes and treatment, lets have a discussion on what is hormonal imbalance to understand the aspect proficiently.
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How To Treat Hormonal Imbalance With Fenugreek
Basically, fenugreek seeds consist of a phytoestrogen called diosgenin, which has an estrogenic effect. This herb can increase lactation & natural breast enlargement. In addition, it aids in improving glucose metabolism, thereby proving beneficial for diabetics to reduce blood sugar & glucose metabolic disorder related to obesity. For this purpose, take 1 tsp of fenugreek seeds and steep it in 1 cup of hot water for the duration of 15 minutes. Later strain and consume this tea twice or thrice daily. You can also add a little lemon juice and honey for taste. Alternatively, you can take fenugreek seeds in supplement form. Consult your doctor for the proper dosage.
Hormone Imbalance In Women: Top 5 Treatment Options That Actually Works
Hormones play a crucial role in maintaining your overall health. It helps regulate body functions, such as growth and development, sleep, blood pressure, stress levels, appetite, etc. Thus, hormonal balance is vital to a healthy mind and body. However, a slight imbalance of the hormones can wreak havoc on your body. For example, hormonal imbalances in females can cause:
- Irregular periods
- Loss of interest in sex
- Acne on face, chest, and upper back
There are several possible causes of hormonal imbalance in females. However, it depends on which hormones are affected. Some of the causes of hormonal imbalance in females include:
- Eating disorders
- Pituitary tumors
While some hormonal imbalances are temporary, others can be chronic . You will be glad to know that there are some treatment options to balance hormones that will help you stay physically healthy. With that, lets discuss some of them:
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