How To Level Out Hormones

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.

Want Balanced Hormones Throw Out Your Vegetable Oils

Vegetable oils spell bad news if you want to balance hormones. Weve been told that replacing old-fashioned, artery-clogging fats like butter with cholesterol-reducing oils improves health. Wrong.

Rates of heart disease and obesity skyrocketed after we replaced animal fats with margarine and plant oils. Additionally, studies show that a low fat diet increases triglycerides and lowers HDL cholesterol. A meta-analysis in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that there is no evidence that saturated fat causes heart disease.

Vegetable oils are extremely high in omega-6, an inflammatory fatty acid. While a little omega-6 in our diet is necessary, too much wreaks havoc on hormone balance by creating widespread inflammation. According to Paleo nutrition expert Chris Kresser, in general we need to reduce the omega-6 in our diet and increase the omega-3:

The more omega-3 fat you eat, the less omega-6 will be available to the tissues to produce inflammation. Omega-6 is pro-inflammatory, while omega-3 is neutral. A diet with a lot of omega-6 and not much omega-3 will increase inflammation. A diet of a lot of omega-3 and not much omega-6 will reduce inflammation.

Ways To Balance Your Hormones Naturally

While hormonal imbalances sometimes require working with an endocrinologist or another specialist, you have tremendous power over balancing your hormones naturally. Start with what you eat. A hormone-balancing diet includes the right foods to steady your blood sugar levels and optimize insulin levels. When you support a healthy diet with the right nutrients and lifestyle factors, you can dramatically improve hormone levels. These 7 strategies provide a solid starting point.

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Why Have Magnesium For Your Periods

• Reduces period cramps & painful periods: Magnesium works as a muscle relaxant meaning it will help your uterus muscles to relax and reduce period pain experienced.

• PMS: Magnesium works to reduce PMS symptoms including breast tenderness, mood disturbances as well as irritability, and anxiety.

• Digestive support: Magnesium is important for peristalsis to occur. Magnesium therefore may help to reduce constipation experienced.

• Stress support: Magnesium helps our body cope with stress

• Sleep: Magnesium promotes restful and restorative sleep. Sleep is vital in having happy and balanced hormones.

• Balances blood sugar levels: Magnesium helps to lower your blood sugar levels and improve your insulin response making magnesium the perfect supplement for people suffering from PCOS.

• Balances hormones: Magnesium is vital for the production and balance of healthy hormones including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

Thinking its time to invest in a magnesium supplement? Ensure you buy magnesium in the form of magnesium biglycinate as this form is better absorbed than others.

Want to learn more about how magnesium supports your menstrual cycle?

Balance Hormones With The Moon: Lunaception

This tip is for girls only. Womens menstrual cycles are wired to be in sync with the moon. In all early societies, before industrialism and processed foods disrupted traditional cultures, women ovulated at the full moon and menstruated at the new moon. This is our default setting, but factors including hormonal birth control, hormonal imbalances, and poot diet disrupt this pattern.

Fortunately, because the female reproductive hormones are so sensitive to light, we can naturally re-train and regulate our menstrual cycle and sex hormones with a simple night lighting technique that mimics the pattern of the moon. I avidly practice this simple routine, called Lunaception, and I explain how to do it here.

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Warning Signs You May Have A Hormonal Imbalance

No-one wants to be a slave to their hormones but how do you know if they are out of sync and what can you do to restore the balance?

Hormonal imbalances may be to blame for a range of unwanted symptoms from fatigue or weight gain to itchy skin or low mood.

Hormones are chemicals produced by glands in the endocrine system and released into the bloodstream. An imbalance occurs when there is too much or too little of a hormone.

Your hormones are important for regulating many different processes in the body including appetite and metabolism, sleep cycles, reproductive cycles and sexual function, body temperature and mood.

No surprise then that even the slightest imbalance may have a noticeable effect on your overall health and wellbeing.

Levels of hormones naturally fluctuate at various life stages, most noticeably during puberty and in women during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy and the menopause. They can also be affected by lifestyle and certain medical conditions.

What is important is to notice any symptoms and get them checked out by a qualified health professional so that you receive appropriate treatment, whether that involves using medication or complementary therapies, or making lifestyle changes, to restore the balance and your good health.

Here are 10 signs of hormonal imbalance to look out for and what you can do about them:

8. Headaches: Many women suffer headaches due to hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy or menopause.

Common Symptoms Of Estrogen Dominance

• Irregular or heavy periods
• Painful periods
• PMS is often caused by too much estrogen

Estrogen dominance can impact sugar metabolism, fat build up and break down, energy level, and neurotransmitter production leading to anxiety and depression. It can also put you at higher risk of thyroid dysfunction, breast cancer, uterine fibroids, and autoimmune disease.

If this resonates with you, request a free 20-minute consultation to see if Functional Medicine might be right for you.

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How Do You Fix Hormonal Imbalance

Many health conditions that involve hormonal imbalances, such as diabetes and thyroid disease, require medical treatment.

Many nutritional supplements in stores claim to treat different hormonal imbalances, but few of them have been scientifically proven to have a beneficial effect. Its important to always talk to your healthcare provider first about taking supplements.

Aside from medical treatment, your provider may recommend certain lifestyle changes to help manage a hormonal imbalance, such as managing your stress levels and getting routine exercise.

What Causes Hormonal Imbalance

Powered by our endocrine system, hormones are powerful messengers within our bodies, communicating with our organs and tissues through our bloodstream. Thats no small feat! Every major process in our body is dictated by hormones.

For example, corticosteroids help us maintain blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and salt and water balance, while functions as a sort of warning hormone, helping us adapt to stress. These are just two of the more than 50 hormones in the human body, all with their own unique jobs to carry out.

Hormones naturally fluctuate with age, but imbalances can be triggered by many things, including stress, environmental chemicals, medical conditions, tumors, or medications.

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What Happens During An Estrogen Test

Estrogens can be tested in blood, urine, or saliva. Blood or urine is usually tested in doctors office or lab. Saliva tests can be done at home.

For a blood test:

A health care professional will take a blood sample from a vein in your arm, using a small needle.

After the needle is inserted, a small amount of blood will be collected into a test tube or vial. You may feel a little sting when the needle goes in or out. This usually takes less than five minutes.

For a urine test:

Your health care provider may ask you to collect all urine passed in a 24-hour period. This is called a 24-hour urine sample test. For this test, your health care provider or a laboratory professional will give you a container to collect your urine and instructions on how to collect and store your samples. A 24-hour urine sample test generally includes the following steps:

• Empty your bladder in the morning and flush that urine down. Do not collect this urine. Record the time.
• For the next 24 hours, save all your urine passed in the container provided.
• Store your urine container in the refrigerator or a cooler with ice.
• Return the sample container to your health providers office or the laboratory as instructed.

For an at-home saliva test, talk your health care provider. He or she can tell you which kit to use and how to prepare and collect your sample.

Is It Worth The Time

Taking the quiz takes about the same amount of time it took you to read this post. Sure, you learned about the different hormone types that women experience at different phases of their lives, but you cant take any kind of action with that info until you know which type you are.

The best part is getting to see how Metabolic Renewal works. Check out this review I did earlier.

Its different from any other diet out there. The focus is not on eating less and exercising more. You see, that may just put your body under extreme stress. Then your hormone will be working against you. Dr. Teta likens this to trying to run up a down escalator. You can do it for a while, but you tire quickly.

The thing that makes Metabolic Renewal work so well is that it works with your hormones. Thats your hormones, at your particular stage of life, not necessarily a young woman with balanced hormones.

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Treating Imbalance With Medications

Treatments for hormonal imbalance are often specific to the type of hormone in question and its related effects. Doctors use medications to treat imbalance because there are a variety of medications that can either stimulate or even replace hormonal chemicals in the body. These treatments are often referred to as hormone therapy.

Medications to balance female hormones, like estrogen and progestin, can alleviate symptoms like hot flashes and even increase fertility. Women with high androgen, a male hormone, can take medication to suppress high levels. Meanwhile, testosterone supplements can help men experience relief from fatigue, muscle loss, and other symptoms of âLow Tâ. Medications can even stimulate puberty in teenagers with delayed puberty.

There are a variety of other medications used to relieve other hormone imbalances, including insulin to treat Type I and Type II diabetes. Hormone therapy medications are available in pill, patch, injection, and topical cream form, depending on the treatment you need.

Eat Egg Yolks To Balance Hormones

Weve been throwing egg yolks down the drain due to cholesterol-paranoia, but it turns out that the yolk provides the most valuable nutrition.

Here are just a few of the nutrition highlights that allow egg yolks help balance hormones:

• Vitamin A Like we discussed, we need vitamin A to balance hormones and we cant get it from vegetables. Egg yolks provides REAL vitamin A!
• Vitamin D Vitamin D actually works more like a steroid hormone in the body, so it is vital to balanced hormones to receive enough of this fat-soluble vitamin.
• Selenium Selenium is necessary for the conversion of thyroid hormones from the inactive form to the active form. Egg yolks are natures thyroid support supplement, due to the selenium content, vitamin content and healthful fats.
• Cholesterol Did you know that studies show that low cholesterol shares an extremely strong correlation to depression, suicide and acts of violence? The cholesterol in egg yolks helps balance hormones by providing a mandatory component of sex hormones.

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Hot Flashes And Night Sweats

One of the most common symptoms of perimenopause is hot flashes, which often coexists with night sweats. Almost 80 percent of people who are in perimenopause or transitioning into menopause have hot flashes. Also, most women who receive chemotherapy or undergo surgery to remove their ovaries will experience hot flashes.

Scientists know that hot flashes occur as a result of low estrogen levels. Each hot flash involves a sensation of heat that starts in the chest area and travels to the neck and the head. It can last for a few minutes and may cause sweating. Some women also develop a faster heart rate during hot flashes.

If a hot flash happens during sleep, they are called night sweats. Women who have night sweats often wake up in the morning feeling tired.

Some people experience redness along their neck and face during a hot flash. This is called a hot flush.

On average, each hot flash lasts for about three to four minutes. Hot flashes can occur for a few months to several years. In a few rare cases, some people had hot flashes for 10 years.

Other signs of hormonal imbalance include:

• Heavy or irregular periods, missed periods, frequent periods, or stopped periods
• Vaginal dryness and itching
• Weakened muscles
• Pain in the muscles, tenderness, and stiffness
• Pain and swelling in the joints

• Cancer treatments

Metabolic Renewal Hormone Type : Ovarian Shutdown Estrogen & Progesterone Deficient Post Menopause

Following menopause, you are no longer subject to the hormone fluctuations youve experienced throughout your life, this also means you no longer have the fat-burning advantages experienced by women.

Your testosterone levels will be higher in relation to your estrogen and progesterone, leaving you with a metabolism similar to that of a man.

This results in a much higher likelihood of fat build up around the middle, and a much harder time losing the fat.

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Dr Oz: Characteristics Of Sluggish Hormone Type

Here are the questions for the next hormone type:

If you have these three traits then you are the sluggish hormone type. Dr. Turner explained this hormone type lacks the hormones that repair and regenerate our bodies. These types of people are missing hormones like DHEA, other growth hormones and melatonin. She added that these hormones are important for helping you sleep at night, keeping your metabolism strong and staying energetic throughout the day.

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Whats Within Our Control

Some hormones arent at all within our control. Sometimes theres nothing we can door not doto alter some of them. Sometimes thats goodsince many have to do with growth, development and large life changes. At other times, thats bad. For example, in type 1 diabetes, the pancreas can no longer make insulin and patients with diabetes have to inject it daily.

However, there are a lot of things we do every day that trigger our hormones.

Technically, we cant control hormones, but we can certainly do things to influence them, he notes. Foods we choose to eat or drink can cause our hormone levels to go up or down. Extra weight can also have a significant impact on the way hormones work.

Here are examples of how the level of some common hormones can make you feel and what you might do to change them:

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What Are The Most Common Endocrine Disorders

There are many different types of endocrine disorders. Many of the most common disorders relate to improper functioning of the pancreas, thyroid, adrenal and pituitary glands. In the United States, the most common endocrine disorder is diabetes. More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, but nearly one-third are unaware that they have it.

Other endocrine disorders include:

Can You Control Your Hormones

When you hear the word hormone, you might think of teenagers or women in menopause, but all of usat every agehave hormones coursing through our bodies every day.

Do you ever wonder why you feel what you do? Hungry? Sleepy? Grumpy? Sweaty palms? Pull back the curtainhormones may be responsible for those feelings.

Hormones control a host of our bodies functions, says Troy Dillard, MD, a PeaceHealth endocrinologist in Bellingham, Washington.

They are molecules that exert an effect on almost every cell in the body, he notes. Hormones regulate everything from heart rate, metabolism, appetite, mood, reproduction, growth and development, sleep cycles and more.

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Signs Or Symptoms Of A Hormonal Imbalance

Your hormones play an integral role in your overall health. As a result, theres a broad range of signs or symptoms that could signal a hormonal imbalance. Your signs or symptoms will depend on which hormones or glands arent working properly.

Common hormonal conditions affecting both men and women could cause any of the following signs or symptoms:

Pms And Low Sex Drive

Low testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone are all associated with a decreased sex drive in both men and women. This is especially common after age 50 when estrogen and testosterone production declines. Since estrogen is one of the main hormones regulating a womans menstrual cycle a decrease in production can also lead to irregular periods that are too long, too short, unpredictable, heavy, or painful, infertility, hot flashes, mood swings, or painful intercourse.

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Final Thoughts On Hormonal Imbalances

• Some of the most common symptoms of hormone imbalances include unexplained weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, and changes in hair, skin, and nails.
• Root causes of hormonal imbalances include compromised gut health, elevated inflammation, and high stress levels.
• Natural ways to balance your hormones include eating anti-inflammatory polyunsaturated fats, reducing your exposure to endocrine disruptors, getting adequate sleep, and using supplements to fill in any nutritional gaps related to gut health and vitamin D levels.