Ways To Balance The Hormones Naturally?

These days having hormone imbalances is prevalent in our society. From the food we eat to the stress, we take on, it's easy to have hormonal imbalances. Conventionally hormone imbalances are treated using synthetic hormones, birth control pills, injections, and medications. However, those conventional treatments do little to address the cause of why the hormones are off balance but merely just treat the symptoms of the hormone imbalances. 

Taking prescription medication may be necessary for stabilization; however, the concern is the dependency on these medications without other lifestyle changes. These synthetic medications often only masking the bodies alarm system, or symptoms, however, does not solve or get to any of the underlying causes of why the hormones are off balance. In many cases, they even cause a higher risk for other diseases to develop such as stroke, osteoporosis, anxiety, reproductive issues, cancers, and neurological imbalances. 

Getting to the root cause of why a person’s hormones are off balance is key to healing the hormones once and for all. It is important to remember it is rarely one thing that creates any health imbalance. Health imbalances remain symptomless for quite sometime before they become a noticeable issue, which is why having routine checkups with your holistic doctor whose focus is on prevention is so important. Health imbalances build and create a bigger mess to unravel, so having a skilled professional trained in how the body heals itself can be paramount in unraveling the puzzle. A holistic doctor becomes a guide and a teacher along the way, helping a person uncover not just what the imbalances are but also how the person got to having those imbalances. In my years of practice, I have noticed some of these originate from the strangest places. 

Some of the most common signs of hormonal imbalances include:

• Infertility
• Weight gain or weight loss
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Low libido
• Changes in appetite
• Digestive issues
• Hair loss and hair thinning
• Brittle nails 
• Moodiness or emotional outbursts
• Insulin imbalances 
• Acne
• Slowed metabolism
• Irregular heartbeats

Main causes of hormonal imbalances 

Hormone imbalances are complex as stated previously. The hormone system, much like the neurotransmitters, are messengers of the other systems. They respond to signals received from the other organs. Things like diet, genetics, stress levels, toxic exposures, medication usage are all contributing factors to hormonal imbalances. 

• Food allergies and imbalances in gut bacteria play a role in the health of the digestive system. Agitations to the lining of the digestive and leaky gut syndrome make the body more susceptible to hormonal imbalances. 
• Inflammation within the body which is caused by poor diet, in addition to a sedentary lifestyle. 
• Genetic predisposition to not clearing toxicity, hormonal imbalance
• Toxicity and exposure to pesticides, herbicides, viruses, excessive alcohol, harmful chemicals, and cigarettes.
• High amounts of stress, and a lack of stress management skills
• Inadequate sleep as well as relaxation throughout the day

Ways to balance your hormones naturally.

Find the fat: Look at your diet and make sure you have a balance of carbs, proteins, and fats. Many people do not balance their diets appropriately. Having the right amount of short, medium, and long chain fatty acids are critical to having a healthy hormonal system. Healthy fats also lower inflammation and stimulate metabolism although you want to make sure the fats are healthy fats.

Adaptogenic Herbs: These healing plants can balance the hormones out naturally, adapting to the immediate environment they are in at the time. If you are too hyper, they can relax you, and if you are depressed, they can potentially elevate your hormones. However, be mindful of their interactions with any psychotropic medications as they can affect those. Herbs like ashwagandha, holy basil, and Kava are helpful, and I prefer them in a tea form while you are getting your digestive system back into balance. 

Emotional Imbalances: It is essential to address the various things driving the emotional and hormonal health of the body. If you have a stressful life, job, home life resolving these is critical to your adrenal health. Perhaps that is a simple shift in perception, or it may be more drastic like a divorce or significant lifestyle change. In any case, it is important that you learn to manage your stress in healthier ways and transform your life.

Get More Sleep and Rest: When we live a busy life this is often where we cut first and is often the most important when we are looking to build health within the body. Getting an adequate amount of sleep usually 6-8 hours per evening is critical while also ensuring that the quality of sleep is helpful. The adrenal glands rest themselves between 10 pm and 2 in AM, so it is vital that you are in bed at that time to fully take advantage of the bodies natural reset. 

Heal the digestive system: It is not just what you are eating; it is also what you are digesting and assimilating that matters. How the body is breaking down the nutrients is critical so that you can have their necessary nutrition to repair itself. I tend to heal the digestive system from the top down. That is what you are eating but also how your stomach, small intestines, and large intestines receive the nutrition and eliminate the waste.

Nutrient support: This is where we support any nutrients lacking that are either not found in the diet or are not being processed by the digestive system. We often use neutraceuticals as a tool to rebuild the nutrients within the body quickly. However, neutraceuticals are not a long term solution, they like pharmaceuticals, are more of a support mechanism to allow the body to heal. 

Healing the hormonal system can be a challenge, and can be very confusing. Trying to do this by yourself is possible but can be a daunting and complicated process. Healing the digestive system, healing your stress, and managing your stress, getting adequate sleep, as well as relaxing is necessary to allow the body to heal itself. Once the body is healthy, detoxing the body slowly of the things that don’t need to be in the body such as heavy metals, chemicals as well as infections is the key to moving forward in one’s healing process. 

*All information contained in this blog post is intended for informational and educational purposes only, and is neither intended nor suited to be a replacement or substitute for professional medical treatment nor for professional medical advice relative to a specific medical question or condition.