Hormonal Imbalance
Your hormones are the foundation of your health. They are a really big deal - our whole health and outlook as women depends on them, and our diet and our lifestyle has a massive impact.
How much stress you are under, the types of food you eat, the tampons you use, the shampoo you wash your hair with can all create hormonal imbalance.
An ever-increasing body of research is telling us that hormonal imbalance is one of the key underlying causes to many conditions. It’s the reason why we see the onset of puberty dropping to 10 years old, and health issues such as endometriosis, PMS, PCOS, uterine fibroids, breast cancer on an unparalleled rise.
But beyond the pill and the up and down of our moods with our cycle, we’ve largely ignored our hormones.
Why are our hormones so important?
They are responsible for how you think, feel, and look. A woman with balanced hormones is quick and buoyant. She falls asleep quickly at night, sleeps soundly, and wakes feeling refreshed, is energetic without caffeine during the day, and has a good memory. She maintains a healthy weight through a good appetite for foods that suit her body. It shows in glowing hair and skin. She is less reactionary, and feels emotionally balanced and able to respond to stressors capably. Her periods are welcomed with no or little PMS. She has a good libido and an active sex life and can maintain a full-term pregnancy if she wishes.
Does that describe you? No? Then it is likely that your hormones are imbalanced.
What are hormones exactly?
Hormones send chemical messages through our bloodstream to various tissues and organs and are responsible for regulating many processes within the body. Hormones are responsible for regulating appetite and metabolism, sleep cycles, heart rate, sexual function, skin elasticity, general mood and stress levels, and body temperature, to name but a few functions.
We’re all familiar with oestrogen and progesterone but there are a number of others that both men and women have, just in different ratios and patterns:
Our hormones include:
Cortisol: the stress hormone, produced by the adrenals, and helps you stay healthy and energetic, controlling physical and psychological stress.
Insulin: released by the pancreas to control blood sugars, and is very inflammatory to the body in high levels.
Thyroid hormones: of which there are several and affect mood, energy and weight, internal body temperature, and our skin, hair etc.
Sex hormones:
Oestrogen: The female sex hormone released by the ovaries, responsible for reproduction, menstruation and menopause.
Testosterone: The male sex hormone. In females it promotes secondary sexual characteristics like increasing the mass of muscles and bones, growth of body hair, regulates libido, enhances cognitive function, and supports healthy bones
Progesterone: is produced in the ovaries, adrenal glands and the placenta when a woman gets pregnant. It helps the body to prepare for conception and pregnancy and regulates the monthly cycle. It also plays a role in sexual desire.
Prolactin: which is released by the pituitary gland and enables milk production after child birth, but also recently shown to have about 300 other functions in our bodies.
Serotonin: the mood-boosting hormone, associated with learning and memory, regulating sleep, digestion, mood, and some muscular functions.
Adrenaline: the flight-fight response hormone, it is secreted in the medulla in the adrenal gland as well as by the central nervous system’s neurons. Adrenalin initiates quick reactions enabling us to think and respond quickly to stress or emergency situations.
Growth Hormone: also known as somatotropin hormone. It stimulates growth, cell reproduction cell regeneration and in boosting metabolism and is important in human development.
But there are more than 200 hormones or hormone-like substances in our bodies, others include dopamine, FSH, melatonin, leptin, oxytocin, relaxin, etc.
Our hormones are influenced by our internal and external environment every single minute, with the aim of keeping our body in balance for optimal health.
But if one hormone is out of balance, it can cascade to all the others to create imbalances in our body.
Hormonal Imbalances
Hormonal imbalances occur when there is too much or too little of a hormone in the bloodstream. Because of their essential role in the body, even small hormonal imbalances can cause side effects throughout our bodies.
Signs of hormone disruption can include:
leg cramps
vaginal dryness
sleep disturbances
anxiety, panic attacks
depression
loss of interest in sex
mood swing
hot flushes
weight gain
hair loss or hair growth
low energy
pain intolerance
heavy, irregular, or painful periods – this is NOT normal, and something to pay attention to!
osteoporosis (weak, brittle bones)
breast tenderness
indigestion
constipation and diarrhoea
bloating
puffy face
thinning brittle hair
blurred vision
acne during or just before menstruation
uterine bleeding not associated with menstruation
infertility
skin tags or abnormal growths
deepening of the voice
clitoral enlargement
Like all physical symptoms if you are experiencing one or more of these then you are receiving a message that something's not right. Tracking those symptoms is one way to understand what your body's telling you.
What sends them out of balance?
It could be certain foods, toxins in your environment, too many late nights, not enough exercise, too much stress or toxicity in our environment.
Women naturally experience several periods of hormonal imbalance at certain periods throughout our lifetime, which is normal, and includes:
puberty
menstruation
pregnancy, childbirth, and breast-feeding
perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause
But beyond this causes of hormonal imbalances include:
chronic or extreme stress
lack of sleep and poor sleeping patterns
poor diet and nutrition
hormonal replacement or birth control medications
exposure to toxins, pollutants, and endocrine disrupting chemicals, including personal and household products, pesticides and herbicides
severe allergic reactions or infections
being overweight
eating disorders, such as anorexia
certain prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications
Let’s look into a few of the main contributors to hormonal imbalance more closely.
STRESS causes hormonal imbalance
One of the main ways our hormones are disrupted is through stress. And one of the most effective ways to address hormonal imbalances is to focus on stress balance.
The best-known acute stress response is the “fight or flight” reaction that happens when you feel threatened. In this case, the stress response causes the body to release several stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline (also known as epinephrine), into the bloodstream. These hormones increase your concentration, ability to react, and strength. Also, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, and your immune system and memory are sharper. After you have dealt with the short-term stress, your body returns to normal.
However chronic or long-term stress, poses a problem. With our busy lifestyles, and ever increasing expectations placed our ourselves we are under a lot of stress our bodies end up consistently producing ever higher levels of stress hormones from which it does not have time to recover. It naturally directs resources to the stress response over other important functions such as the immune system and metabolism, and in doing so creates significant hormone imbalance and serious health problems.
Specifically high cortisol levels are linked to lower thyroid function as well as weight gain. High cortisol also throws off our blood sugar levels, which triggers cravings for inflammatory food and overeating. It can also lead to a disease called Cushing’s Disease. High cortisol levels over a prolonged time also affect sex drive cause irregular periods or stop altogether (amenorrhoea).
On the other hand, low cortisol levels occur when your stress levels have been high for so long and then crash – and can cause adrenal fatigue and primary adrenal insufficiency (Addison’s disease). Symptoms may include fatigue, dizziness (especially upon standing), weight loss, muscle weakness, mood changes and the darkening of regions of the skin. Without treatment, this is a potentially life-threatening condition.
POOR NUTRITION causes hormonal imbalance
Our bodies also experience physical stress from consuming inflammatory foods like caffeine, alcohol, sugar, and processed foods.
These are some of the foods that can have adverse affects on your hormone levels:
SUGAR: The impact sugar has on hormones – particularly insulin sensitivity – is well documented. Eating too much sugar raises blood glucose, which can trigger a host of problems including insulin block, weight gain, abdominal obesity, lipid problems, high blood pressure, liver damage, and cortisol dysregulation.
COFFEE: Coffee is not great I’m (very) sorry to say. It depletes your key hormone balancing micronutrients, spiking your cortisol and insulin and disrupting your endocrine function. When cortisol is high, it can rob resources from other hormones, leading to low progesterone (and oestrogen dominance), low DHEA and testosterone, and even low thyroid function.
ALCOHOL. Alcohol is high in sugar, so consumption causes dysregulation in blood sugar levels. It also places strain on your liver, causes inflammation in your gut and can promote oestrogen dominance. It also shrinks your brain and prevents it rewiring, and affects the genes that care for vitally important functions such as mineral transport, inflammation response, and the stress-response.
FRIED FOODS AND SATURATED FAT. Oils high in omega-6 fats, such as canola, soybean, safflower, sunflower, cottonseed, peanut or corn oils, promote inflammation and can really wreak havoc on your hormonal balance.
RED MEAT. Red meat can raise oestrogen excessively in women.
SWEETENERS. Artificial sweeteners may alter healthy gut bacteria, which may impact the balance of hunger and satiety hormones like leptin and ghrelin
GLUTEN. White bread wreaks havoc on all the hormones in the body. Gluten plus sugar increases inflammation in the body that causes stress on the adrenal glands (and subsequently the thyroid and gonads) and autoimmunity. This leads to dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-hormone axis, a decrease in the production of the hormones from the adrenals, thyroid, and gonads due to the stress, and increased autoimmunity to these glands.
DAIRY. Dairy works on a variety of levels to disrupt hormonal balance. It can be irritating to the gut, inflammatory, and, if it's conventional dairy, it can even be packed with antibiotic residue and recombinant bovine growth hormone.
INORGANIC AND FARM-RAISED FOODS. Those pesticides and chemicals play massive havoc (see section on endocrine disruptors)
For some of you, eliminating gluten, sugar, and dairy from your diet and going whole-foods and organic might resolve years of suffering. But for others it takes some real tuning in and figuring out what foods your body loves and what it rejects. By continuing to eat the “rejected” foods or foods unsuitable for your unique body, you are in a constant state of inflammation that won’t bring you to hormonal balance.
Additionally how much you eat impacts our hormone levels. Regular overeating can lead to obesity and metabolic issues, but even short-term overeating changes circulating levels of fats and increases oxidative stress.
EXERCISE HABITS can contribute to hormonal imbalance
Overtraining can undoubtedly interfere with hormone balance, but so can an overly sedentary lifestyle, which is typical nowadays.
For the most part, exercise is actually really good for your hormones. The problem arises when you overdo it. When the body loses its ability to produce adequate energy you can see hypothalamic pituitary suppression, which can lead to fibromyalgia. Severe insomnia is a good warning sign for this.
In addition, excessive exercise can cause more stress on the adrenals, particularly if you are already feeling stressed out. The excess adrenaline and cortisol spikes with workouts such as HIIT, cardio, and long distance running may wreak havoc on the delicate balance that your body may be trying to achieve
All in all, intense work outs lead to more wear and tear, cortisol imbalances, and thyroid dysfunction.
ONE NIGHT OF BAD SLEEP contributes to hormonal imbalance
One bad night of sleep raises cortisol levels, leaving you both wired and tired, and creates a vicious cycle of one bad night of sleep after another. Lack of sleep can also affect your hunger hormones by increasing ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and decreasing leptin (the satiety hormone). Insulin and growth hormones also get imbalanced. (Which is why a lack of sleep is associated with weight gain and a higher percentage of body fat.)
YOUR NAIL POLISH (!) contributes to hormonal imbalance
Nail polishes is packed full of horrible nasty chemicals. It contains a chemical called triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), which has an immediate and scary impact on hormones, as well as formaldehyde, teratogens toluene, and dibutyl phthalate. The toxic trio have been shown to affect a woman's egg quality and risk of miscarriage.
But nail polish is far from the only offender -the average woman applies 515 synthetic chemicals to her skin daily. Scary much? Read on...
TOXINS & ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS cause hormonal imbalance
Endocrine disruptors are all too common in a day and age, and are found in:
Certain pharmaceutical drugs
DDT and other pesticides
BPA found in baby toys, dummies, and teething rings
BPA found in canned food
Hormones, pesticides, and fertilisers found in animal products and non-organic fruits and vegetables.
Farm-raised fish
Liquids, such as water, that are stored in plastic
Storing and heating foods in plastic containers
Cooking in non-stick pans and pots
Drinking tap water or poorly filtered water
Chemicals found in cleaning products at home or work
Chemicals found in personal care products such as shampoo, conditioner and soaps
Chemicals found in make-up, nail polish and nail polish remover
Artificial air fresheners
Tampons and sanitary pads
Endocrine disruptors can mimic or partly mimic naturally occurring hormones in the body, potentially producing overstimulation. They can also block hormones from binding properly meaning that our bodies can’t respond as normal, they can also interfere or block the way natural hormones or their receptors are made or controlled. They’re a big deal.
CONTRACEPTION – THE PILL causes hormonal imbalance
The contraceptive pill has promised us greater control over our bodies and fertility, but this “freedom” may have come at an enormous cost to our health.
Many of the dangers of birth control pills are only just coming to light. Birth Control Pills disrupt your body’s normal hormone production by providing synthetic versions of oestrogen and progesterone. Yes, the pill is very effective at what it is designed to do, prevent pregnancy. However doctors rarely discuss side effects with women when they prescribe them the contraceptive pill, adding to the myth that the birth control pill is completely safe and barely impacts on your mind and body. In fact, it seems nothing could be further from the truth.
These side effects are not felt by all women, and if you are in perfect health with a good life-balance you may not be affected at all. Here are some things you ought to know about the pill:
Lowers testosterone and dampens libido. Testosterone is necessary for energy, mental clarity, healthy bones, confidence as well as strength and muscle building and all these can be compromised on the pill. Lower testosterone means diminished sexual interest and arousal, reduced frequency of sexual intercourse and reduced sexual enjoyment.
Causes weight gain. It compromises insulin sensitivity and increases inflammation, known factors that promote weight gain.
Causes nutritional deficiency. The pill leads to a chronic drop in Vitamin C and E, as well as complex B vitamins, folate, and the minerals magnesium, selenium, tyrosine and zinc. Copper levels can rise which has an affect on our adrenals, and may cause feeling overstimulated or edgy.
Impacts your thyroid. Your thyroid depends on the nutrients the pill depletes, and a deficiency interferes with the synthesis and utilisation of the thyroid hormone– and every cell in our body requires the thyroid hormone. The majority of thyroid conditions are autoimmune, with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism being the most common. So cue:
Increased risk of Hashimoto’s and Grave’s Disease. The pill messes with the balance of your immune system, one branch of cells can become overactive, and the others underactive. This can stimulate autoimmune conditions such as Hashimoto’s and Graves’ disease.
Increased risk of Crohn’s disease. The pill is inflammatory - and inflammation is at the root of all chronic disease. So it is no surprise that according to the results of the Harvard Nurses Health study, women who take the birth control pill for more than five years have a 3x chance of developing the autoimmune inflammatory bowel condition, Crohn’s disease.
In general excess hormones from the birth control pill can adversely affect healthy gut bacteria and cause irritation.
Stroke and heart disease. Taking the birth control pill almost doubles a woman’s risk of experiencing a stroke, and contributes to the build up of arterial plaque.
Causes thrush. Oestrogen can help yeast populations grow. After starting the birth control pill, many women complain of developing chronic thrush and bloating and flatulence due to the candida overgrowth in their belly.
Breast Cancer. Some research has linked the pill to an increased risk of breast cancer, rising by 26% in women who had used the pill but had ceased to take it; 58% in women still using the pill compared with never-users; 144% in women aged 45 or over who were still using the pill. However it has been linked to a reduction in the risk of ovarian cancer.
Overloads your liver. And leads to oestrogen dominance, which equals tender breasts, mood swings, hair loss, weight gain, fibroids, endometriosis, breast, and ovarian cysts, and even breast and ovarian cancer.
Blood clots. The risk of thrombosis, or blood clots is higher.
Fertility. While many studies show that apart from a delay in being able to conceive, long-term contraceptive pill use does not have harmful effects on pregnancy rates. However it can affect your ovarian reserve – the number of immature eggs in a woman’s ovaries – which can be a predictor of future fertility. Furthermore, for every year the pill is taken the cervix ages an additional year and the abundance of cervical mucus essential to fertilisation decreases. i.e. A 20 yr old who stays on the pill for 10 years may end up with the cervix of a 40 year old woman and this experience more difficulties in getting pregnant.
Affects your inner feminine. Pill bleeds are not period bleeds. They are pharmaceutical induced bleeds that have been coordinated to reassure women that their body is doing something natural. Your “period” on the contraceptive pill is actually called withdrawal bleeding. It happens when the levels of hormones in your pills drop. A woman’s cycle is not just affecting her womb. It is affecting her entire body as well as her mind and emotions. With the pill you don’t shed and release metaphorically in the same way
Changes sense of smell. Including your ability to smell out a potential suitable mate
Affects your mood and mental health. Many women feel like they’re on an emotional flat-line, others feel edgy and anxious all day long and can’t get a good night’s sleep. Scans show that it shrinks two key regions of your brain, the orbitofrontal cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex, which may be linked to feelings of anxiety. There is also a clear and long realised link between the pill and depression, particularly with the progesterone only pill. But girls go on so young that they often don’t identify what it going on.
Impairs caffeine clearance. Essentially if you love coffee, avoid the pill.
Delayed return of your cycle. As your brain perceives an upset in your hormone balance, it will try to correct any excess by shutting down production of your natural oestrogen and progesterone. This shut-off may be why some women complain that their menstrual cycle takes years to return to normal after they come off the contraceptive pill. After coming off the pill some women can still experience long-standing hormonal problems from low values of “unbound” testosterone (which can impart ongoing sexual, metabolic, and mental health consequences.
It is important to know that the pill is not real hormones but steroids and as the above shows they are not better than your hormones. For women taking the pill as a treatment of acne or endometriosis it is important to realise that the pill covers up hormonal problems, rather than solves them, and it is important to look at the root causes of any illness.
OH MY GOD!
As you can see, the risk of hormonal imbalance is high! And symptoms of hormonal imbalance can be considerably disruptive to daily life. The good news is, you can change things fairly easily with some lifestyle and dietary changes.
And we’ll be looking into what we can do in the next blog post.
Stay tuned!