As women, our hormones fluctuate through our life cycles of course and important for our health and well -being. However, hormonal fluctuations that cause pain and illness are not. A widespread misconception in both women and traditional doctors is that common female problems should simply be endured as a normal part of being a woman. In extreme cases, symptoms are treated with medicines (including hormones), but the underlying cause is often not tackled.
Problems with hormones: hormone harmony
What practitioners often do not recognize or acknowledge is that these ailments are a manifestation of a cascade of hormonal imbalances, they not only come from the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Most traditional doctors in health care do not look beyond the female sex hormones to identify the cause, but these hormones only tell part of our stories; And not necessarily the most important part. Other hormones involved in this story are epinephrine, noradrenaline, insulin, cortisol, ghreline, leptin and neurotransmitters, to name just a few.
Bringing our hormones into balance is not difficult to reach, nor does it require pharmaceutical intervention.
Hormone insalman signs
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS): PMs can start well before a woman starts her first menstrual cycle. Symptoms can ebb and flow during her years of menstruation. Common symptoms are headache, nausea, moodiness, weight gain, bloating, irritability, lethargy, fatigue and craving for food.
Dysmenorrhea: This is when pain (a deep pain, cramps or sometimes acute pain) occurs with ovulation, shortly before or at the start of a menstrual period.
Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS): This endocrine condition is characterized by irregular periods, lack of periods (amenorrhea), infertility, acne, excess hair, obesity and high cholesterol. The most important characteristics concern hormone levels, in particular insulin, testosterone, estrogen and progesterone. In fact, the compelling research links PCOS with insulin resistance, something that will be tackled in more detail later in this article. The good news is that this is easy to treat.
Difficult perimenopause: This is the natural transition from the female body from the fertile age: it is often associated with symptoms of hormonal imbalance such as fatigue, moodiness, hot flashes, foggy thinking, loss of sensuality, anxiety, night sweat and weight gain (especially around the waist and hips).
The most important fact in all this is that these are not problems that need to be experienced or treated. Regardless of your age or how long you fought against these problems, this is not your fate in life. Effective and permanent lighting is immediately available, within reach and under your control.
Hormones 101
The word ‘hormone’ comes from a Greek word that means ‘messenger’. Each of the dozens of hormones of the body has a specific type of message to pass on. Our hormones are complicated interconnected and interdependent, just like a symphony, so an imbalance of one causes a cascade effect on the others. Finding and maintaining a hormonal balance is in the reach of every woman. I will share some basic tips to do that.
What are causes of hormonal imbalance
Many lifestyle factors influence hormonal health, including food, stress, exercise and sleep. Environmental oxins such as noise pollution and toxic ingredients in daily products such as cosmetics also influence hormonal health. But the most important motives of hormone balance are food and stress.
An important hormonal cascade (or downward spiral) starts with cortisol, the stress hormone produced in your adrenal glands. The cascade starts when your adrenal glands produce too many or too little cortisol, which influences everything, from emotions to hunger and energy levels. Ensuring a good adrenal function is crucial.
If the cortisol levels remain increased for a long time, the effects are harmful. This state of being can lead to serious problems, including thyroid dys regulation, hormonal destruction, blood sugar regulation and oppression of the immune system.
Cortisol and Insulin: a devastating 1-2 punch
Another cascade is activated by insulin -independent. Insulin is a hormone that is produced to control blood sugar levels when a carbohydrate is consumed. In the short term, Insulin -Onbalans influences how you feel physically and emotionally. The initial blood sugar level influences dopamine, our “feel good hormones” in the brain. But because carbohydrates are so easily broken down, the blood glucose level eventually drops. The desire for candy or starchy food is even a symptom of hormonal imbalance.
Because of the hormonal cascade, unbalanced insulin levels influence other hormones, including cortisol. When our blood glucose levels fall, cortisol starts and tries to compensate for the dip in energy level. It is not uncommon for women to ride every day on this carb-induced hormonal roller coaster.
Persistent high levels of insulin can lead to more serious problems, including insulin resistance. This happens when the body receptors of the body start to close to protect it against glucose overload. Insulin resistance is the precursor of diabetes and is also involved in depression and even heart disease.
A combination of consistent imbalance of both hormones (cortisol and insulin) is metabolic syndrome. Although it influences both sexes, it is much more common in women. The most obvious external indicator is stored in the middle part: the apple shape. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by insulin resistance, increased stress hormones and high cholesterol levels. It leads to disorders such as diabetes and heart disease.
Food: information for the body
For better or worse, when it comes to hormonal health or imbalance, Food is an absolute game changer. Food is information for the body and is what helps or hinders his ability to balance his hormones. Eating for hormonal health is not difficult to do once you have the knowledge and it is about what you have to eat as what you can’t eat.
Eat more often. Eat real food with as much color as possible. This helps to maintain consistent blood sugar levels, which in turn leads to suitable and consistent hormone levels.
Record proteins with every meal. Protein is an important part for so many hormones. In addition to many other functions, proteins helps to maintain a constant blood glucose level.
Eat more variation. The more colorful, the better. At least half of your plate with every meal must consist of colorful vegetables.
Including cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and cauliflower. They belong to the foods and nutrients that help to encourage your body to steer estrogen metabolites on the path that helps prevent female cancers.
Add healthy fats. Sources of healthy fats are linseed, chia seeds, almonds and avocado. Fat is an important part of the production of sex hormones and brain hormones.
Watch out for non -diagnosed food sensitivities. Many more people later realize in the life that they may have sensitivities for foods such as gluten, dairy products and others.
Limit the carbohydrate inlet as much as possible. This has a powerful and quickly noticeable effect on health and well -being.
Tension
Stress hormones can be useful to increase concentration and productivity at the right levels and for a short time. Unfortunately too many of us are just too stressed. Increased levels of stress hormones cause a cascade of hormonal disruption, including interruption of thyroid hormone conversion from T4 to T3, blood sugar regulation and oppressed immune function.
Stress comes in various forms. There are physical stressors such as insufficient sleep or chronic illness and there are emotional stressors, such as the pressure of a working theadline or being too late. Although these are different types of stress, they have the same impact on the body.
There can also be issues of historical stress. This is stress from the personal stories of our lives: experiences that we naturally bring into adulthood. They are conditioned stress reactions that we have learned as children and may not even realize that they are connected to our past. So how can you tackle stress to achieve and maintain hormonal health?
The first step is to eliminate stress where possible. It is common for us to have women about commitment syndrome, which comes from not being able to say no. The next time someone asks you to stand for that committee, consider whether your plate is already full.
If you cannot eliminate stress, manage it. View your personal story, it can mean that your body produces cortisol more easily. You can consider using therapy to help go through something special. You may notice that you do not have to make structural changes in your life, just how you react automatically.
Exercise is also invaluable in the stress reduction process, it gives hormones that improve mood and prevent stress hormones. It also helps to stimulate the production of sex hormones that in turn increase libido. Find something that you like to do, so that the idea of exercising does not cause stress.
Finally, the transition from toxic relationships or, if that is not possible, work to manage them. Toxic relationships are the relationships you have with the people around you who drain your energy.
Change will not happen at night
Nobody was ever in a state of hormonal imbalance at night. So although you may find a difference in how you feel pretty quickly, it can take some time to return to a perfect hormonal balance. These tips can also represent a drastic shift in your lifestyle. Do what you can do and maybe start with what is easiest for you. Trying to do it all at the same time can set you for failure. The most important thing to remember is to shoot for progress, not for perfection.