Because hormones are complex, there is a lot of misinformation out there about how hormones work, who they affect and how we can control them. In the following BLOG, I take you through 5 common myths about your hormones and why you don’t have to be stuck with hormonal imbalances forever.
1. You can’t lose weight when your hormones are not balanced
This isn’t necessarily true. Although for some, it may be more difficult to lose weight, more often than not, the true reason for being “stuck” is due to lifestyle factors. Improper diets are often the biggest culprit. If you’re eating a diet that is not macronutrient balanced for your body, you could be “overeating” or “undereating” certain macros. Many of us, will overdo it with carbohydrates and fats and not eat enough protein. Eating too many carbs and fats can rack up calories quickly.
Processed food items are often loaded with sugar and fat. Every food we put into our bodies has an impact on hormonal health, so eating a diet rich in whole foods, the way nature intended, not only affects your sex hormones, but impacts hormones such as insulin, ghrelin (hunger hormone) and leptin (hormone that signals fullness)
Another aspect of diet often overlooked is food sensitivities. When you are eating foods your body is sensitive to, inflammation and gut issues follow. Inflammation is a huge factor that works against us for weight loss.
Other commonly overlooked factors include stress management (which affects our cortisol levels) and getting enough sleep. In fact, ghrelin, increases when you are sleep deprived and leptin decreases, resulting in excess hunger.
2. Hormonal imbalances require medication (specifically Hormonal Replacement Therapy)
HRT is often recommended in Western medicine for women or men suffering from hormonal imbalances, however the science around HRT is very contradictory and as a result, I stay far away. HRT may work for some, but for others, a more natural approach can achieve the same result. Making lifestyle changes like meditating to reduce stress, drinking more water and making major changes (as discussed above) to your diet can have a huge impact.
Changing your environment to avoid xenoestrogens also plays a huge role. Xenoestrogens are endocrine disruptors that alter the function of normal hormones. “When chemicals from the outside get into our bodies, they have the ability to mimic our natural hormones; blocking or binding hormone receptors. This is particularly detrimental to hormone sensitive organs like the uterus and the breast, the immune and neurological systems, as well as human development.” (2). Xenoestrogens are a sub-set of endocrine disruptors that have estrogen like effects, increasing the amount of estrogen in the body causing estrogen dominance. Xenoestrogens are also not biodegradable so they are stored in fat cells.
You can reduce the amount of Xenoestrogens in your environment by switching to natural personal care and cleaning products, avoiding Teflon based non-stick cookware, reducing your use of plastic (especially heating plastic), using natural building products in your home and eating organic.
3. PMS and painful periods are supposed to be normal
PMS is a collection of symptoms that are brought on prior to the onset of a woman’s menstrual period of bleeding. PMS symptoms can be physical (like cramping, bloating, breast tenderness etc.) or emotional (like mood swings, irritability, fatigue etc.). The degree of severity of these symptoms vary by person, but extreme physical and emotional symptoms do not have to be the norm.
There are studies that suggest, vitamin and mineral imbalances contribute significantly to PMS. Deficiencies in Vitamin B (especially B6), Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron and especially Magnesium have all shown to have an impact in PMS (1). Supplementing with these minerals may be something to look into, if you are someone that suffers from painful PMS. Additional testing can also be done via Hair Trace Mineral Analysis (HTMA) to understand if you suffer from mineral imbalances.
4. Men don’t have to worry about hormonal imbalance
Both men and women have estrogen and testosterone in their bodies. In men, testosterone is the most predominant sex hormone, however too little or too much testosterone, especially in relation to estrogen has a huge impact. Too much testosterone has shown to cause cardiovascular disease, liver disease and mood swings. Too little testosterone can result in hair loss, low libido, irritability, depression and an increased risk of osteoporosis.
When estrogen levels rise in relation to testosterone in men, estrogen dominance occurs. Estrogen dominance can often be a result of over aromatization (the process that converts testosterone to estrogen in men). Men with estrogen dominance may develop gynecomastia which is a condition that leads to larger breasts and erectile dysfunction.
5. My genetics suck! There is nothing I can do to balance my hormones
That is entirely not true. If you’ve heard the term epigenetics before, you would know that epigenetics is the study of how behaviors and environment cause changes that affect the way our genes work, essentially changing how the body reads DNA. Epigenetic changes help determine whether genes are turned on or off. This is a fascinating science, because it is quickly showing how important controllable factors are to gene expression.
Doing the proper testing with a Functional Practitioner can allow anyone to understand the root cause of their hormonal imbalances and allow you to take “control” of some of these “controllable” factors. Are your hormones imbalanced because your elimination pathways are sluggish? Do you have too much inflammation in your body caused by lifestyle factors such as poor diet and lack of exercise? Is your microbiome in disarray because of pathogens, bacterial dysbiosis or leaky gut?
Each of these can be a contributing factor to hormonal balance, which is why it is important to “test” and not “guess”. Once the proper contributing factors are identified, the appropriate lifestyle and supplement protocols can help “fix” these imbalances for you.
There you have it…five myths about your hormones, demystified! If you’re looking at uncovering the root causes to your hormonal imbalances, reach out! We can chat over a FREE 30 min Discovery Call. Book here now
2. https://womeninbalance.org/2012/10/26/xenoestrogens-what-are-they-how-to-avoid-them/