Hormones are potent chemical messengers, responsible for keeping up the physical, mental, emotional, and overall health of human beings. Primarily, these are produced by the endocrine glands, a part of the endocrine system that communicates with the nervous system. It ensures that every important function including the reproduction and metabolism of the system runs smoothly.
The endocrine system includes various glands including the adrenals, pancreas, thyroid, and male or female reproductive system, and releases these chemical messengers into the bloodstream to help the body perform its daily functions. When the hormones are imbalanced due to improper diet, increased stress levels, genetics, or exposure to toxins, then the entire system and its daily functions collapse.
There are ways to balance hormones naturally and synthetically with hormone replacement therapies. Keep on reading to discover the driving factors behind hormonal imbalances and the ultimate solutions to keep up the hormone levels to avoid any interruption in major function of the system.
How Do I Balance My Hormones?
The entire endocrine system coordinates the bond between hormones and different organs by working together and controlling the hormone levels circulating throughout the system. Once the hormones are optimally in circulation throughout the body, they target the cells or tissues by binding to the hormone receptors located on the surface or inside a cell.
Upon receiving these messages, the hormone receptors process them and signal specific mechanisms to initiate the response from the target cell. However, this system can be challenged due to a lot of factors, disrupting the entire function and balance of the hormones. There are conventional treatments available to restore hormonal imbalances.
The conventional treatment options include:
Estrogen Therapy
Estrogen therapy is a part of HRT or hormonal replacement therapy that is ideally used for alleviating uncomfortable menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, and vaginal dryness. Generally, the primary cause behind hormonal imbalances in women is menopause. During this stage, the estrogen level drops drastically, leaving the women experiencing several discomforts.
Therefore, doctors may recommend taking estrogen therapy to balance estrogen levels. The therapy can be taken in the form of pills, patches, sprays, gel, or a vaginal ring.
Thyroid Hormone Therapy
Thyroid hormones are produced by the thyroid gland by using the iodine from the foods consumed by people. The thyroid gland is controlled by the pituitary gland or the master gland and hypothalamus located in the brain. As the pituitary gland releases TSH, it stimulates the thyroid gland to produce T3 and T4 thyroid hormones.
However, when the thyroid glands are underactive or overactive, it causes disbalances in the hormone levels. This condition can be treated with thyroid hormone replacement therapy where a synthetic hormone pill levothyroxine is used to bring back the hormone balance.
Vaginal Estrogen Therapy
Estrogen is one of the primary sex hormones in women, responsible for reproduction and female physical features. When this hormone level drops due to menopause or any other reasons, vaginal dryness becomes a common symptom in women. Nevertheless, there are estrogen tablets, rings, and creams available to bring the estrogen levels back.
This local therapy is often used to eliminate the risks associated with lower estrogen levels. Using these tablets, creams and other forms of vaginal estrogen therapy, the level of estrogen can easily be restored.
Testosterone Therapy
Testosterone is one of the important sex hormones in men, responsible for fat distribution, sex drive, facial and body hair, sperm production, muscle strength, and red blood cell production. When the testosterone level is low due to a variety of reasons, it causes a delay in puberty, changes in sexual function, and disturbs emotional health in men.
Testosterone therapy is used to improve the symptoms and signs of low testosterone in men. The therapy can be taken in a variety of forms including patches, injections, and gels.
Hormonal Birth Control
Hormone imbalances or hormonal fluctuations may happen especially in women throughout the menstrual cycles. Furthermore, hormonal birth control can regulate the menstrual cycles in women and restore their hormone balance during that time.
Hormonal birth control includes a birth control pill, birth control shot, birth control patch, vaginal ring, and an intrauterine device that may also help reduce acne. People must seek a doctor’s advice before taking these birth control pills to avoid any health problems in the future.
Anti-Androgen Medications
Androgens are male hormones but are present in both men and women. Due to high androgen levels, women can face various symptoms including facial hair growth, acne, and hair loss.
The anti-androgen medications help women to block the increased androgen hormones. As a result, they can reduce the manly physical features and other symptoms.
What is Hormonal Imbalance?
Hormones play the role of chemical messengers released into the bloodstream, telling the organs and tissues what to do. This means that hormones ensure that everything in the system remains in sync. When these chemical messengers don’t communicate properly with the tissues and organs, the body produces too little or too many hormones, this condition is known as hormonal imbalances.
Since, the major functions of the human system including reproduction, heart rate, metabolism, appetite, mood, everything is dictated by hormones, the imbalance causes various symptoms both in men and women.
The symptoms of a hormone imbalance are:
Fatigue
Fatigue or tiredness can be recovered with hydration, adequate rest, and a healthy diet. However, people who are diagnosed with hormonal imbalance feel exhausted even when they are properly rested. Hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue are more common symptoms seen in people.
Poor Digestive Health
Hormones are responsible for influencing gut function through a bacterial system and microbiome system in the intestine. A hormone imbalance can disrupt these bacteria’s function and leave people with poor gut health. Further, it may cause other symptoms of digestive issues such as constipation, bloating, nausea and diarrhea.
PMS
Estrogen and progesterone are the two sex hormones in females that contribute to several functions of female health. As the hormone balance is disrupted, women face premenstrual syndrome or PMS which includes irregular periods, infertility, painful intercourse, mood swings, and other uncomfortable symptoms.
Low Sex Drive
Sex drive in men is driven by a hormone called testosterone while in women the leading hormone for sex drive is estrogen and progesterone. In men, lower testosterone levels can also lead to erectile dysfunction, weight gain, and other mood-related problems. Generally, lower sex drive is commonly seen in people 50 years or above age but it can occur early due to hormonal imbalances.
Fluctuation in Blood Pressure
Hormones play a key role in maintaining heart health. Without proper regulation of hormones produced by the pancreas gland, the body may end up having too much glucose level which can lead to high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems. Although, high blood pressure is also linked to thyroid dysfunction, excess or deficiency of growth hormone, and testosterone deficiency.
Swollen Face
Puffy appearance around the face is the least discussed symptom of hormone imbalances. The gradual swelling is a sign of high cortisol levels. When the adrenal glands release the stress hormone cortisol more than it’s required, they are unable to regulate inflammatory responses. Therefore, the body face difficulty in keeping up the blood vessels function optimally which leads to swelling around the face.
Muscle Weakness
Stiff joints and muscle weakness, all are symptoms of a hormonal imbalance. The hormones involved in increasing the strength of the muscles include testosterone, estrogen, thyroid, etc. Most importantly thyroid hormones help to break down the glycogen into glucose and source energy for the muscles. An imbalance in these hormone productions may lead to muscle weakness.
Hair & Skin Changes
Facial hair growth, brittle nails, thinning hair, hair loss, dry skin, or hair are all directly linked to abnormalities in the hormone balance. Hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and parathyroid disorder may be the leading cause of hair loss problems faced by a lot of people. In addition, hormonal imbalance can also cause acne in excess as the body’s ability to regulate sebum production is negatively impacted.
Anxiety
Anxiety and depression are the most devastating disorders faced by human beings. Women are possibly at a higher risk of developing an anxiety disorder and anxiety-related symptoms such as mood swings and depression, especially during their menstrual cycles. Men can also develop depression and anxiety disorders due to low testosterone levels.
A study revealed that reproductive hormones like estrogen are primarily responsible for calming the anxiety and fear response by interacting with the estrogen receptors. An excess estrogen level was correlated with reduced fearful responses in women. However, a low level of estrogen can lead to anxiety and depression.
Any Precautions With Hormone Therapy?
Conventional treatments such as hormone replacement therapy, insulin injections, and medications are often prescribed by doctors to reduce the symptoms of hormonal imbalances. Yet, relying on these treatments makes patients dependent on prescription drugs for their entire lifetime. Besides, these treatments don’t solve a hormonal imbalance, it only reduces the symptoms.
Potentially, taking hormone therapy for a long time without any precaution may increase the chances of developing serious side effects such as anxiety, blood clots, ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, breast cancer, stroke, and more. Therefore, people with certain conditions should never take HRT.
The precautions to be taken while undergoing HRT are:
- People with a history of blood clots, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, or any other serious ailments should never take HRT.
- It’s recommended to follow the general schedule for taking hormone replacement therapy in pill form. There are cyclic and continuous schedules for taking the pill.
- Patients must seek a doctor’s advice before taking any type of hormone replacement therapy.
These are the few precautions you need to follow while trying to keep up the hormone health through conventional treatments. You can also check the research conducted by academic research institutions to understand the influence of HRT.
Can I Get More Sleep With Hormone Health?
Hormonal imbalance is linked to sleep disturbances. Women are more vulnerable to these sleep disturbances during their menstrual cycle, post-pregnancy period, and after or around menopause. Poor hormonal health may lead to insomnia where people face trouble falling asleep and staying asleep longer.
It occurs because of a dysregulation in the HPA axis or hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis where the central nervous system and endocrine system interact. The HPA axis is the central stress response system responsible for maintaining the bio clock cycle while maintaining the cortisol level and melatonin level.
Melatonin helps to maintain the natural circadian rhythm, allowing people to stay asleep longer and fall asleep faster. Due to an imbalance in the hormone levels, the body faces difficulty secreting melatonin which may result in adjusting to the sleep pattern. In addition, sleep disturbances may also occur due to high cortisol levels in the evening.
What Are the Causes of Hormonal Imbalances?
A hormonal imbalance occurs when there’s a disruption in hormone function. The longer it remains, the more difficult it becomes to bring the hormone levels back to harmony. Therefore, it’s important to identify the exact causes of these imbalances to start the treatment early and prevent the onset of any chronic diseases.
The common underlying reasons behind a hormonal imbalance include:
- Overactive thyroid gland.
- Underactive thyroid gland.
- Cushing syndrome.
- Poor diet.
- Chronic stress.
- Any exposure to the endocrine disruptors.
- Injury or trauma.
- Cancer treatments.
- Medications.
- Diabetes.
- Addison’s disease.
These are the common causes of hormonal imbalance. In addition, you can easily diagnose this imbalance by vigilantly noticing the symptoms such as sudden weight gain or unexpected weight loss, poor metabolic health, digestive issues, and adrenal fatigue.
Does Hormonal Imbalance Cause Weight Gain?
A lot of people work too hard but eat nutrient-poor foods. The body senses this hard work as stress and it starts to produce more stress hormone or cortisol for survival. People who are chronically stressed find it harder when it comes to lose weight as the system stores the fat to source energy. Chronic stress may also occur due to a hormonal imbalance, making it harder to lose weight.
Hormone disorders like Cushing syndrome can lead people to gain weight and develop obesity. Hypothyroidism overactive thyroid gland is another condition that is more severe and leads to weight gain. For women, their bodies create hormones less than it’s required during their menopause stage which impacts the metabolism rate and leads to gaining weight.
How to Balance Hormones Naturally?
There are effective ways to balance hormones naturally. However, it requires advanced hormone testing to determine the current level of the hormones. By working closely with an expert and taking their medical support, personalized plan, and bringing changes to their lifestyle and diet, people can easily restore this balance.
The best ways to balance the hormones naturally entail:
Eat Healthy Fats
Healthy fats act as opposed to refined carbohydrates which are responsible for causing inflammation and disturbing the balance of the hormones. Therefore, adding healthy especially polyunsaturated fats such as omega 3 fatty acids and omega 6 fatty acids may help to reduce the appetite. The purpose of fatty acids is to signal leptin production which is a natural hormone that helps to reduce appetite.
If leptin levels remain low in the system, it will cause lower leptin production, thereby, causing difficulty for the body to reduce appetite naturally. Further, it will make the weight loss process too difficult as people can’t stop overeating. By adding healthy fats to the diet and balancing the leptin levels, it becomes easier to reduce overeating and stay healthy.
Take Probiotic & Fermented Foods
Taking probiotics and fermented foods is another crucial step to balance the hormones as it keeps up good gut health, responsible for reducing digestive issues. Probiotic such as yogurt, soft cheeses, and sourdough bread, helps to balance the number of good bacteria living in the system. These “good” bacteria make it easier for the digestive system to work optimally.
Recent research has shown that hormone imbalance related to estrogen may be reversed by adding probiotic supplementation. It restores the astrobleme bacteria responsible for metabolizing the estrogen.
Take Supplements With Vitamin D
Low vitamin D levels have always been associated with the risk of breast, colon, and prostate cancer as well as heart diseases, tuberculosis, and influenza. In fact, recent studies have found a relationship between Vitamin D deficiency and hypothyroidism. Therefore, it’s a significant element required to maintain the overall bodily functions such as cell differentiation, immune function, and inflammatory response.
Ideally, people can easily receive the essential Vitamin D from approximately 10 to 30 minutes of sun exposure. Still, taking supplements and a proper diet including wild salmon and pastured eggs may also help to balance the levels of vitamins and minerals required in the system.
Use Essential Oils
It’s important to eliminate toxins from the system in order to balance the hormones naturally. A better way to do that is by adding essential oils such as shea butter, olive oil, and coconut oil that are rich in monounsaturated fat. These essential oils not only keep the hormones balanced but also works as a natural remedy that provides emotional balance as well.
In fact, including essential oils and healthy natural fats and avoiding trans fat may reduce insulin resistance. Further, it stimulates the hormone production that can control the appetite.
Use Adaptogenic Herbs
Adaptogenic herbs help to decrease the cortisol levels in the system, which causes stress. An increased cortisol level can lead to weight gain and contribute to other unhealthy symptoms as the body turns on its survival mode when there’s an increased amount of cortisol present in the system.
However, adaptogenic herbs may regulate the levels of these stress hormones and reduce the symptoms such as sleep issues, fatigue, etc. In a study conducted to check the impact of adaptogens, it was found that certain herbs such as Ashwagandha, Jaogulan, and Reishi, helped to decrease the stress hormones in human beings.
What is the Endocrine System?
The endocrine system is mainly in charge of controlling the levels of hormones circulating throughout the body. This system is made of glands including the pituitary or the master gland responsible for sending out information from the brain to other glands. The pituitary glands also produce hormones that travel to important locations.
The gland is made of anterior pituitary tissue and posterior pituitary tissue. The anterior pituitary gland produces growth hormone and prolactin. It also targets other endocrine glands and secretes the thyroid-stimulating hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone.
12 Fun Facts About Hormonal Imbalance
The posterior pituitary gland never produces any hormones, but it secretes and stores oxytocin and vasopressin, two types of hormones made by the hypothalamic region. The endocrine system includes other important glands such as parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, pineal gland, thymus gland, and thyroid gland. When this system is challenged, people experience poor hormone health.
Here are 12 enjoyable facts pertaining to hormone levels:
1. How Do You Fix Hormonal Imbalance?
There are natural and synthetic ways to fix hormonal imbalance. Natural ways include making your diet healthy with probiotics, essential fatty acids, amino acids, olive oil, and adaptogenic herbs. The synthetic ways of fixing these imbalances include taking HRT or hormone replacement therapies, insulin injections, birth control pills, thyroid medications, etc.
2. Can I Balance My Hormones Myself?
Having a healthy diet plan, taking proper sleep, exercising, and adapting to healthy lifestyle choices are the basic ways to keep the hormones balanced. However, these imbalances may occur due to menopause, pregnancy, and other additional reasons. Hence, taking the doctor’s advice while facing the uncomfortable symptoms of hormone imbalances is the ideal way to deal with this issue.
3. How Long Does it Take to Balance Hormones?
The timeframe of balancing your hormones largely depends on the level of the imbalance, age, genetics, and health condition. Typically, you can observe a positive result within one to four weeks of improving your diet chart. Nevertheless, complicated problems may take three menstrual cycles to experience the benefits.
4. What are the Major Subgroups of Hormones?
There are two groups of hormones that circulate throughout the human body. The primary major group is derived from amino acids. This includes protein hormones, amines, and peptides, and another group is derived from lipids that are also called steroid hormones.
5. How Do You Identify Hormone Imbalances?
A hormonal imbalance can easily be identified by checking the symptoms such as fatigue, swollen face, changes in blood pressure, muscle weakness, low sex drive, hair loss, insomnia, digestive disorder, weight gain, anxiety, etc. Still, there are diagnostic tests available for an accurate diagnosis. This includes a blood test, pelvic exam, ultrasound, thyroid scan, biopsy, MRI, sperm count test, etc.
6. Can You Balance Hormones Naturally?
The short answer would be yes if the complications aren’t much worse. There are natural remedies available that suggest you change your diet plan in order to keep the hormones balanced. Generally, a poor diet plan can lead to several problems in human beings not just the imbalances of hormonal levels. Therefore, you must consult a doctor to seek natural remedies for balancing the hormones.
7. What Can I Drink to Balance Hormones?
There are impressive herbs that help to reduce stress and improve the detox process of your system. Therefore, you can include herbal tea infused with tulsi or dandelion to balance the hormones. In fact, green tea may help to balance the insulin level in the body by improving the response to this hormone.
8. What Hormones Are Out of Balance With PCOS?
PCOS or polycystic ovary syndrome is a health condition that negatively impacts the level of hormones in women. As a result, women tend to produce more male hormones than normal standards. This imbalance may lead to infertility. In some cases, you may also face irregular periods due to the increased amount of testosterone and androgens present in the system.
9. Does Insulin Resistance Cause Hormonal Imbalance?
It may provoke an increased amount of androgen synthesis while decreasing estrogen production. Therefore, it may lead to several health problems including diabetes, weight gain, cancer, and many more.
10. Can Hormone Imbalance Affect the Immune System?
Additionally, hormonal imbalance can affect the immune system as the major hormones such as testosterone and estrogen directly interact with the immune response.
11. How Can I Check My Hormone Levels At Home?
There are a few home testing kits available that use blood or saliva from your fingertip to check the levels of thyroid, cortisol, testosterone, progesterone, and other important hormones. However, it would be best to get your hormonal levels checked by a reliable laboratory to maintain precision.
12. Does Hormonal Imbalance Affect Pregnancy?
For a healthy pregnancy, it’s required to maintain the balance of your hormones. Healthy pregnancy hormones help to maintain the overall health of the baby. An imbalance during pregnancy may cause miscarriage, preeclampsia, and other critical problems.
These are the most common concerns that Hemplily receives from its clients. Moreover, hormonal balance is crucial for both men and women to lead a healthy life in the long haul.
Why Choose Hemplily for CBD Products?
Hemplily has been the most trusted choice when it comes to improving your health and well-being. We use the latest technology and CBD-infused products that may help balance your hormones naturally. Since CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system, it could influence major hormones like melatonin, cortisol, and insulin. Therefore, CBD products could help you balance your hormones.
However, more research is required regarding this. If you are facing uncomfortable symptoms due to hormone imbalances, there are experts who can provide medical advice and make you aware of the natural ways to balance them. You can also contact us for more information on how CBD products may help you balance your hormones.
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