Hormones perform critical functions in our bodies and control a wide variety of internal processes. Among the processes affected by hormones are mood stability, metabolism, and reproductive health. It is very important to have enough of each hormone to perform its function efficiently, and in the right proportions so one is not dominating the others.
Hormonal imbalances can affect women throughout their lives, especially during their reproductive periods, and can most often be seen in women who suffer from menstrual difficulties, who are struggling with infertility, or who are undergoing menopause. In men, prostate problems and erectile dysfunction can be manifestations of hormonal imbalances. There are also plenty of symptoms of hormone imbalances that affect both men and women, such as fatigue, depression, and weight loss or gain, among others.
But sometimes chronic diseases can be traced, at a basic level, to a long-standing hormonal imbalance, which means learning whether you have a hormonal imbalance and taking steps to correct it can be critical to your long-term health. Here are some tips for balancing your hormones if you have an imbalance.
Cleanse your liver. If your liver is congested with toxins, it is unable to break down excess hormones that are stored there. Cleansing your liver will help it regain its efficiency. This usually means eating a lot of fresh raw vegetables and drinking raw vegetable juice, and taking some liver-supporting herbs or tinctures like dandelion. One liver cleanse program you might look into can be found here.
Take supplemental borage oil. Borage oil contains gamma-linoleic acid, which produces prostaglandins that help maintain hormonal balance. Most of us don’t have enough gamma-linoleic acid because of various environmental and lifestyle factors, including stress and poor nutrition.
Use natural alternatives to white sugar, and only in moderation. White sugar alters the chemistry of our bodies in many ways, most of them negatively. Too much sugar causes unhealthy yeast to develop in our bodies, which throws our systems, and our internal hormonal balance, out of whack.
Eat organic foods and use organic products whenever possible to avoid xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are synthetic compounds that turn into estrogen in our bodies when we consume them or when they are absorbed through the skin. They have become increasingly prevalent in modern society because of pesticides, antibiotics and chemicals in our food. Since estrogen dominance is a common problem in the western world, most people would be wise to avoid these xenoestrogens whenever they can.
See an endocrinologist. An endocrinologist (a doctor specializing in the endocrine system) can pinpoint the causes of hormonal imbalances and can help you correct the imbalances before they become full-fledged diseases.
You may want to take a sample test, found here, to see if you could have a hormonal imbalance. It is best to treat hormonal imbalances naturally at first and see if you have success, since many drugs can cause imbalances of their own. But be careful if you use herbal remedies, and see your physician before embarking on any long-term herbal supplement program.
Sources:
House of Nutrition. “Gamma-Linoleic Acid.” House of Nutrition.com
Energetic Nutrition. “Estrogen Dominance.” Energetic Nutrition.com
Lee, Dr. John, Dr. David Zava and Virginia Hopkins. “Hormone Balance Test.” johnleemd.com
