Jess Blair On How Hormones Can Affect Your Everyday Life and How to Balance Them Naturally
Hormones are the chemicals produced by the glands in the endocrine system. They are vital for our bodies to function properly and for bodily processes to work efficiently. However, hormones can become imbalanced for various reasons, including stress, lifestyle, poor nutrition and some medications. Because hormones have such essential jobs, just a slight imbalance can cause havoc in the body and for the person.
Signs and symptoms of hormonal imbalance include fatigue, weight- gain, weight loss, skin issues and problems with periods.
One of the more common hormonal problems I see in women is that of oestrogen dominance. The symptoms for this particular hormone imbalance are weight gain, slow metabolism, fatigue, depression, anxiety and decreased sex drive as well as fluid retention. As you can imagine these symptoms can be extremely stressful.
There are several lifestyle factors that I recommend for oestrogen dominance that can help combat and reduce the symptoms and/or risk -
Manage Stress
Stress causes our bodies to ‘steal’ progesterone and manufacture cortisol, which leads to an excess of oestrogen. Managing stress is vital in ensuring your hormones are balanced properly.
Healthy Eating
Eat a whole food diet full of good quality nutrients. Although no foods contain progesterone (the calming hormone) there are micronutrients in whole foods that help support your body to boost progesterone levels such as Vitamin C, Zinc, Magnesium and B Vitamins especially B6.
Movement
Exercise can help balance your hormones. If you are under stress go for walks, or try Pilates or Yoga type exercises. Exercise helps detox and improves circulation, as well as allowing for more lean muscle growth. This will help increase your metabolism which will assist with oestrogen and progesterone balancing.
Chemical Exposure
Make sure you are watching what you put on your skin and use in your house. I recommend more natural cleaning products and skincare. This will limit the number of xenostrogens you are putting on your body and into your blood stream.
Supplementation
Natural supplements can be amazing for helping with hormonal imbalances. My favourite is Supabee for Women - the unique combination of ingredients work in synergy to support your body to get it back to its optimal levels.
Siberian Ginseng works in the body to help combat fatigue. Fatigue is a major symptom of hormonal imbalances.
Wild Yam will help with easing the tension of cramps associated with periods and also PMS. Wild Yam is antispasmodic and anti- inflammatory.
Vitamin B6 helps promote liver detoxification. When our liver detoxification pathways are not working optimally, they can’t get rid of things like heavy metals, pesticides and mutant hormones. Vitamin B6 binds to oestrogen, testosterone and progesterone, helping to detoxify excess amounts of these hormones.
Horny Goat Weed The inclusion of horny goat weed will help blood flow and can improve sexual function.
Bee Pollen is filled with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids. These all help with overall immune function as well as fighting fatigue and improving alertness.