Many women understand the fundamentals of female reproductive health: estrogen and progesterone work together to produce a 28-day menstrual cycle every month until menopause. In reality, when it comes to female hormonal health, these hormones are just the tip of the iceberg.
Endocrine glands produce hormones. Your ovaries, which make the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, are just one of eight endocrine glands important for hormonal health. Your adrenals, hypothalamus, pancreas, parathyroid, pineal gland, pituitary, and thyroid glands produce hormones. Your adrenal glands, in fact, have sex hormones such as testosterone.
These hormones serve as messengers for your body. They control reproduction, growth and development, metabolism and energy, blood nutrient and electrolyte balance, body water balance, and stress response. Because your endocrine system’s goal is to maintain balance, female hormonal health is more than just reproductive health; it is whole-body health.
What are the hormones produced by female body?
Progesterone and Estrogen
Estrogen directs female sex characteristics, promotes cell proliferation, slows bone loss, stimulates and protects brain cells, raises HDL levels, increases body fat, and creates progesterone receptors. Progesterone relaxes muscles, keeps the uterine lining in place, stimulates bone growth, burns fat for energy, increases libido, and, most importantly, balances the effects of estrogen on the body.
Progesterone is critical for hormonal health because estrogen must be in the proper ratio to progesterone to function correctly. Without enough progesterone, your body will be in estrogen dominance or estrogen saturation, which simply means it has too much estrogen. Low progesterone levels can result in estrogen dominance.
Xenohormones
Furthermore, xenohormones (man-made substances with hormone-like properties) can mimic estrogen in the body, contributing to estrogen dominance. Excess estrogen and xenohormones can cause a variety of problems, including:
- Heavy clotting, cramping, and bleeding
- Bloating and water retention
- Tender breasts, lumpiness, and cystic breasts
- gaining weight
- Migraines and menstrual headaches
- Anger, irritability, depression, and irritability
- Reduced sexual response
- a lack of zinc
- Thyroid hormone imbalance
- Dysregulation of blood sugar
- Increased susceptibility to autoimmune diseases
- Reproductive-site cancers have increased (breast, uterine, ovarian)
- Fertility decline
Balance estrogen and progesterone for hormonal health. Other organs and systems, specifically your liver, adrenals, thyroid, and lymphatic system, are essential in balancing these hormones.
Why liver balance is important for your hormone balance?
The liver is a critical organ. It metabolizes proteins and carbohydrates, stores nutrients, synthesizes cholesterol, neutralizes toxins, and regulates hormones, among other things. A healthy liver excretes excess estrogen and maintains hormonal balance. A stressed or overworked liver, on the other hand, results in elevated estrogen and hormonal imbalance.
Several nutrition, lifestyle, and environmental factors can all harm your liver’s health:
- Prepared foods
- Ingredients synthesized
- Trans fatty acids
- A sugary diet
- Alcohol
- Non-organic meats and vegetables
- Herbicides and pesticides
- Plastics
- Pollutants from industry
- Exposure to heavy metals
- Skincare product preservatives
- abrasive cleaning products
- Infections that persist
What is the role of Adrenaline in hormone balance?
The adrenal glands are the “stress” glands in your body. They aid your body’s response to both acute and chronic stress. You may not realize that they also serve as a backup for the production of sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. During pre- and post-menopause, your adrenals are especially important for hormone balance. As a result, hormonal health is highly dependent on adrenal health.
Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands when the body is under stress. When you are under a lot of pressure, your body will convert progesterone to cortisol. Chronic stress depletes progesterone and can lead to estrogen dominance.
Stressors to the adrenal gland include:
- Sugar, refined flours, trans fats, and processed foods
- Caffeine, alcohol, stimulants, and smoking
- Birth control, antacids, and medications
- Excessive physical activity
- Disruptions in sleep
- Work, financial, and relationship stress
- Infections, both chronic and acute
Hot flashes can also be caused by low progesterone due to adrenal stress. This is due to your temperature regulatory system being confused by low progesterone in the presence of fluctuating estrogen. Extreme estrogen flux during the menopause transition will mistakenly signal your body to raise core body temperature, resulting in the typical “hot flash” symptoms. On the other hand, a healthy adrenal function will balance hormones and reduce or even eliminate hot flashes.
Know how to balance your Thyroid
The thyroid gland is your metabolism’s powerhouse, and the thyroid hormone is essential to every cell in your body. Weight gain, constipation, dry skin, fatigue, fogginess, depression, and hair loss may occur if your thyroid is incorrect. Iodine is required for optimal hormone production by the thyroid and the ovaries. If your thyroid is not adequately nourished, neither are your ovaries. As a result, hormonal imbalance and estrogen dominance may occur. Excess estrogen then interferes with thyroid hormone production, exacerbating the problem.
Your body’s Lymphatic system
When it comes to hormone balance, your lymphatic system, which is often overlooked, is just as important as your endocrine system. This system transports fuel throughout the body, aids the immune system, and eliminates waste. Hormonal metabolites must be processed and excreted as part of this waste from the body. A clogged lymphatic system can reduce estrogen clearance and lead to estrogen dominance. Your lymphatic system relies on muscle contraction to move lymph through and to your liver, kidneys, and colon for waste removal. As a result, the primary cause of a stagnant lymphatic system is a lack of exercise.
How to find that you have hormone imbalance?
At some point in their lives, everyone will experience natural periods of hormonal imbalance or fluctuation. However, hormonal imbalances can occur when the endocrine glands do not function properly.
- A variety of medical conditions can have an effect on the endocrine glands. Hormonal imbalances can also be caused by certain lifestyle habits and environmental factors. Medical conditions that can interfere with the production of Trusted Source hormones include, but are not limited to:
- Diabetes is a condition in which the body does not produce enough insulin.
- Hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism are thyroid gland over activity and under activity, respectively.
- Addison’s disease is a condition in which the adrenal glands fail to produce enough hormones.
- Cushing’s syndrome is characterized by an excess of cysticercoids produced by the adrenal glands.
- Acromegaly is characterized by an excess of growth hormones.
- Hyperglycemia (excess glucagon production) hypoglycemia (when the body produces more insulin than there is glucose in the blood) solitary thyroid nodules
- pituitary gland tumors
Females go through several periods of hormonal imbalance throughout their lives, including menstruation puberty pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding premenopause, menopause, and post menopause. Females are more likely than males to develop hormonal imbalance disorders due to differences in endocrine organs and cycles. Among the causes of hormonal imbalance in women are: hormone replacement therapy or birth control pills poly-cystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) primary ovarian insufficiency (POI).
How to correct hormonal imbalances?
Treatment for hormonal imbalances varies according to the cause. Different types of treatment for hormonal imbalances may be required for each individual.
Females with hormone imbalances have many treatment options:
- Hormone replacement therapy or birth control. Medication containing oestrogen and progesterone can help regulate irregular menstrual cycles and symptoms in women who are not trying to conceive. Birth control pills, rings, patches, shots, and intrauterine devices are all available (IUD).
- Estrogen vaginal. To alleviate symptoms of vaginal dryness caused by changes in oestrogen levels, women can apply estrogen-containing creams directly to vaginal tissues. They can also relieve vaginal dryness with estrogen tablets and rings.
- Hormone replacement therapy. There are medications available to temporarily alleviate severe menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats.
- Eflornithine (Eflornithine) (Vaniqa). This prescription cream may help women with excessive facial hair growth.
- Anti-androgen therapy. Medications that inhibit the male-sex hormone androgen can help limit severe acne and excessive hair growth or loss.
- Letrozole and clomiphene (Clomid) (Femara). These medications aid in the stimulation of ovulation in PCOS patients attempting to conceive. Doctors may also administer gonadotropin injections to patients with PCOS and infertility to help increase the chances of pregnancy.
- Technology for assisted reproduction. In vitro fertilisation (IVF) may be used to assist those suffering from PCOS complications in becoming pregnant.
Hormone balancing with food
Stress management and exercise are two important lifestyle choices for hormone balance and overall health. Furthermore, the following dietary suggestions will help to support your endocrine and lymphatic systems and restore hormonal balance.
- GMO and conventionally grown foods should be avoided.
- Drink plenty of filtered, pure water.
- Consume various organic fruits and vegetables, grass-fed and organic meats, wild-caught fish, raw nuts and seeds, and high-quality fats.
Consider adding the following supplements:
- Stress can deplete B vitamins, which are cofactors in estrogen metabolism.
- Magnesium is essential for adrenal health as well as elimination pathways.
- When the body is estrogen dominant, zinc levels can fall.
- Essential Fatty Acids are necessary for hormone production and the support of the endocrine system.
- Protein is required for all aspects of normal body functions, and protein deficiencies can result in hormonal imbalance.
Final words
Hormones are essential for proper body function. Hormonal imbalance can impair the body’s ability to perform even the most basic tasks. Hormones play a role in the regulation of metabolism, heart rate, sleep, reproductive function, sexual function, general growth, physical development, stress, and body temperature. Many health problems result from a lack of a balanced amount of hormones. Some can build up over time and cause chronic diseases. As a result, it is critical to actively respond to any symptom of hormonal imbalance.