Hormone Imbalance

When many of us hear of hormone imbalance, we are immediately drawn to think of menopause. However, there are various factors that could affect your body’s chemistry and your lifestyle, pregnancy or medication could be the culprits. When we talk about your lifestyle being a cause, we are looking at things such as a poor diet especially one that comes with a high intake of calories, lack of exercise, poor sleeping habits and stress as well. Knowing the cause can help you correct your hormonal levels. Both medical treatments and home remedies can treat hormone imbalance, among which home remedies are especially important.

Major Signs of Hormone Imbalance

There are various signs that could be an indicator of hormone imbalance and these include: irritability and mood swings, inexplicable muscle loss or weight gain, depression, insomnia, memory lapses, impaired immunity, endless fatigue, acne breakout, aching joints and low sex drive just to mention a few.

Watch a video for more about causes and symptoms of hormone imbalance:

Home Remedies for Hormone Imbalance

1. Limit Caffeine

We’ve all heard that too much caffeine is not good for you. Excessive consumption of caffeinated drinks could cause problems in your endocrine system especially when there are other hormonal stress factors present.

2. Avoid Toxins

Toxins are present in the everyday household products we use, plastics, pesticides and they could also be found in our mattresses. We recommend cooking in non-stick or glass pans and you can also avoid plastic containers. Also consume meat and organic produce to avoid pesticides and other chemicals. When it comes to cleaning, go for organic cleaners.

3. Get Enough Sleep

Insufficient sleep leads to hormonal imbalances and you can improve your hormonal levels by simply getting the rest you deserve.

4. Exercise Properly

Exercise is essential but it should be done correctly. Balance out your exercise regime and avoid sudden bursts of highly intensive workouts.

5. Change Your Diet

Balance hormones in women

A well balanced diet could help you balance out your hormonal levels.

Omega-3 fatty acid. You need to eat foods that help develop healthy cell membranes and omega-3 is one of them. Good sources of omega-3 include fish such as salmon, oysters, trout, tuna and sardines. You also could include eggs and walnuts into your diet.
Zinc helps in testosterone production and great sources of zinc include meats such as beef, lamb and veal, peanuts and dark chocolate as well.
Fiber is also very important in your diet and you need to eat high-fiber foods such as raw fruit and vegetables and whole grains. Fiber clears out the system helping you balance your body chemistry. Like we mentioned earlier, it’s best to avoid or control caffeine intake. Alcohol should also be avoided and studies actually indicate that excessive use of both could lead to premenstrual hormonal imbalance

Balance hormones in men

Carbohydrates and omega-3 fatty acid. Men should eat carbohydrates and meat so as to furnish the body with energy. These also encourage hormone production but you need to go for low-fat meats and seafood so as to consume some omega-3. When it comes to carbs, we recommend grains rich in fiber.
Less caffeine and sugar. You should also avoid excessive consumption of dairy products, caffeine and sugar. These make the body sluggish and it could struggle to produce the essential hormones.

6. Reduce Stress

Elevated stress levels lead to increased cortisol levels which could increase the estrogen or testosterone levels. As a result, men could suffer from a reduction in the sex hormone while women could have low serotonin levels which have been linked to mood swings. Reducing your stress levels could help balance out your hormones.

There are also natural ways to reduce your hormonal imbalance and homeopathic medicine is one of them. There are a good number of non-toxic natural therapies which help the body to heal from the inside, out and these mainly incorporate a healthy lifestyle with a proper diet and exercise. You can check out this video for more information.

Medical Treatments for Hormone Imbalance

Hormonal imbalance can be linked to various health conditions and this should be cause for concern. You need to understand that all hormones have a role to play and knowing the role of each hormone can help you identify what is lacking based on the changes in your bodily functions.

Understanding Different Types of Hormones

Estrogen is responsible for your metabolism and is the primary sex hormone for women.
Progesterone on the other hand is the hormone responsible for pregnancy.
Both hormones are also present in men and estrogen helps in regulating libido and sperm maturity while progesterone balances the male estrogen levels.
Prolactin plays a crucial role in the immune response and excess prolactin in men could lead to a reduction in testosterone.
Ÿ In women, prolactin is responsible for the development of mammary glands for lactation and it also helps the fetus develop.
Dihydrotesterone or DHT is responsible for the development of male genitalia and its deficiency is often identified before and during puberty with underdevelopment of genitalia. It could cause infertility in adults.

Medical treatments vary and you can supplement your hormones with hormone replacement therapy or medication.

Balance Hormones in Women

Women can be given oral contraceptives to help balance low progesterone levels and high estrogen levels. Anti-depressants are also used to reduce some of the symptoms associated with hormone imbalance and also to balance the serotonin levels which are known to drop with lowered estrogen levels. Menopausal hormone replacement therapy also could be prescribed.

Balance Hormones in Men

Men can counter hormonal imbalances with prescription hormone replacement therapy and this is usually prescribed in severe cases. Testosterone injections could also be used to help balance testosterone levels and long term treatment could be necessary if the hormonal levels continue to lower. Over-the-counter hormone supplements are not easy to come by for men and hormone replacement therapy could come in handy especially when one has insufficient estrogen or progesterone production.