Naperville Integrated Wellness
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Functional Medicine Health Pyramid # 7 Hormones
How to balance your hormones?
Do you feel as if your hormones are ‘out of whack’? Do you suffer from symptoms associated with an imbalance of hormones? Common hormone imbalance symptoms for females include the following: acne, missed periods or abnormal menstruation, excessive hair growth or hair loss, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, infertility, or obesity. Common symptoms for male hormone imbalance include the following: fatigue, anxiety and depression, difficulty concentrating, poor exercise tolerance, low sex drive. Hormonal imbalance is a common problem today and can be due to a variety of causes. You will notice that I have placed HORMONES at Level #7 of the Functional Medicine Health Pyramid (FMHP). Women tend to suffer from hormone problems more than men do, but in many instances the cause of imbalance is the same in men and women. In men, the testicles are making hormones and in women the ovaries are. Female hormone balance is a bit more complex, so I will make it the focus of this article. Your ovaries make most of your hormones until menopause, at which point your adrenal glands become your major source of hormone production. In either case, whether it be the ovaries or the adrenal glands, these organs are under the control of your pituitary gland. Your pituitary is called the “master gland” because its hormones tell your ovaries, thyroid, and adrenal glands to make their respective hormones. But even the master gland has a master, and that would be your brain…more specifically your hypothalamus. It has been referred to as the “master switchboard.” So, hormone regulation really begins in the brain. You might be asking why I would put BRAIN #8 above Hormones #7. This is because the brain is affected greatly by the health of the Digestive system (Level #1) and Inflammation (Level #4). This is why I have set up the FMHP this way. As you address the lower levels of the pyramid, it affects the levels above it. Hormone balance is not only about producing hormones, but also about keeping them in balance and removing excess hormones from your body. Let’s look at an example of a common hormone-based complaint I hear about from women, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS). This condition is characterized by mood swings and irritability or anger, tension or anxiety, depressed mood, crying spells, appetite changes and food cravings, trouble falling asleep (insomnia), social withdrawal, poor concentration, cramping and other physical discomfort, exhaustion, and general malaise. Many of these symptoms are experienced in the week to two weeks prior to the menstrual cycle that often increase in intensity as the cycle approaches. The more intense the symptoms of PMS the more likely there are imbalances in the systems below hormones on the FMHP. Relieving PMS symptoms requires addressing the lower levels of the pyramid. The standard approach to care for any of the above symptoms may include anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medication, NSAIDs or other pain relievers, sleeping pills, caffeinated beverages to combat fatigue, etc. Many of these ‘solutions’ are a temporary fix and often perpetuate the problem they seek to solve. A functional medicine approach to balancing your hormones will evaluate the other systems/functions in the body to address the root cause of your symptoms. As you restore optimal function to the levels below HORMONES on the pyramid, you are restoring the systems that are involved in the regulation of hormone production and balance. If you have problems with digestion, then you would start there…Level #1. With the help of a functional medicine doctor who understands these relationships, you can start getting your body and hormones back into balance. In my next article I will be covering Brain Health which I have placed at Level #8 of the FMHP. I hope you have found value in this information. I wish you health, happiness and a better quality of life! If you would like more information about functional medicine and integrative medicine or Dr. Borkowski go to napervilleintegratedwellness.com See our Google reviews Contact us today to learn more about functional medicine! Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information, you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today, even from the most respected sources and organizations. This approach to healthcare is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease. Why? The FDA enforces its position that these words can only be used with drugs. This approach does not use drugs.
This is because all the Levels below hormones on the health pyramid can be a root cause for hormone imbalances. Today, the hormones I am referring to include Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone.
Common Hormone-Based Symptoms
How to balance your hormones