Signs of Hormone Imbalance
Think you may have a hormonal imbalance? Hormone imbalance can present itself in a variety of ways. Common signs that you may have a hormone imbalance are: unexplained fatigue, trouble sleeping, severe PMS, difficulty getting pregnant, anxiety, acne, hair loss, low libido, weight gain, and irregular periods.
How to Stabilize Your Hormones
From meditation to hormone replacement therapy, there are many ways to stabilize your hormones. One of the first and most important ways is through a healthy diet.
Unhealthy fats and sugar wreak havoc on our hormones. A diet with hormone supportive foods is essential. Foods containing healthy Omega 3s and 6s provide the building blocks for hormones. Brightly colored fruits and vegetables and dark leafy greens contain antioxidants which support the hormonal detox pathways.
Symptoms of Hormone Imbalance
Because hormones direct every aspect of our lives, there are many possible symptoms. Hormones regulate your sleep, metabolism, mood, heart, reproduction, energy, and more. Symptoms include but are not limited to: insomnia, fatigue, weight gain, depression, anxiety, low libido, acne, heart palpitations. Each hormone when out of balance, whether deficient or in excess, has its own presentation of symptoms.
Sex Hormones
There are three types of sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone. All men and women have them. Women have more estrogen and men more testosterone. Both men and women have progesterone.
Estrogen Imbalance Symptoms
For women, the first effects of estrogen occur in adolescence with the development of breasts, more body fat, ovulation, periods, and strong bones. Estrogen stimulates growth hormone, making girls grow tall.
Estrogen is a great thing for giving us curves and strong bones, but when too high, estrogen dominance wreaks havoc on fertility and moods. When too low: lack of periods, early menopause, perimenopause, and menopause. High and low estrogen makes women gain weight, especially around the middle.
Men need a little estrogen too but in very small amounts. When estrogen is too low or too high in men, it can result in erectile dysfunction. Other effects of high estrogen in men is gynecomastia (enlarged breasts) and infertility.
As estrogen is so important in women, let’s detail the symptoms of low estrogen in women.