Hormonal Imbalance

Contrary to some widely held beliefs, it is not only teenagers that are subjected to chaotic hormonal changes as experienced during puberty. In fact, women of all ages experience many hormone changes throughout the course of their lives. Consequently, it is important to understand how hormone levels can affect the female body before, during and after menopause.

What is hormonal imbalance

Put simply, hormonal imbalance is when the body produces too much or too little of a certain hormone or group of hormones. Hormones interact with every cell of the body. An increase or decrease of a hormone can easily cause illness and discomfort.

Hormonal imbalance in women is most commonly caused by an unequal relationship between estrogen and progesterone levels in the body. The symptoms of hormone imbalance tend to increase as a woman ages, tending to be especially prominent during menopause.

Factors such as stress, body weight, time of day, time of the month, and prescribed medications can all cause temporary changes and imbalance to a woman’s hormone levels. Keep reading below to learn about the different causes of hormonal imbalance.

Causes of hormone imbalance

The symptoms of hormonal imbalance can be caused by a multitude of factors. Mainly, the reasonis that there is fundamentally imbalanced relationship between progesterone and estrogen levels in a woman’s body.

These two hormones must co-exist peacefully in a perfect balance, because any variations and changes can have a dramatic effect on a woman’s health, thereby causing the onset of a host of unhealthy symptoms.

When there is no ovulation the production of progesterone from the ovaries does not occur. As a direct result, the healthy accepted levels of progesterone start to decline.

This means that ovaries may not produce the eggs that have to be fertilized every month, and as a natural consequence, the estrogen levels start to increase. This is one of the main causes of hormonal imbalance in a woman’s body.

Aside from this, there are other causes of hormonal imbalance as outlined below:

• Birth control pills.- Although declared safe by the FDA, the pill is made out of estrogen, causing many women to have abnormal reactions. The Pill can also cause low progesterone levels, leading to hormone imbalance.

• Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).- A combination of synthetic hormones, as well as estrogen, to alleviate menopause symptoms. If administered incorrectly, it can lead to hormonal imbalance.

• Poor Diet.- Low consumption of natural vitamins and nutrients also leads to hormonal imbalance.

• Environmental Reasons.- Stress or pollution from everyday life.

• Estrogen exposure. Consumption of non-organic or animal products with elevate estrogen levels can affect the body’s own levels.

• Cosmetics.- Some nail polish brands or hair products include estrogen in their chemical components.

Types of Hormonal Imbalance

More likely to occur during puberty and menopause, truth is that hormonal imbalances can arise at any age. There are quite a few serious medical conditions associated with hormonal imbalance including: polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, breast disease, and menstrual abnormalities.

The following are the most common types of hormonal imbalances:

Adrenal Imbalance.- In females, the adrenal glands are the primary source of testosterone. If imbalanced, the adrenal system can cause irregularities in a woman nervous and immune systems, blood sugar and body composition.

Thyroid Function Imbalance.- Because thyroid hormones regulate the body’s metabolism, symptoms of their imbalance are wide-ranging and could involve various bodily functions.

Insulin Imbalance.- The conditions linked to insulin and glucose imbalances are chronic stress, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.

Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency.- Lack of this hormone has been related to poor muscle tone, weight gain, low energy levels, and cardiovascular changes.

Fortunately, there are different suitable treatment options to relieve symptoms of hormonal imbalance; however, before deciding what to do, it is important to get an adequate diagnose of the type of hormonal imbalance. Click on the following link to find out more about hormonal imbalance tests.

Hormonal Imbalance Treatments

All of the mentioned sex hormones are at risk of becoming imbalanced and unstable in the female body, finally leading to troubling symptoms. Follow the link to learn more about possible treatments for hormonal imbalance.

Visit the different sections about hormones

Read up-to-date articles about natural hormones