Six reasons your hormones are out of balance

In one to one nutritional therapy sessions, our focus is on trying to understand why your hormones have got out of balance. We then try to get them back in balance with diet, supplements and lifestyle changes.

There are a number of different reasons why our hormones can get out of balance, which will be unique to each individual. But here are some of the common reasons I see:

Stress

This is probably one of the biggest reasons I see. When we are stressed, we pump out cortisol, our stress hormone. Cortisol needs many of the same raw materials as progesterone, one of our sex hormones. Because cortisol is our dominant hormone designed to keep us out of danger, those raw materials will always be prioritised to make cortisol. This means there isn’t always enough around to make progesterone and so our levels can fall – this can contribute to some of the symptoms experienced in perimenopause. This also means that oestrogen, our other main sex hormone is now the dominant hormone. This oestrogen dominance can lead to conditions like endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, PCOS and PMS. Hence stress management is a big part of hormone balance.

Gut health

There is a link between gut health and hormone health. One of the main ways we see this is through constipation. Our used hormones go to the gut ready to be got rid of in a bowel movement. If we are constipated, those used hormones are sitting around for longer than needed. Sometimes they can get re-absorbed pack into the body, so unbalancing our hormone levels. Therefore, working on gut health and in particular, reducing constipation can help re-balance hormones.

Blood sugar levels

The higher our blood sugar levels go, the more this increases oestrogen levels. This is not good if you have conditions like endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, PCOS or PMS as we are making the problem worse. Making sure blood sugar levels are balanced in the diet can help manage oestrogen levels.

The liver is struggling.

The liver breaks down our used hormones. We need the liver to do this as quickly and safely as possible so we can get those hormones out of circulation. If the liver is struggling, this may be adding to your hormone problems, so we need to get some liver support in place.

Not eating enough calories

We need to eat a healthy amount of calories for our bodies to produce hormones. If the body thinks it is in starvation mode, it will prioritise things it needs to do to keep you alive, and hormone production may drop off the list of priorities.

Having healthy fats in the diet

We’ve often been told that fats are bad for us. But we need essential fats to make hormones. Getting the right types of fat in your diet can help keep your hormones balanced.

These are all things that respond really well to nutritional therapy. Getting the right diet and lifestyle factors can place can help reduce PMS, perimenopause symptoms and help manage PCOS, fibroids, adenomyosis and endometriosis.

If you would like some help in identifying the things that may be driving your hormone imbalance and getting a plan in place to get some balance back, then do book in for a free hormone health review to find out more about one of my three month nutrition programmes designed to get your hormones back in balance.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this blog  are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this blog. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this blog. Emma Belton Nutrition disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this blog.