Female Hormones
Female hormones include estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen causes you to have a female shape and progesterone helps to maintain pregnancy. These hormones cycle in a predictable manner to produce the monthly menstrual cycle, and they are very important after menopause as well. Women also have a small amount of testosterone that is important for their health.
These sex hormones are important for every aspect of health. They affect a woman’s fertility, risk of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and more.
Frequent signs of hormone imbalance for menstruating women include:
· Alternating menstrual cycle length
· Menstrual cycle longer than 32 days or shorter than 24 days.
· Pain and cramping during periods
· Scanty blood flow or heavy blood flow
· Breast pain and swelling during or before menses
· Irritable and depressed during or before menses
· Acne
· Facial hair growth
· Hair loss or thinning
Frequent signs of hormone imbalance for menopausal women include:
· Hot flashes
· Mental fogginess
· Disinterest in sex
· Depression or mood swings
· Painful intercourse
· Shrinking breasts
· Facial hair growth
· Acne
· Vaginal pain, dryness, or itching
Premenstrual Syndrome
Many women complain of any number of problems that get worse in the week before menses. These problems are often referred to as PMS, or premenstrual syndrome. PMS is frequently due to an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone, which in turn might be due to dysbiosis in the colon, problems with the liver, adrenal stress or insulin resistance.
Natural treatment for PMS includes improving colon function (Your Colon and Your Health), improving liver function (Your Liver and Your Hormones), addressing blood sugar issues (Manage Your Blood Sugar) and normalizing adrenal stress reactions (Stress and Your Hormones)
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Menopause
Many women going thru menopause experience hot flashes, sleep disturbance, and depression or irritability. These symptoms are frequently caused by adrenal problems. Before menopause the major source of your sex hormones are your ovaries. After menopause it is your adrenal glands. When your adrenal glands function well, the transition through menopause is usually smooth. Read Stress and Your Hormones for more information.
After Menopause
Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone continue to be important after menopause. Scientists have identified more than 900 functions for estrogen and progesterone and most of these are not directly related to sexual or reproductive function. The balance of sex hormones has effects on cardiovascular health, cancer resistance, and more. I recommend a yearly Female Hormone Panel for every woman who is postmenopausal. See the article Measuring Hormones.
Birth control pills
Birth control pills are stressful for your body. They override your body’s system for regulating its hormones, and it takes months or years to recover normal function after you stop taking the pill. I recommend using other forms of contraception. If you do use birth control pills for contraception, take nutritional support to help your liver break down the excess hormones.
Birth control pills should never be prescribed for irregular periods, PMS, or any other symptoms of hormone imbalance. They overpower your body’s natural rhythms and do nothing to address the underlying problems. Read The Pituitary Gland for more information.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Hormone Replacement Therapy, or HRT, means taking hormones by mouth or through a patch to replace hormones that are deficient because of age or an endocrine problem. HRT, as it is commonly practiced, has many problems. The largest long-term study on the conventional practice of HRT (the Women’s Health Initiative) was halted years before it was scheduled to end when it became apparent that the standard practice of HRT has so many negative side effects. The Women’s Health Initiative study used synthetic hormones that are different than the natural hormones in your body. Bio-identical hormones, identical to the ones in your body, are safer and more effective than synthetic hormones. Most conventional doctors do not prescribe bio-identical hormones because they learn about drugs from pharmaceutical companies, and pharmaceutical companies can only patent synthetic hormones, not bio-identical ones.
Hormone Replacement Therapy, even with bio-identical hormones, should always be a last resort. It is preferable to help your body make it own hormones. When replacement therapy is advisable, use bio-identical hormones and monitor your hormone levels with lab tests. The method of delivery is important as well. Oral, topical and sublingual forms of delivery each have advantages and disadvantages. I’ll coach you about the type of delivery that is best for you.
