By: Dr. Michael Morsillo, H.B.Sc., N.D.
Last week I gave a brief introduction to hormones – what they are and how important they can be for our health. If you missed that article, you can click here to access it on my website. Hormones are the main messengers in the body and they allow different parts of the body to communicate with each other. This communication allows the body to stay in sync and coordinate its actions.
Simply put – if your hormones are not in balance or if any of your hormones levels are too high or too low, your body is losing its ability to communicate effectively. This communication breakdown can lead to a wide array of symptoms, from fatigue to weight gain to depression to memory loss to low libido, and much more….all because of hormone imbalances.
If we strip away all the layers of complexity with hormones, I think the solution is really quite simple:
1) Be aware of what symptoms are suggestive of a hormonal imbalance.
2) Test your hormone levels to verify your assumptions.
3) Use natural treatments to restore hormonal balance.
Each of these steps are very important, so I’m actually going to discuss steps 2 and 3 separately over the next couple weeks.
The first step is awareness – how can we restore hormone imbalances if we don’t know what we’re looking for? It’s very common for hormonal imbalances to masquerade as some common health problems, so I’m always looking at the totality of a patient’s symptoms to determine if we might be dealing with a hormonal issue.
I’ll list some symptoms below that might suggest a few common hormonal imbalances. This is not an exhaustive list, it’s just meant to give you a better understanding of how much hormones are in charge of.
Low Estrogen:
Hot flashes, night sweats, irregular menstrual periods, fatigue, anxiety, depression, forgetfulness, insomnia, headaches, vaginal dryness, and more.
Low Progesterone:
Weight gain, decreased sex drive, breast tenderness, heavy periods, depression, anxiety, PMS, irregular menstrual cycles, infertility, acne, and more.
Low Thyroid Hormones:
Fatigue, constipation, cold intolerance, poor memory, weight gain, hair loss, dry skin, brittle nails, depression, elevated cholesterol levels, and more.
Elevated Cortisol Levels:
Weight gain, puffy face, acne, high blood pressure, anxiety, insomnia, muscle aches and pains, lowered bone density, poor immunity, frequent urination, and more.
See what I mean – these hormones are involved in just about every process in the body, so if one or more of them are imbalanced, it can have widespread consequences.
Take care and have a great week!
Dr. Michael Morsillo, H.B.Sc., N.D.
Newmarket Naturopathic Doctor
905-898-1844 ext. 135
dr.morsillo@gmail.com
www.drmorsillo.com