Are Your Hormones Out of Balance?

By: Dr. Michael Morsillo, B.Sc., N.D.

Have you ever thought that you may have a hormonal imbalance?  Maybe there is a new symptom you have that can’t be explained; or perhaps you feel your once boundless vitality slowly slipping away, only to be explained by a shrug of the shoulders and a simple “I guess that’s just part of aging”?  I have had many patients with long-standing health issues caused by hormonal imbalances, which had never been identified.

Hormones are extremely important to our overall health and are often described as our “messengers” because our body uses hormones for communication.  For example, if our cells need to take in sugar from the blood stream, our pancreas will release insulin as a way of communicating this message.  This system is extremely intricate, involving an enormous amount of hormones delivered between cells that are constantly “talking” to each other.  When a hormonal imbalance occurs, it can become a major disruption for the body since it relies heavily on this communication system. Picture what would happen if all of the phones in Ontario stopped working.

A hormonal imbalance can have an effect on any area of the body, so there are a multitude of symptoms that can result.  The following is only a small selection of some of the more common hormonal imbalances.

Low progesterone is the most common hormone imbalance occurring in women.  There are many symptoms that can result from this, most commonly premenstrual symptoms (PMS), unexplained weight gain, poor sleep, anxiety, headaches, menstrual changes, and infertility.

Low estrogen is another hormonal imbalance often found in women, especially menopausal women.  Some of the more frequent symptoms of this imbalance will be hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, frequent bladder infections, and memory problems.

One of the most common hormonal deficiencies that goes largely unnoticed involves cortisol.  This is often termed “adrenal fatigue” or “adrenal insufficiency” because your adrenal glands are not keeping up with the demands being placed on them.  This imbalance is usually caused by chronic stress, which is why everyone should have this tested if they have not yet done so.

I would also like to mention thyroid hormone imbalances since it is so important to your overall health.  Although there are a large number of people diagnosed with “hypothyroidism”, I believe that there is an even greater amount of people who are suffering with “sub-optimal thyroid function”.  These people will have many symptoms of low thyroid function; however, test results will not reflect this or will appear “normal”.  There are many symptoms that can arise in this situation, the most common of which are fatigue, weight gain, constipation, memory issues or “foggy-headed” feeling, coarse hair or hair loss, and brittle nails.

If you have any symptoms that may be related to changes in hormone levels or if you have simply never had your hormone levels checked, then now would be a great time to do so.  At our Newmarket Naturopathic clinic, we will use saliva hormone testing to accurately detect hormonal imbalances.  We will then formulate a natural treatment plan to help bring these hormones back into balance over time.

Dr. Michael Morsillo is a naturopathic doctor who is passionate about helping others achieve their optimal level of health.  Michael maintains a clinical practice in Newmarket, where he focuses on cancer, anxiety, depression, thyroid disorders, detoxification, and weight loss. 

For more information or to schedule an appointment:

Call 905-898-1844 (ext. 135) or email dr.morsillo@gmail.com