Hormone Health Part Three
Hormone Health Part Three is predominantly about how to eat well for hormone balance, as well as identifying the key nutrients, that we all tend to be deficient in, but are crucial for hormone health.
This article is the third in the series of articles about the importance of hormone balance. As with this article, The Introduction To Hormones has been published in the Wild As The Wind blog.
It’s not essential to read all of the articles in this series, nor is it necessary to read them in any order. But, there’s really valuable information in every article and so I recommend reading them all.
A lot of the information in these articles is really cutting edge, and so you aren’t going to get the insights that are presented in the Wild As The Wind Blog in a lot of other places. People have been publishing information on the internet for decades now, but there have been a lot of new discoveries made in the field of hormone balance in the last couple of years.
So, if you are going to rely on information published elsewhere, just remember to check the date.
Here’s the link to Hormones Part Two – Hormone Health Please share this article on social media and via email with anyone you feel can benefit from it. Thanks.
In this article:
- Causes Of Hormonal Imbalance
- Xenoestrogens
- Minerals & Hormone Balance
- Bath Salts
- Genetics & Hormonal Imbalance
- The Gut & Hormonal Imbalance
- Inflammation & Hormonal Imbalance
- Obesity & Hormonal Imbalance
- Toxicity & Hormonal Imbalance
- Insomnia, Obesity & Inflammation
- Diet & Hormonal Imbalance
Causes Of Hormonal Imbalance
As you will have realised by reading Hormone Health Part 1 and Hormone Balance Part 2, hormonal balance is a rarity these days. And, by contrast, hormonal imbalances are widespread as they are caused by a whole host of different causes.
Sadly, because of this there’s no single therapy that’s going to rectify our hormonal imbalances.
However, stress is one of the biggest causes… and this comes in various forms:
Mental & emotional stress: toxic relationships with family and friends , as well as the media and TV etc. Overworking, challenging deadlines and targets, being under-valued and underpaid as well as being given a lot of responsibility but very little power to make decisions to alieveate the sense of responsibility, (i.e being expected to work within a system that isn’t ideal and which invites criticism from the public, for which you have to apologise, without having the ability to change what’s wrong, so the story keeps on repeating.)
Physical stress: eating disorders, exercising excesses or insufficiencies, violent relationships etc…
Toxic stress: including environmental toxins and cosmetic toxins, as well as smoking, alcohol, most recreational drugs and pharmaceutical drugs etc…
Further Reading…
Stress Is The Cause Of All Illness
Wild As The Wind offer a number of essential oil based hormone balancing blends that are incredibly effective at helping to restore hormone balance.
The most common hormone disruptors are:
- Sustained use of perfumes and big brand skincare products
- Dietary deficiencies
- Sustained stress
- Associated medical issues
- Sustained environmental exposure to endocrine disruptors
*Genetics only accounts for about 5% of the story!
*95% of our hormone balance story is to do with what we eat, where we live and how we live!
Xenoestrogens
In each of the previous articles I have mentioned a number of environmental hormonal disruptors, or Xenoestrogens, and I promised to specifically mention some more in Hormone Health Part 3, so here goes…
- Children’s toys
- Adult toys (oh yes, ladies)
- Pharmaceuticals
- Textiles
- Tap water
- Everydyay cosmetics and personal care products – check for things like Parabens + Phthalates in the ingredients
- Artificial food additives
- Spin dryer sheets
Xenoestrogens have been extensively used in agriculture, manufacturing of resins, textiles, plastics, cosmetics, and insulation. They even arise as a consequence of industrial processes as a by-product.
Because hormones and neurotransmitters are the two ways in which the body communicates with itself the existence of foreign, synthetic oestrogens in our body means that the signalling going on, as a consequence, is often a stream of misinformation. The Xenoestrogens are lying to us on a systemic level and on a grand scale!
Not only that, but when Xenoestrogens latch onto receptor sites, they then refuse to let go… ever! Yes, that’s right, they cling onto the dwindling number of receptor sites and continue to whisper the same old lies to our body forever…!
Now do you see why we are in so much trouble?
But there are things we can do to get the Xenoestrogens to let go… it’s why Essential Oils are going to become indispensably critical for all of us in future… Although, truth be known, many of us have already realised they are already vitally important for the maintenance of our health and to achieve hormone balance!
You can refer to Hormone Health Part Two for a list of the essential oils to help rid our bodies of Xenoestrogens.
Or, look into the Wild As The Wind essential oil based hormone balancing blends to help you to restore your hormone balance.
Minerals & Hormone Balance
But for now, we need to take a look at mineral and vitamin deficiencies that are causing a whole host of hormone issues.
A hefty 90% of us are deficient in minerals. The main reason for this is they are missing from the soil due to mono-cropping. And, that includes mass produced organic food!
Without minerals our immune system is compromised, we lack energy, and our mood changes from sunny to cloudy pretty quickly. Our metabolism becomes pretty sluggish as all functions in the body become less efficient. Toxins begin to stack up and the potential for developing a serious illness goes up…
You can use products like Mineral Spritz to replenish the minerals we are losing daily through our sweat and elimination processes, as well as through smoking and eating too much sugar. Plus the phytic acid in grain based products, like bread, also rob the body of vitally important minerals, such as Magnesium, which 90% of us are deficient in.
*Mineral depletion is one of the key root causes of all disease.
There are also excellent, plant based, mineral supplements available on the market that are very effective.
Genetics & Hormonal Imbalance
The understanding of the role of genetics has advanced in recent years. Medical papers have been abuzz with the term ‘epigenetics’, all of which have been confounding the accepted wisdom around gene expression and revealing that we are all living in a genetic state of constant flux. This means our genes are frequently switching on and off depending on the stressors we are exposed to.
Our gene expression is extremely susceptible to stress, both physical and mental. The level of toxins in our environments, our diets, and how much movement / exercise we have in our lives etc are all critical to hormone balance and general health.
The Gut & Hormonal Imbalance
Is hormone balance a thing of the past?
Some of the major contributors to hormonal imbalances include some of the things we do every day, whether we do them actively or passively…
As mentioned in Hormone Health Part Two, the role of gut health is vital where our hormones are concerned. Because the gut regulates, as well as produces, hormones, things like food allergies and other gut problems, either brought on by mental stress or toxic overload etc, will wreak havoc with our endocrine system.
*The endocrine system is all of the parts of the body that form our hormonal system.
So, the low-down is that things like leaky gut and insufficient beneficial bacteria in the gut, along with things like SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), or an outgrowth of Candida Albicans etc, will make us more susceptible to developing hormonal problems, including skin outbreaks, hot flushes, chronic obesity, (often accompanied by an inability to lose weight), and diabetes etc.
But, perhaps more alarmingly, it can lead to breast cancer in the upper left quadrant, where 80% of breast cancers occur, which is where the gut drains!
Inflammation & Hormonal Imbalance
Did you know that inflammation affects hormone balance?
Inflammation usually starts in our gut and a domino effect occurs. Poor gut health, and the inflammation it creates, impacts on practically every aspect of our health.
Gut issues are reaching pandemic proportions! This is why so many of us are suffering from systemic inflammation… which is a very significant nail in our coffin.
Obesity & Hormonal Imbalance
Surely being overweight can’t affect hormone balance?
Being overweight is not a problem in itself, per sae… but, if you carry a lot of belly fat then you’re definitely in trouble… as you will read later on in this article, belly fat is capable of producing hormones all on it’s very ownsome!
Whilst obesity also tends to be an indicator of a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle, people who eat a poor diet who are active are also as likely to be in trouble… slim people can have inflammation too!
Hormone health Part Eight :: Weight Gain & Weight Loss Resistance is dedicated to this topic.
Toxicity & Hormonal Imbalance
High levels of inflammation are the result of elevated toxicity, which is caused by a number of stressors:
Physical stressors including, under-exercising, overworking, overeating, over-exercising, allergies and pathogens, such as viral, bacterial and fungal infections, and last but not least, hormonal imbalances born of environmental and dietary toxins etc…
Mental stressors, which include abusive relationships, too much pressure at work, concerns around family and friends, money worries, job insecurity, injustice, bereavement and noisy neighbours etc…as well as generally dealing with the information age, which is providing us with the unique pleasure of the trauma of information overload… This type of ‘overwhelm’ is often referred to timeline fatigue…
As well as the invisible toxins, like the synthetic hormones in our water supply and the heavy metals from pesticides and silver fillings, there’s the consciously consumed toxins in the form of cigarettes, alcohol, and copious amounts of sugar.
*Cigarettes also contain metals like Cadmium.
Other toxins, (including the 100k chemicals we’ve unleashed into our environment since the beginning of the 20th century as well as naturally occurring toxins such as lead and radon etc.)
Viruses, which are often chronically affecting our health because they hide behind heavy metals so we never get rid of them…
Insufficient sleep, which is a key symptom of the menopause, is also really debilitating and leads to a plethora of problems…
Are you getting the picture why hormone balance is so rare these days?
Insomnia, Obesity & Inflammation
An inability to get to sleep, or the propensity to wake up several times in the night can slow down our metabolisms, which predisposes us to put on stubborn fat, often on our bellies.
*Did you know that belly fat manufactures it’s own hormones independently?
On top of that, insomnia can elicit intense food cravings, which is why poor sleep can pretty much sabotage the healthy gains we make from eating a good, balanced organic diet.
So, basic sleep hygiene is a must for hormonal health as well as general health.
This includes:
- Avoiding blue screens for at least one hour before sleep. (Computers, mobile phones and television are all blue screens.
- Avoiding other sources of blue light, including recharging lights on digital and other battery driven devices, and any LED or strip lighting you have in your home.
- Sleeping in total blackness, so the room must be shrouded in darkness from the inside and out.
- Eliminating any exposure to WiFi
- Placing all devices, including mobiles and tablets, as well as gaming devices, in airplane mode before going to sleep.
- Switch off all computer equipment like laptops and desktops.
- Practice engaging the parasympathetic nervous system before going to bed. You can find out how to do this by reading the final section in Morning Detox Protocols.
- Practice telling your mind to be quiet when it attempts to fixate on problems that cannot be solved by worrying. The best thing you can ever do about your problems is have a great nights sleep!
- Using an ionic diffuser, (with the LED’s turned off), replete with Lavender Essential Oil, Hyssop Essential Oil or Clary Sage Essential Oil will also have a great effect on your ability to fall asleep. it’s all in the power of the purple flowers.
Find out all the steps for preparing for a good nights sleep in Evening Detox Protocols.
Don’t forget to check out the Wild As The Wind essential oil based hormone balancing blends to help you to restore your hormone balance in a purely natural way.
Diet & Hormonal Imbalance
Nutritional insufficiencies are also a key player in the endocrine conundrum… hormone balance really is a very fine balancing act…
I don’t want to rattle on about our depleted soil as I have mentioned it too often already, (just read Hormone Health Part Two for more info), but, suffice to say, there’s a lot of nutrients, vital to our hormonal health, which have been stolen from our soil in the last few decades due to intensive farming. These include iodine and selenium which are essential for Thyroid health, for example.
We are all pretty much deficient in magnesium these days as well… mainly due to the quantities of sugar we are consuming, a lot of it hidden in processed food, as well as from alcohol. *It’s important to remember processed carbs are converted into sugar immediately in the body, so white bread etc, is equivalent to eating sugar.
It’s also important to remember we lose minerals, as well as waste products, through the skin… so, excessive exercising or excessive water consumption, and even cigarette smoking can negatively impact magnesium levels.
I also believe that a nutrient we are all deficient in is vital to our hormonal health. This is Vitamin K2, and more specifically Vitamin K2 7.
We need Vitamin K2 to absorb other vital nutrients, like Vitamin D3 for example, but sadly, practically all of us are deficient in Vitamin K2.
Vitamin D3 is actually not a vitamin at all, even though we all refer to it as one… The reality is that Vitamin D3 is actually an hormone.
So… we cannot absorb Vitamin D3 without Vitamin K2.
Eating For Hormone Balance
The Vitamin K2 7 and Vitamin D connection is a big and extremely important subject, not least because it isn’t possible to get enough Vitamin K2 7 from the modern diet. So, I have devoted an entire article to the subject :: Eating For Hormone Balance.
In Eating For Hormone Balance you will learn:
- Vitamin K2 7
- Vitamin D3 & Vitamin K2 & Hormonal Imbalance
- Resolving The Vitamin K2 & Vitamin D3 Issue
- Health Benefits Of Healthy Fats
- Health Benefits Of Animal Proteins
- Anti-Inflammatory Fats
- Fat Doesn’t Make Us Fat
- How Vitamin K2 Is Made & Obtained
- Inflammation Causes Endocrine Disruption.
- Omega 3 Fatty Acids Reduce Inflammation
- Sources Of Omega 3 Fatty Acids
- Other Sources Of Omega 3
- Omega 6 & 9
- Hormone Health Part 4
- Hormone Imbalance Causes Stress, Anxiety & Depression
You can also find more information here: Vitamin D & Vitamin K
Disclaimer
The information provided is not intended to replace the medical directives of your healthcare provider. This information is not meant for the diagnosis of health issues. If you are pregnant, have serious or multiple health concerns, consult with your healthcare provider before using essential oils or associated products. If you experience any complications or adverse reactions contact your healthcare provider.
Deepen your knowledge by using the Wild As The Wind Recommended Resources
Another resource you may find useful can be found by following the link below. *Please note, I use sources from the Recommended Resources list as well as sources from the Healthcare and Skincare Information Sources list when researching articles for the Wild As The Wind Blog.
Best Healthcare and Skincare Information Sources.
Wild As The Wind use a number of resources when deciding which formulas to put together for optimal healing and efficacy, as well as to support any health claims we may make.
We owe a particular debt to GreenMedInfo
Jannine Mrs Mullin says
Amazing information l shall certainly be reviewing my diet and include more vitamin K2. Look forward to feeling rejuvenated in every way!! Keep giving us all your essential information.