Hormone Balancing, What You Need To Know!
It's become very clear in the last little while that most women bodies assigned at birth have been taught that period symptoms that are common, are normal.
Sadly, it's not!
Heavy bleeding, large blood clots, unbearable cramping and painful swollen breast right before her grand arrival are clear signs that something is not fully right! (I wish that someone told me years ago).
I discovered a few years ago that I was struggling with hormonal imbalances by chance! My incessant desire to chew on ice cubes and a quick visit with my doctor lead me to the awareness that I had some severe health conditions that needed to be attended to, and they all started with the almighty dance of the hormones!
When I was 14 I was prescribed the birth control pill to help manage my excessive bleeding and I at the time I thought this was a wonderful solution! Except that I was never given any guidance, I never took a break and I continued on popping the pill believing that I was resolving all of the issues I once had.
At the age of 25 I became very interested in the idea of natural wellness and that's when all hell broke loose (in a scary but overall good way). I started to change all of my habits and one of those was finally releasing the birth control pill from my daily intake. In hindsight, it felt like an awful time - my skin went crazy with acne, my periods once again became unbearable and I was faced with dangerously low haemoglobin and anemia. So, in essence - going on the pill in my case was a temporary bandaid solution to a condition that could not be resolved by suppressing or changing my hormone production with drugs. ESPECIALLY since that prescription meant increasing my estrogen levels!
Had I known then what I know now, life's trajectory would have been very different. But here I am, and my purpose is to show you that there is a better way!
There are many factors the influence the imbalance of our hormones - stress, genetics, environmental
And all of these can work together and create hormonal havoc!
When we are under continual stress, we are not giving our body the opportunity to relax. Stress can influence us in a multitude of ways - physically, mentally and emotionally. This can lead to decreased sleep, poor appetite and guess what else? A decrease in the functioning of our reproductive system. Being under inescapable stress also puts strain on our hearts, increases our breathing rate and exhausts our adrenal glands - a key endocrine gland for proper hormone balance, especially when we move into menopause.
So you may be wondering, what can we do? Well, I've composed a list of simple answers to this question!
Reduce xenoestrogens in your home - purchase natural cleaning products, chemical free laundry detergent, phthalate free skin care, body and hair care products. If you are a meat eater, you will want to purchase hormonal free meats and non farmed fish.
Support the adrenals with Adaptogenic plants - they will help your body to 'adapt' or cope with stress by supporting the natural body systems and creating an environment in the body that better serves you.
Manage your liver health - the liver breaks down and also produces some of our hormones, it's considered to be an endocrine gland and does over 500 jobs in the body. If the liver is stagnant and unhealthy, hormones will lay around in the body and form imbalances. Eating an apple every day will support the liver, give you fibre, hydrate the body, enhances mineral absorption and so much more! You can also supplement with liver herbal ally tinctures like dandelion, milk thistle, elecampane, licorice root, chicory root.
Rest at night when cortisol (stress hormones) should be decreasing - keeping the cortisol levels low at night will allow for restful sleep and it will give your adrenals a break!
Ensure that you are receiving adequate nutrition - add estrogenic lowering foods like berries, carrots, dried beans, lentils, chickpeas, grapefruit, fermented soy, olive oil, pears, rice bran, wild yam, sesame seed, wheat germ and barley
Support your estrogen levels with herbal tinctures like vitex, black cohosh (when in menopause), maca root, rhodiola, siberian ginseng, dong quai, schizandra, evening primrose oil, borage oil
Get adequate exercise a few times a week to stimulate the lymphatic system (our body's main filtration system) or dry brushing daily!
The ride to hormonal balance is tricky and can take many, many years to get in check. Our hormones are complex and the work requires patience and dedication. There are many factors to consider but this journey will light the way to many healthy days ahead - hormonal imbalances that are not treated can result in thyroid conditions, anemia, hysterectomy, adrenal fatigue, reproductive conditions, cancer and more.
I'm hoping that this information is helpful, I wish you well on your journey (believe me it's well worth it!)
For more information and support, please email Alessandra at info@heallabherbals.com
