Your Hormones: Finding Balance for the Modern-Day Woman

Photo by nappy

Presented by Rhiannon Lytle, RHN with Organika (source: Full Webinar)

Tags: adrenal glands, cortisol, hormones, thyroid, stress

Our hormones are all connected!

  • All our hormones affect each other!
    • When one is out of balance, the others can be too
      • E.g., high stress can lead to other things that can cause hormone, mood and gut disruption
  • Our hormones are usually controlled by a “feedback loop” that turns hormone production on and off based on hormone levels in the body
  • Women work on a 28-ish day hormone cycle during childbearing years
    • However, we’ve been trained to work against our own cycle and follow the 24-hour clock that men live by

Caveman Days vs. Today

  • Humans were hunter-gathers back in the caveman days: Experienced stress to respond with “fight or flight” when being hunted or chased
  • Today we experience a lot more stress compared to caveman days: Our body doesn’t distinguish between the different type of stress. For example:
    • Driving a car (constantly needing to be alert)
    • Running (e.g., high-impact)
    • Having children (birth)
    • Getting a promotion (more responsibility)
    • Grocery shopping
    • Moving
    • Eating on the run

Other Forms of Modern-Day Stress

  • Dietary
  • Chemical (e.g., things put onto body or ingested)
  • Physical
  • Relational
  • Lifestyle habits
  • Financial
  • Sleep (the forefront of cortisol: our stress hormone)

How Stress Hormones Work

  • Cortisol (stress hormone) is released by our adrenal glands
  • Cortisol helps to control hunger cravings, digestion (which can be off balance when high stress), blood pressure, sleep/wake cycle, and our ability to deal with stress
    • Also increases our blood glucose to expend as energy (to hunt or run). Excess gets stored in the liver to use later! However, most of us aren’t using the extra energy that is being stored away.
    • Raises our blood pressure to increase oxygen to the brain and promote clear thinking
  • Today, we’re constantly stressed

Why am I So Exhausted?

  • When our cortisol is consistently high, our main hormone signaller doesn’t slow down
  • This overactivity can deplete our feel-good neurotransmitter (serotonin: happy hormone, norepinephrine and dopamine)
  • This overactivity leads to exhaustion and adrenal fatigue/dysregulation

What are my Adrenal Glands?

  • Small glands located on top of each kidney (about the size of a walnut)
  • They produce hormones that you can’t live without, including sex hormones and cortisol
  • DHEA hormone:
    • Produced in the adrenal gland
    • Helps with estrogen and testosterone production
    • Naturally decreases with age
    • When under stress, we produce and release short bursts of cortisol into the bloodstream (instead of making essential sex hormones and neurotransmitters)

Symptoms of Adrenal Imbalance

  • Wired by tired feeling (low energy/tiredness, lethargy)
  • Waking in the night between 1am-4am
  • Dizzy when standing up
  • Difficulty waking in the morning, hitting snooze often
  • Low sex drive
  • Increased PMS
  • Not waking up until 10am
  • Afternoon low between 3-4pm, feel better after evening meal
  • Low productivity
  • Restless leg syndrome, eye twitches, muscle cramps

Our Hormones Through Aging

  • Perimenopause: the lead-up to menopause (lasting 10-15 years), when our hormones begin to shift
    • We may have more symptoms during perimenopause than menopause itself
  • Our thyroid gland can become more sluggish with age
    • Estimated that around 1/10 Canadians deal with thyroid concerns
    • This slows down our metabolism, increases weight, and changes mood
  • Our resilience to stress can also decrease
  • Our estrogen levels start to decline which can trigger more cravings and increased appetite

Thyroid

  • Thyroid imbalances can lead to:
    • Hair loss
    • Breathing issues
    • Constipation
    • Fertility issues and irregular menstrual cycles
    • Feeling cold
    • Sadness, moodiness and depression
    • Elevated cholesterol
    • Weight gain (lower thyroid function)/loss (overactive thyroid), but can vary
    • Energy inconsistencies (too, tired, too wired)

The Importance of Loving Your Liver

  • The liver is a very important organ and gland in our body with over 500 roles it fills on an ongoing basis
  • A master detox organ, helping to flush out extra toxins and hormones that can lead to imbalances, fatigue and frustration
  • Good liver health helps to support thyroid, ovaries and adrenals

What’s a girl to do?

  • Start loving your hormones when you’re young!
    • We’re conditioned to see our cycles as a burden, not a blessing It’s time to change that narrative for the next generation to learn more about it and to have more information.
  • Include liver-loving foods:
    • Brassica vegetables
    • Dark leafy greens
    • Bitter foods
  • Find a stress management technique that works for you:
    • Mindful breathing
    • Reduce caffeine intake (start small)
    • Try journaling
    • Writing out to-do lists
    • Get in nature
    • Try acupuncture
  • Eating healthy fats each meal to balance blood sugar

Adaptogens to the Rescue!

  • There are some beautiful herbs that support the adrenal glands such as Ashwagandha and Maca
    • Maca: balances hormones; start small, especially if you have underlying anxiety; helps sleep; increases male sperm count
  • Adaptogens may help support chronic stress
  • Adaptogens help us to find “homeostasis” (balance)

Mood

  • 100% organic ashwagandha root powder
  • Helps the body adapt to stress
  • Hormonal regulator, immunomodulator
  • Nootropic, enhances memory
  • Anti-inflammatory
  • Improves sleep
  • Calming, balancing, decreases stress
  • Is a great addition to your morning coffee or smoothie

Magnesium

  • Stress can cause you to lose more magnesium through the urine than is normal
  • Stress also causes us to lose sleep, and lost sleep causes stress!
  • E.g., magnesium citrate can help promote bowl movement

Milk Thistle

  • Traditionally used in Herbal Medicine to protect and support the liver and its abundant functions
  • The flavonoid silymarin the main active phytonutrient in milk thistle. It is found at the highest concentrations in the black seeds with the milk thistle flower

Absolute Iron

  • Iron bisglycinate supplement – the most readily absorbed form of vegan iron
  • Supportive for thyroid issues, fatigue associated with iron deficient

Recipes

More from Organika

WEBSITE DISCLAIMER

This website is provided only for informational purposes and not intended to be used to replace professional advice, treatment or professional care. Always speak to your physician, healthcare provider or pediatrician if you have concerns about your own health or the health of a child.