How Hormones Affect Your Health

As we grow, our bodies succumb to natural changes, which can cause our hormones to become imbalanced. Certain lifestyle factors can also contribute to hormone imbalances.

Hormones have a powerful effect on your health, and when imbalanced, can contribute to many negative factors, including digestion issues, increased blood sugar, unexplained weight gain, fatigue, depression, and menstrual cycle difficulties.

6 Major Hormones That Affect Your Health

There are six major hormones that affect your health, which include:

Estrogen

Commonly known as the female hormone, males have a small amount present in their bodies as well. At regular levels, estrogen helps to regulate female reproductive cycles. It also impacts how fat is stored in the body in both females and males.

Testosterone

Testosterone is most commonly related to men; however, women carry small traces of the hormone as well. Though it is stored in the body differently, at balanced levels, testosterone helps increase muscle mass and strength in both men and women and could even increase brain function.

Growth Hormone

Growth hormone is closely similar to testosterone. This hormone is produced by the pituitary gland and helps decrease body fat and increase muscle mass.

Insulin

Insulin, most commonly known for its role in diabetes, is actually important for maintaining a healthy metabolism. This anabolic hormone helps the body build complex molecules. When you consume food, the carbohydrates in your food enters the bloodstream, at which time, your body releases insulin which prepares your cells to uptake blood sugar, or glucose, which helps build up their energy storage while keeping blood sugar in balance.

Cortisol

Cortisol controls energy levels when we become stressed. During periods of stress, our bodies break down protein and release glucose into the blood stream. This increase in energy is meant to help us escape danger or recover from intense effort.

Thyroid Hormones

Thyroid hormones, which include thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), control metabolism and act on almost all the organs throughout the body, including the gut and viscera.

How Hormones Affect Your Health

Hormones are responsible for regulating many functions in the body, which when imbalanced, can have a negative effect on your health.

Hormones and Digestion

Digestive problems related to hormonal imbalances are generally caused by an under or over active thyroid or estrogen dominance. Too much or too little thyroid hormone can cause constipation and diarrhea. Estrogen dominance causes sex hormone imbalances in women, which can also contribute to digestive issues and is usually linked to one of the following phases: premenstrual syndrome (PMS), menstruation, ovarian cysts, fibroids, endometriosis, perimenopause, or menopause.

Hormones and Blood Sugar

Insulin, cortisol, and growth hormones are among the many hormones that make your blood sugar rise. Under normal conditions, these hormones counterbalance the effect of insulin on fat cells and muscles; however, at elevated levels, they can cause insulin resistance.

Hormones and Unexplained Weight Gain

Typically, excess fat in males helps turn testosterone into estradial, a form of estrogen. In women, a similar process occurs. Excess fat converts testosterone-like hormones to estrogen. An imbalance in estrogen can lead to more fat storage in both females and males, especially around the abdomen. High levels of cortisol have also been linked to increased belly fat.

Hormones and Fatigue

Low testosterone levels have been linked to fatigue, lack of energy, disrupted sleep patterns, and muscle weakness in both men and women. Stress, diets high in carbohydrates, excess estrogen, and excess weight have all been known to cause low testosterone.

Hormones and Depression

Testosterone plays a vital role in mood regulation in the body. Low testosterone levels have been linked to bouts of depression, unexplained mood swings, and general low mood in both men and women. Low estrogen and progesterone levels in menopause can also cause depression. Estrogen boosts serotonin and raises endorphins, which promotes sleep and helps you feel good, while progesterone helps balance estrogen.

Hormones and Menstrual Difficulties

The menstrual cycle is governed by estrogen and progesterone, which is responsible for thickening the lining of the uterus each month to prepare it to receive a fertilized egg. If any of the hormones involved in the menstrual cycle are imbalanced, it can result in irregular or missed periods.

Though hormones have a powerful effect on your body, the good news is that proper nutrition, regular exercise, and adequate sleep can go a long way towards keeping your hormone levels in check. In certain instances, such as amenorrhea, or the absence of menstrual periods, male and female infertility, early menopause, menopause, and hormonal related sexual dysfunction in both men and women, hormone replacement therapy, which includes estrogen and progesterone replacement in women and testosterone replacement in men, can be used to restore hormonal balance.

About the Author

Dr. Donna Sergi is a leading Nutrition Response Testing Practitioner and Chiropractor in the Brooklyn NY area. Learn more about holistic healing by visiting her website at: http://www.healthieruny.com