Holistic Nutrition Bytes » hormones

Keep Your Balance

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 05:56:42 +0000

Hormones. Chemical messengers responsible for transmitting communication between cells. This basically means that hormones prepare the body for fighting, fleeing, sex, menstruation or menopause, activation of the immune system, stimulation or inhibition. Feeling stressed? Hormones. Feeling wired or adrenalized? Hormones. Sexy time? Hormones. Mood swings? Well, you get the picture.

Hormones are made from cholesterol, and cholesterol is both synthesized in the liver and consumed via diet. Get plenty of good fats (olive oil, flax oil, coconut oil, butter) and also proteins, and keep a clean liver for good hormonal balance. A clogged liver = a liver that is unable to process hormones and cholesterol = hormonal imbalance. Low cholesterol = not enough raw materials to make hormones.

Let’s get down to business. If you’re a woman, you know that your menstrual cycle and the production of estrogen and progesterone can be adversely affected by stress. This is because cortisol levels (your main stress hormone) rise under stress, and the body diverts all of its hormonal precursor reserves to make cortisol at the expense of other hormones, because cortisol is necessary for most of your metabolic functions and more important to keep the body running than sex hormone production. Make sense? So if you’re chronically stressed, you may have irregular periods or difficult cycles, because your body is not producing the right amounts of sex hormone. Your sex drive can also suffer.

Signs of Estrogen Deficiency
* Vaginal dryness
* Anxiety/depression
* Decreased libido
* Dry Skin
* Foggy thinking
* Depressed
* Difficulty sleeping
* Night sweats

Signs of Progesterone Deficiency
* Breast tenderness
* Insomnia
* Menstrual cramping
* Abdominal bloating
* Water retention
* Premenstrual mood swings

To balance sex hormones, get your stress level under control. Consider testing cortisol levels via saliva test. Most women suffer from too much estrogen and not enough progesterone, and this causes PMS, bad cramping, heavy bleeding, and even fibroids and endometriosis. We are exposed to many xenoestrogens (artificial estrogens) in our environment and food supply, and this is a great contributor to hormone imbalance.

Back to basics: whole foods diet, get enough rest, maintain a regular schedule, cut back on caffeine, exercise, cut down on booze and sugar. Liquid sublingual progesterone can change your life. Chaste berry can work too. I don’t like progesterone creams, which can work initially, but are stored in fat cells and may build up over time.

You can maintain the balance – know your body.

Seasonale – Better Birth Control?

admin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:16:34 +0000

As most of you know, I am not a big fan of hormonal birth control. No, I’m not trying to set women’s rights back 40 years; I am all for non-hormonal forms of birth control (condoms, IUD, other barrier methods). But women can have serious hormonal and other side effects from taking the pill or using the ring, the patch, or hormonal implants.

With Seasonale, you have the option of menstruating only 4 times a year. It offers the same synthetic estrogen and progesterone as the regular pill, but you take it straight through for 84 days instead of 21, so you only get a period once every 3 months.

directions: take 1 pill every day for 84 days.

Hormonal birth control works by essentially tricking the body into thinking it’s pregnant, so that the ovary lies dormant and never releases an egg. It keeps you hormonally locked into the luteal phase (second half) of the menstrual cycle so that the brain does not signal for an egg to be released (ovulation). The period you get on the pill is not a real ‘period’ at all: it’s actually just breakthrough bleeding, because the hormones that cause the uterine lining to build up for a real period have been suppressed.

So here’s the thing. There are plenty of pros (may prevent some reproductive cancers) and cons (can cause high blood pressure, high blood sugar, stroke, blood clots) to the pill. But at the end of the day, you’re taking synthetic hormones, and they effect every woman differently because we are all have biochemically different. The pill can contribute greatly to estrogen dominance, which is implicated in breast cancer, infertility, endometriosis, and menstrual irregularities. And there is still a lot of controversy surrounding the pill and breast cancer.

As far as Seasonale goes, it’s too early to tell what any consequences may surface. It has only been on the market a short time and was only tested for a year. Do you want to participate in the human experiment? You’re ingesting 23 percent more synthetic hormone, which can increase side effects and long-term adverse hormonal effects.

Using potent hormones non-stop also deprives a woman of the only naturally-occurring means of ridding her body of excess stored iron. Excess stored iron is a risk factor for heart attacks and strokes. It can also be difficult to ensure that you are not pregnant without a monthly period, and even though the pill is 99 percent effective when taken as directed, there is a window for error.

The data from Seasonale clinical trials show that many women, especially in the first few cycles of use, had more unplanned bleeding and spotting between the expected menstrual periods than women taking a conventional 28-day cycle oral contraceptive. Worth it?

Birth control is a very personal issue. But do be aware that taking a 3-month dose of synthetic hormones can lead to long-term estrogen dominance, and that can put you at risk for infertility and even certain cancers. I would strongly discourage women with breast cancer in the immediate family (sibling, mother) to avoid hormonal birth control.

Here’s another thing. Why must we tinker with nature? Menstruation is the essence of the cyclical rhythm that connects women with their bodies and the reproductive cycle. People today are very disassociated with their bodies and their connection to nature and their own natural rhythms. We’re socialized to believe bodily functions are “dirty” or embarrassing. This pill is the perfect example: using a synthetic substance to suppress your body’s natural rhythm in order to avoid the “inconvenience” of a period. I believe the more we tune into ourselves, the healthier we are, both physically and mentally.

Food for thought.

The Infertility Myth

admin — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 01:13:01 +0000

Trying unsuccessfully to conceive a baby is one of the most disheartening and frustrating situations a couple has to deal with. Aside from conflicting medical opinions and deciding on options, the stress associated with cost of treatments and testing can cause further complication.

Aw.

For women in the conventional medical system, most doctors will do blood tests to assess hormone levels and ultrasounds to look for fibroids, cysts, tumors, and to make sure the fallopian tubes are clear and not blocked by scarring or anything else. A woman may be prescribed synthetic hormones to raise progesterone or choose a number of fertility treatments including in vitro fertilization (IVF) where egg cells are fertilized by sperm outside of the womb and then implanted into womb. This is a pretty hard core treatment, often a last resort, and women usually have to do hormone injections so that they produce many eggs, which are then retrieved using a transvaginal technique involving an ultrasound-guided needle piercing the vaginal wall to reach the ovaries.

These treatments are costly, sometimes painful, and always stressful. And they don’t always work. The thing I find most troubling here is that conventional medicine always looks at the symptoms and the outcome: the woman can’t get pregnant, isn’t producing enough sex hormone, or can’t hold a pregnancy, so synthetic hormones or fertility drugs are the answer. But why not look at the REASON the woman is not producing hormones?

Fallopian tube scarring or other growths or obvious problems require specialized treatment. But I do want to address some issues for women who have hormonal imbalance, or just plain don’t know why they can’t conceive.

First off, taking fertility drugs certainly may do the trick, but watch out: you could end up with seven kids. Secondly, these and artificial progesterone are synthetic hormones that the body doesn’t recognize (i.e. they don’t fit properly into hormone receptors) and may not be able to process. They don’t work for everyone. In holistic medicine, we look at the whole person and make recommendations from there.

The first order of business is to address your stress level and test your adrenal hormones, many of which are precursors to your female hormones. So if your adrenals are exhausted, your cycle may not be regular, or you may not be producing enough progesterone (the pro-gestational hormone needed to get pregnant and carry a pregnancy to term). Once you have this information you can repair your adrenals using bioidentical hormones or herbs. The body recognizes bio-identical hormones because their structure is the exact same as the hormones your body produces.

You’ll want to test your female hormone levels – estrogen and progesterone – ideally for an entire month where you’ll submit a series of saliva samples – to see when you’re ovulating and read your hormone levels. Saliva testing is more accurate that blood testing to get an accurate hormone reading. For example, if you’re ovulating at day 5 instead of day 14, this could affect conception.

This is invaluable information to have about your cycle. If you’re not ovulating at all or ovulating too early or late, you can take certain amounts of bio-identical progesterone (often wild yam) at particular days in your cycle to boost progesterone levels and normalize progesterone. If you’re estrogen dominant (if you’ve had fibroids, endometriosis, heavy bleeding, or have been on the pill for years, chances are you are not producing enough progesterone in relation to estrogen), progesterone will balance your hormone levels and normalize your cycle.

You also want to assess your diet: are you getting quality protein and healthy fats, the precursor to hormones? Are you doing too much soy? This can really affect hormone levels. How is your digestion? If you’re not absorbing your food due to a damaged digestive tract, you won’t have the raw materials to make hormones and you won’t be able to utilize all the nutrients from your food. Test yourself for parasites, candida, or pathogens, and repair your digestion. Parasites can cause infertility because they affect hormone levels.

While I’ve really only touched the surface here, I want to illustrate that there are options. This is a very personal decision and a sensitive subject. Many, many women have had successes using fertility drugs and treatments. But for those who have not, there are alternative options that work with your body rather than further stress your reproductive system. Look at your overall health: the health of your adrenal glands, thyroid hormones, digestion, and your diet. Balance hormone levels naturally by working with the body. Take stock of your diet: eliminate refined foods, take a quality multi and a B complex, and get high quality hormone-free protein and good fats like coconut oil, olive oil, and flaxseed oil. Celiac (gluten allergy) disease is implicated in infertility. Eliminate coffee and reduce alcohol. Look at the health of your home. Mold and toxins can affect fertility. and finally, relax. Try some stress relief, acupuncture, or massage, and honor your body for the amazing ability it has to create life.

Migraines

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:53:51 +0000

What’s more nagging than a bad headache? A migraine. I come across a lot of headaches and migraines in my practice, and I see the pain people endure on a regular or cyclical basis. Staying locked in a dark room due to sensitivity to light, sensitivity to noise, auras, flashing lights, pins and needles, nausea, pulsing, throbbing…. not pleasant. Women are about three times more likely to suffer from migraines than men. What are the causes and what are the cures?

Migraines or headaches can be caused by eating foods to which you are sensitive or allergic (commonly wheat, foods with tannins or sulfites such as chocolate or red wine, MSG or nitrites) to dropping hormone levels before menstruation, to stress, or certain medications. Interestingly, a congested liver, which leads to a build-up of toxins in the body, can cause recurrent headaches or migraines. Low blood sugar from skipping meals and dehydration can trigger headache too.

In the allopathic medical system, you may be prescribed the migraine drug Imitrex, a strong pharmaceutical that’s hard on the liver. And you’re not uncovering the underlying cause – you’re only treating the symptom. First off, migraines or headaches can often signal a food allergy. Many people find dramatic relief by eliminating eliminating wheat and other gluten-containing grains (rye, barley, spelt, teff). Follow a hypoallergenic whole foods diet to find relief: eliminate processed foods, gluten, soy, and dairy, and focus on organic proteins, fruits, and vegetables. Cut out alcohol and refined sugar. Try this for two weeks to one month to see results. Eat every 3 hours to avoid low blood sugar.

Drink enough water: about half your body weight in ounces per day. Support your liver or consider a cleanse. If your migraines occur on a cyclical basis before your period, try supplementing with plant-based hormones. Consider stress hormone and female hormone testing to bring cortisol and female hormones into balance.

There is some evidence that amino acid therapy can be successful for life-long migraines. Using tyrosine and 5HTP (the precursor to serotonin) together to replace low neurotransmitter levels in the brain has worked for many people. Consider neurotransmitter testing or consult a holistic health professional (like me!) for information on this. Taking amino acids without supervision can cause problems.

Finally, examine your lifestyle: keep a migraine or headache journal. See if you can pinpoint the triggers: is it a food? Cyclical? Relating to stress at work? In the home? Do some guided stress relief, exercise, or yoga. Massage or acupuncture can help too.