Hormones play an important role in the body. Hormones are body chemical produced by glands in the endocrine system. They move around the body through the bloodstream to the required organ or tissue. They take the message to the organs and tell them what and when to do a particular thing.
Hormonal imbalance usually happens when there is too much or insufficiency of hormones in the bloodstream. Most of us have experienced a satin period of hormonal imbalance at a certain point in their life. They play a vital role in the body, even a small hormonal imbalance can lead to a side effect on the body.
Hormones help to regulate: the sleeping cycle, heartbeat rate, stress and mood levels, body temperature, appetite, body metabolism, sexual function, body growth, and function. Men will mostly be affected with hormonal imbalance in their testosterone levels while women will experience progesterone and estrogen levels. Both men and women are affected with the hormonal imbalances especially in growth hormones, steroids, adrenaline, and insulin.
In women hormones imbalance is due to pregnancy, puberty, menopause and when breastfeeding. Some of the common symptoms include irregular periods, hair loss, weight gain, aces on some body parts & face, vaginal dryness, pain during sex and vaginal atrophies. However, there are solutions available for the imbalance. Many acne treatments for adults can also be considered for that all day glowing skin.
Depending on the glands and hormones being affected the symptoms will tend to vary. Some of the common symptoms include: change in blood pressure, having difficulty to sleep, change in heartbeat rate, increased sweating, change in weight loss or gain, depression, anxiety, headaches, fatigues and many more.
In most men, testosterone plays a major role in their development and hormones imbalance. Some of the symptoms include loss of muscle, reduced sex drive, concentration difficulty, infertility, erection dysfunction.
When the endocrine glands are not delivering hormones properly it causes hormonal imbalance in the body. The main function of the endocrine glands is to produce, store and distribute the hormones around the body.
There are many endocrine glands in the body and have different function including:
- Adrenalin gland is responsible for producing adrenalin
- Pancreatic islet
- Pineal gland
- Hypothalamus gland
- Gonads gland found in the testis and ovaries
- Thyroid and Parathyroid gland
Causes of hormonal imbalance
- Eating disorder
- Diabetes
- Crushing syndrome
- Stress
- Over/underweight
- Medication especially cancer treatment
- Injury
- Tumors (cancerous)
- Adrenal insufficiency
- Thyroiditis
- Hypoglycemia (too much production of insulin than glucose)
- Abuse of steroid medication
- Radiation and Chemotherapy
Different hormonal imbalance has different treatment methods. The treatment method of hormonal imbalance in women:
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Vaginal estrogen
for those who experience vaginal dryness. You can apply the cream directly on the virginal tissues to help card the dryness effect.
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Vaniqa
Help reduce facial hair growth in women.
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Anti-androgen medicine
Help reduce the predominately male – sex hormones that help reduce hair loss or growth.
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Birth control
If you are not thinking of getting a baby anytime soon, use progesterone a type of medicine that controls irregular menstruation.
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Hormone replacement medicine
Helps to reduce symptoms caused by menopause like night sweats.
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Clomiphene and Femara
This type of medication helps stimulate the ovulation cycle. To help increase their chance of getting pregnant one can be given a dose of gonadotropins for those with infertility.
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Metformin
This helps manage blood sugars.
Treatment methods for hormonal imbalance in men:
Testosterone medicine-this are medicine containing testosterone that helps curb hypogonadism that causes a low level of testosterone.
Ways to treat and balance the body hormones
1. Eat a balanced diet
Focus on a lot of protein as it regularities the number of hormones being released that are responsible for controlling once the appetite for food. Protein also contains amino acids that are responsible for maintaining smooth healthy skin, strong muscle, and bones.
2. Avoid refined foods and sugar
Many of the health problems are associated with sugar and refined products. They can lead to diabetes, obesity; fructose can increase insulin levels. Reduce the amount of consumption of this type of foods and focus on the natural food staff.
3. Learn to manage stress
Hormones are most affected by stress. Major hormones that are affected by stress include cortisol and adrenaline which is also known as Epinephrine. Adrenaline is responsible to give the body the energy to respond to danger. Cortisol commonly known as a stress hormone, it helps one cope with a stress situation.
Other methods to treat body hormones are: drinking green tea, consume foods with high fiber, exercise regularly, eat healthy fats, avoid under eating or overeating and get enough sleep.
Hormones play a huge role in your general body health. One requires a specific amount of hormones for the body to function properly. Despite the facts that some factors are beyond one’s control, there are many methods for taking control of one’s hormones.
