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Hormone imbalance refers to the state wherein female estrogen hormones exceed the levels of progesterone in a woman’s body. It is usually called estrogen dominance.
Estrogen is the first hormone that is normally produced by the ovaries during the regular menstrual cycle. During the ovulation period, the ovaries manufacture progesterone hormones that act as agents in the preparation of the uterus for the arrival of the fertilized egg. If no fertilization happens, or the egg that reaches the uterus is not fertilized, both estrogen and progesterone hormone levels will drop which will result to the elimination of the uterine lining or “menstruation.”
Progesterones are hormones responsible for balancing and opposing the negative effects of excessive estrogen. When none or too little progesterones are produced during the ovulations period, estrogen levels become excessive which eventually leads to hormone imbalance in the female body.
In addition to regulating the menstrual cycle, estrogen hormones in women affect their reproductive tract, the urinary tract, the heart and blood vessels, bones, breasts, skin, hair, mucous membranes, pelvic muscles, and the brain. Since hormone imbalance is in effect estrogen dominance in the body, the common symptoms of hormone imbalance relate to these roles of estrogen, however, much more excessively.
A few of the effects of excessive estrogen in the body are:
There are several approaches for hormone imbalance. These are categorized as: (1) lifestyle changes, (2) alternative medicine, (3) HRT and (4) BHRT.
Physicians will usually recommend a patient to begin with the least risky option, lifestyle changes, before progressing to another treatment.
This primary treatment involves the least amount of risk but requires the highest amount of self discipline. A change in lifestyle can reap huge benefits in fighting symptoms caused by hormonal imbalance. Fundamentally, a good diet plus stress reduction techniques, such as exercise combined with yoga or meditation, can do a woman great service in maintaining good hormonal balance. Increasing the intake of foods rich in omega-3 (such as flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds) and omega-6 fatty acids (such as eggs, nuts and poultry) is an easy way to restore hormone production.
Alternative medicine approaches involve little or no risk methods and are extremely effective in treating all types of hormone imbalance. Among the different types of alternative medicine, herbal remedies are the most prominent.
There are several kinds of herbs that can be used for treating hormonal imbalance: chasteberry, licorice and other non-estrogenic herbs. These herbs stimulate a woman's hormone production by nourishing the pituitary and endocrine glands, causing them to more efficiently produce natural hormones. The result of this method is the balancing of estrogen-progesterone and even testosterone levels in a woman’s body.
Interventions using HRT are the highest risk and often the highest costs. HRT involves the intake of synthetic hormones to augment for hormonal loss. It may be a quick and strong way to combat the underlying hormonal imbalance but it also causes serious side effects such as cancer and heart disease.
Bioidentical hormones are different from synthetic hormone replacement drugs. Unlike synthetic hormones, bioidentical hormones are metabolized, stored, and converted into other hormones naturally. They are plant-based hormones that are safe for women in treating hormone imbalance. Because these hormones are natural, when absorbed by the body, they react in the body similarly to hormones naturally produced by it.
Click here to read about the symptoms of low testosterone in women
