Home		View our 'Article Archive' Solving the Hormone Puzzle Hormones seem elusive, beyond our control. Hormones are secreted by the endocrine glands to create a physiological action in the body. We pay no attention to this when our hormones are in balance. When out of balance, we suffer the consequences. Headaches, migraines, fatigue, depression, anxiety, decreased performance, low libido, and later hot flashes and night sweats plague us. What we don’t realize is that hormone balance depends on the internal environment we create through diet and lifestyle, as well as the harmonious symphony of the adrenals, thyroid and liver. Hormones do not act independently. They influence one another. What this means is that when one hormone is out of balance, the others are significantly affected too. In order to bring harmony out of imbalance, it is necessary to address four key areas. 1. Remove Cravings High insulin lifestyles, which I discussed in our September issue, create a hormone imbalance of their own. They create cravings, the beginning of a vicious cycle that sets us on the blood sugar rollercoaster. Insulin is a hormone – and one hormone out of balance creates imbalance in the others. Focus your food choices on beneficial fats, plentiful vegetables, quality proteins throughout the day, and high fibre, low-insulin-potential carbohydrate sources. This simple “Lifewatcher” way of eating has a profound effect on creating harmony and balance throughout the rest of the body. 2. Stress Express Emotional stress comes to mind when we say we are stressed, but stress comes from many sources: dietary, nutritional, chemical, sleep, physical, relational, financial, and lack of fun. Our adrenal glands also must adapt to everyday changes of hot and cold, light and dark, eating and not, standing and sitting: the body must keep the internal environment constant while the external environment changes. This is a challenge for the adrenal glands. It’s not necessary to feel stressed for your adrenal glands to be overworked. Respecting our adrenal glands means taking time for regular meals and healthy snacks to stabilize cortisol levels. It means going to bed by 10:00pm. It means spending a little time each day doing something you enjoy. And it means understanding that the hormone imbalances we experience are directly affected by our adrenal health. Support your adrenals with plenty of vitamin C throughout the day, B vitamins, magnesium, and adaptogenic herbs such as holy basil, Siberian ginseng, licorice root, or ashwagandha, and formulas like serenity. The first time we recognize adrenal fatigue is often during peri-menopause. As the ovaries follow the natural progression of shutting down, the adrenal glands take up the slack. If they are overworked and tired, they are unable to respond. Challenging menopause symptoms are the result. We cannot balance our hormones properly, especially in menopause, when the adrenal glands are not functioning optimally. 3. An Epidemic Thyroid problems are so common that some naturopaths are calling this an epidemic, not only for those diagnosed with thyroid disease, but also for the majority of us who have less than ideal thyroid function. Low thyroid function, both clinical and functional, means that the thyroid gland is struggling to produce sufficient thyroid hormone. Remember that one hormone out of balance affects the others. It is difficult to restore balance without addressing this important area. Your TSH is a good indicator of thyroid function. Ideally it will be between 1 and 2, even though “normal” can range much higher. Your body temperature is another way to evaluate the health of your thyroid. To work optimally, your thyroid needs strong adrenals, moderate and steady insulin levels and an efficient liver. The thyroid needs important nutrients: tyrosine from protein, iodine from sea vegetables, vitamin A from egg yolks and cod liver oil, and a host of trace nutrients from real, healthy food. 4. Treat the Cause An overworked liver, which today’s environment too easily creates, may produce only a few vague symptoms. Yet, the liver is the central clearing house of the body, responsible not only for removing the byproducts of our own metabolism, but also a constant bombardment of toxic chemicals from the environment, from medications, food additives, cleaning products, and fumes. Little wonder that the liver has difficulty metabolizing the body’s own hormones properly. Dr. Sat Dharam Kaur, ND, outlines in her wonderful book The Complete Natural Medicine Guide to Women’s Health, the importance of liver support not only for treating the root causes of women’s diseases, including fibroids, endometriosis, breast cysts, breast cancer, infertility, hypothyroidism, ovarian cysts and cancer, but also to maintain optimum health and energy. She says, “It is incredibly important that we support our phase II detoxification system to prevent free radical damage and the storage of these toxins elsewhere in the body.” She recommends a variety of nutrients to accomplish this. Here are some of the wonderful ways we can support the liver, and in turn hormone balance: NAC is a powerful liver detoxifier, and together with glycine it helps make important glutathione to protect and detoxify the cells from within. Indole-3-carbinol (the powerhouse component of sulphur-containing vegetables) and calcium d-glucarate are two important and specific supplements for removing harmful xenoestrogens… chemicals that have harmful, hormone-like activity in the body. Alpha lipoic acid is the king of antioxidants and an important protector of the liver. Avoid margarine and shortening…use quality, unrefined fats only. Eat lots of sulphur-containing vegetables (onions, garlic, turnips, etc…). Green, slightly bitter vegetables like endive, collards and dandelion greens are important. All green food supplements cleanse and rebuild; spirulina, wheatgrass juice, and chlorella are among the best. Dandelion, milk thistle, artichoke and curcumin offer important liver support as well. These four areas – insulin, adrenals, thyroid, and liver – are the key pieces that solve the hormone puzzle. Ask us in-store for even more ways that you can get on the path to harmonious hormones. If you are interested in learning even more about hormone balance join us for Healthy Solutions for Thyroid Health on Saturday, November 8th at Locke Street from 12:00pm – 3:00pm. If it’s a low-insulin lifestyle you are after, join us for Lifewatchers this January and see why this popular program has helped hundreds of people get on the path to great health. Choose well... and live well.