Women Hormone Balance | Natural Hormone Balancing

Natural Women Hormone Balance 

Women Hormone Balance is a crucial aspect of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Here are some tips and facts that can help you stay consistent with your women hormone balance. 

Improper Women Hormone Balance Symptoms

•  Alteration in normal sleeping habits (such as abnormalities in the rhythm, depth or quality of sleep)
•  Moderate weight gain without any significant recent changes in diet or food intake
•  Mood swings
• Feeling of fatigue or excessive tiredness
• Acne, or other skin issues
• Changes in monthly menstrual cycles

Or if you are recently diagnosed with infertility, hirsutism, endometriosis or other related issues, it is highly likely that you have to check your female hormone balance.

Tips to Gain Natural Women Hormone Balance

Women hormone balance also deals with secretion and serum concentration of different hormones subject to variation with physiological aging, certain diets or intake of some nutrients. Other common causes include:

• Intake of birth control pills
• Exogenous supplements
• Moderate psychological stress
• Emotional trauma
• Environmental or seasonal factors.

However, there are numerous lifestyle and dietary modifications that can be used to naturally obtain the level of women hormone balance without consuming medications.

Avoid Processed Foods

Women hormone balance, also relies on the intake of processed foods especially starches (pasta, muffins, bagels, white rice, white bread etc.) increases blood sugar levels abruptly. To normalize blood sugar levels, pancreas release insulin (which consequently affect the natural hormonal environment of the body). For example, according to a research report published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (1) intake of high sugar foods alters the normal balance of neuropeptide Y and increases the risk of metabolic syndrome and obesity.
Women hormone balance is also connected to Leptin, another vital hormone that regulates hunger, sleep, mood and metabolism. But chronic intake of processed foods or high sugar consumption can also alter the leptin concentration and can affect normal metabolism and contribute to symptoms listed above.

 Consume Omega-3-Fatty Acids

To maintain a healthy women hormone balance , human body requires a steady supply of Omega- 3 fatty acids in order to repair and regenerate cells, synthesize hormones and rebuild other cellular components. But over the years, our intake of unhealthy fatty acids (such as omega-6 fatty acids) has increased tremendously, such as margarine, vegetables oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, canola oil and other unhealthy varieties.
Women hormone balance is directly related to the intake of unhealthy fats alter the natural balance, affect the synthesis of some hormones and increase the risk of inflammation and cellular damage due to highly unstable nature of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Women hormone balance can also be affected, due to intake of omega- 6 fatty acids is also associated with a higher risk of ischemic heart disease and other related issues.
Therefore, it is highly advised to consume omega- 3 fatty acids from healthy lipid sources like fish, animal fat (lard), butter and coconut oil

Limit Your Caffeine Intake

According to a latest report by Food and Drug Administration (FDA), approximately 80% of the American population consume caffeine on daily basis (2). The report also suggested that average caffeine intake is 200 mg (that is equivalent to 4 soda cans). Besides causing intracellular dehydration, stress incontinence, nervousness and arrhythmia; higher intake of caffeine is also associated with an increase in the serum cortisol concentration (the stress hormone). Research also suggests that chronic caffeine intake decreases the secretion of thyroid hormone.
Limiting caffeine intake helps in restoring the natural level of  women hormone balance

Intake of Herbal and Nutritional Supplements 

If a women hormonal balance is off,  it can respond fairly well to nutritional or herbal supplements. For example, Chasteberry can be consumed for the management of PMS, polycystic ovarian disease and related conditions that are caused by high serum secretion of prolactin (a hormone released by pituitary gland). Moderate intake of chasteberry suppresses the pituitary release of prolactin hormone. In fact, according to a report published in Alternative and Complementary Therapies (3), investigator suggested that chasteberry has been used for centuries to treat female infertility due to hormonal aberrations.
Other hormonal and nutritional supplements that are fairly helpful in a women hormone balance naturally are maca root (for sleep, libido), Vitamin D, magnesium, iron, folate and calcium.

Maintain Normal Body Weight

Bastounis and associates (4) conducted a study in morbidly obese sample of fifty-seven men and women. The sex hormone concentration was assessed in the individuals at the baseline after which all fifty-seven study participants underwent Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (also known as gastric banding). Within a few months, it was observed that:

• In males, serum levels of total testosterone, Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) improved while concentration of estradiol decreased
• In females, significant reduction in body weight was followed by reduction in the serum concentration of total and free testosterone and estradiol. Investigators also identified an increase in serum levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and FSH

Although, reduction in body weight directly improves the hormonal concentration, it is highly recommended to avoid strict dietary restriction (or starvation).

Lifestyle Modifications

Healthy lifestyle restore women hormone balance naturally in the body. Here are a few helpful tips:

• At least 6 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep helps in maintaining normal levels of serum cortisol and growth hormone, two that are directly related to a women hormone balance Consequently, these two hormones regulate the serum concentration of several other hormones.
• Limit the intake of chemicals, preservatives and artificial ingredients (such as artificial flavoring agents, coloring agents and similar compounds) along with herbicides and pesticides etc.
• Regular exercise and physical activity also helps in regulating the serum secretion of different hormones by regulating endocrine system.

Often times, when the cause of women hormone balance is off set, it is an organic lesion, it is recommended to speak to a healthcare provider for early identification and management of ailments.
 
References
1.      Kuo, L. E., Czarnecka, M., Kitlinska, J. B., Tilan, J. U., Kvetňanský, R., & Zukowska, Z. (2008). Chronic stress, combined with a high‐fat/high‐sugar diet, shifts sympathetic signaling toward neuropeptide Y and leads to obesity and the metabolic syndrome. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1148(1), 232-237.
2.      Medicines in my Home: Caffeine and Your Body
3.      Savers, S. (2012). Clinical Roundup: Selected Treatment Options for Female Infertility. Alternative and Complementary Therapies, 18(2), 109-113.
4.      Bastounis, E. A., Karayiannakis, A. J., Syrigos, K., Zbar, A., Makri, G. G., & Alexiou, D. (1998). Sex hormone changes in morbidly obese patients after vertical banded gastroplasty. European surgical research, 30(1), 43-47.