Hormonal Health 101
If you wish to optimize your hormones, the first thing to look at is your diet. You can also add nutritional supplements that can support hormone production. Hormones are made from nutrients, with the help of enzymes, which require minerals.
What is Considered Good Food?
Answer: the food that people ate in the Palaeolithic times, before agriculture existed. This includes fresh vegetables and, if possible, organic, not canned or those with preservatives and pesticides. Pasture raised meat, chicken, and wild caught fish, cooked at a low temperature, are also approved.
Estrogens, androgens, progesterone, and others, of the steroid family, all come from the precursor cholesterol.
Although it hasn’t received good press, since the mid 80’s, cholesterol is a vital substance. The body produces the required amounts in the liver. People on low-fat, low-cholesterol diets find their hormonal balance disturbed.
Too much sugar, even in fruit juice, imbalances one’s hormones. It has been shown, for example, that children drinking fruit juice every morning, have a four times greater risk of obesity and grow two centimeters less, almost an inch less, per year. When you eat the whole fruit, especially at the end of the meal, the sugar gets into your blood stream more slowly and avoiding a peak of sugar to block the secretion of hormones.
Did you know?
When agriculture was introduced, we invented many foods that are actually unfit for our body and that imbalance our hormone levels. When ingested, those new foods, for example, grains, that are not sprouted, like bread or pasta, or those high in sugars, lower about seven of the most important hormone levels in your blood.
Grains, that are not sprouted, contain chemicals that block digestive enzymes and metabolic reactions in your body. There is a type of natural pesticide, made by the grain, to protect itself against predators. We need to sprout the grains to make them digestible and then use their plant hormones, which impact your health in a positive manner.
Alcohol lowers your growth hormone production. This, most powerful age-reversing hormone, is decreased by 75%, if you drink a glass or two of alcohol every day. Coffee increases insulin levels, which makes you put on weight. It also impacts the thyroid which can keep you slim, and growth hormone.
Read our blog: “How Balancing Your Hormones Can Help You Lose Weight”.
Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
Growth hormone is the hormone that makes you tall. Without it, you would be half of your size. In addition, it is necessary, in order to maintain, tight, supple tissues. Without it, your tissues become thinner, atrophied, and may sag. Sagging cheeks, droopy eyelids, thinning hair, increased abdominal fat, plus cellulite and anxiety, are typical, physical signs of growth hormone deficiency.
When you’re really deficient, exhaustion sets in. Even if you sleep 16 hours per night, you won’t recover enough because you need growth hormone to recover. Protein is vital in order to have higher and more efficient growth hormone activity.
Growth Hormone deficiency can affect your mood, cognitive function, bone density, sleep, and more.
Although Growth Hormone is not a sex hormone, like estrogen, it governs many features directly related to your sex drive.
Sex Hormones
The body produces three main types of estrogen: estrone (E1), estradiol (E2) and estriol (E3). These are categorized as ether “strong” estrogens (estrone and estradiol) or “weak” estrogens (estriol).
After menopause, the adrenal glands produce the hormones testosterone and androstenedione, in higher amounts, which can be converted to estradiol and estrone in fat cells, through the action of the enzyme aromatase, which can turn other hormones into estrogen. The more fat, the more “in house” estrogen exposure. We can help block the aromatase enzyme with ground flaxseed, grape seed extract, and foods like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage.
Estrogen Dominance indicates that the hormones are not metabolizing through the liver, and, therefore, not being reduced efficiently. Estrogen dominance will cause breast tenderness, mood swings and an increased risk for cancer. Excess estrogen also inhibits thyroid function while progesterone facilitates the action of thyroid hormones.
Estrogen is metabolized in the liver, during the breakdown of estradiol and estrone. Two metabolites are formed — 2 hydroxyesterone (C‑2 good estrogen) and 16 hydroxyesterone (C‑16 bad estrogen). Indole-3-carbinol (plant chemical) converts estrogen to C‑2 and inactivates C‑16.
Indole-3-carbinol is found in cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, cauliflower, Bok Choy, kohlrabi, and turnips. Consume them raw or slightly cooked. Include sea vegetables, if there is a thyroid issue. A high fibre diet is important to discourage the recycling of estrogen from the intestines. Improving liver function will increase both C‑2 and estriol, as well as, improve hormone metabolism and efficient elimination.
Estrone is converted to C‑2 hydroxyestrone in phase one of liver. This conversion requires vitamin A, B2, B3 vitamin E, copper, zinc, calcium and magnesium. Foods include soy, turmeric, flaxseed oil, rosemary, limonene, cayenne, calendula and solidago. The interference of estrone, being converted to C16 instead of going C2, is caused by alcohol, cigarettes, bad fats, car exhaust, barbiturates, valium, antihistamines, dioxin, pesticides, paint fumes, and caffeine.
Phase Two liver detoxification is to support the elimination of estrogen through the colon. Estradiol and estrone are joined to glucuronic acid, through a process called glucuronidation, to form a conjugate for excretion from the liver into the bile and then to the intestines and out. This process requires cysteine, methionine, choline, Vitamin B3, B6, B12, Vitamin C, Folic Acid, and molybdenum. Foods include limonene, flaxseed oil, fish oil, the brassica family, calcium D‑glucarate present in oranges and apples, and fibre, such as Psyllium or ground flaxseeds. Ellagic acid, found in red raspberries, can increase glucuronidation, the elimination of toxins, by 75%!
Substances that interfere with phase two are tartrazine dyes, NSAIDs, the birth control pill, cigarettes, phenobarbital, and protein deficiency.
Typical signs of a progesterone deficiency, or an imbalance of estrogen and progesterone, are abdominal obesity, breast and ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids. Eating more of what makes sense like protein-rich food, like fish and meat, will improve ovulation, which will improve progesterone secretion. Vitamin A, along with other fat-soluble vitamins from eggs and butter, helps ovulation that can increase sex hormone secretion. Increase progesterone by consuming yam, soy, Vitamin B, Vitamin E, boron, zinc, selenium, and Chaste Tree berry.
Avoiding processed foods and harmful chemicals is the best strategy for preserving your natural hormone function. Refined carbohydrates and damaged fats can elevate your estrogen levels — as much as twice of what is normal. This is a major cause of menopausal symptoms, in the first place.
Additional Considerations for Hormone Health
- Phytoestrogens: Consuming plenty of phytoestrogens (plant-estrogens), such as licorice and alfalfa, prior to menopause, can help moderate your day-to-day estrogen levels. In this way, when menopause arrives, the drop won’t be as dramatic. However, avoid using unfermented soy, as it can wreak havoc on your health in a number of different ways.
- Optimize your vitamin D levels: This is a must for gene regulation and optimal health.
- Polyphenols: Certain polyphenols have been shown to have HRT-like benefits, without the drawbacks, and are associated with a lowered risk of heart disease. Royal Maca is an excellent adaptogenic herbal solution for menopause that many women have found helpful. Avoid the inexpensive varieties as they typically don’t work. Instead, opt for the authentic version from Peru.
- Animal-based omega‑3 fat: You will want to get plenty of high-quality animal-based omega‑3 fats..
- Black cohosh: While dismissed by ACOG, as having no scientific foundation, black cohosh may indeed help regulate body temperature and hot flashes in some women.
- Magnesium: Improves sex hormones. Testosterone, for example, is more in a form that can be absorbed by the cells or in a more
bioavailable form, when you take more magnesium. Magnesium also increases the growth hormone levels, the hormone that makes your body firm, with a lot of muscles and low in fat. Testosterone does that also. But growth hormone does that in a more major way. It’s easy to know a vegetable that has poor magnesium but should have had a lot of magnesium because it is light green. A vegetable that is dark green is high in magnesium. - Complex amino acids: Proteins are made from amino acids. If you supplement with an amino acid formula, you can improve your levels.
Although BHRT (bio-identical hormone replacement therapy) has not been associated with the negative effects (e.g. CVD, breast cancer) found with the use of synthetic and non-identical hormones, it is important to note that large-scale trials of bio-identical hormones have not yet been carried out.
A Nutritionist can help you implement lifestyle changes and offer you nutritional supplements that are often successful in restoring hormone balance for both men and women.
https://nppwebinars.com/hormone_imbalance.html — Through the Feminine Life Cycle
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EXHAUSTED ADRENALS AND A TOXIC CONGESTED LIVER WILL DETERMINE HOW EASILY ONE PROGRESSES THROUGH MENOPAUSE
| Hormone | Where It’s Produced | Primary Functions | ||
I. STEROID HORMONES: Derived from cholesterol, includes sex hormones and adrenal hormones (mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids) |
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| Estrogens | Ovaries, placenta, breasts, liver, adrenal glands, fat cells, hypothalamus, and others | Female sexual development, breast development, menstruation, pregnancy, memory, and anti-aging | ||
| Progesterone | Ovaries, placenta, and CNS | Female sexual development, breast development, menstruation, and pregnancy | ||
| Testosterone | Testes and ovaries | Male sexual development, sex drive, sperm production, and muscle and bone mass | ||
| DHEA
(Dehydroepiandrosterone) |
Adrenals and brain | Lean body mass, bone strength, immunity, heart health, and resistance to stress | ||
| Pregnenolone | Adrenals | Memory and resistance to stress | ||
| Cortisol | Adrenals | Resistance to stress, energy production, anti-inflammatory, and mood stability | ||
| Vitamin D
(1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D or calcitrol) |
Skin, liver, and kidneys | Varied, including bone and muscle health, heart health, immunity, metabolism, brain development, cell communication, and more | ||
II. PEPTIDE HORMONES: Often in “pre-hormone” form, requiring further processing to be active |
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| HCG
(human chorionic gonadotropin) |
Placenta | Helps support the endometrial lining for a developing fetus (and stimulates progesterone) | ||
| HGH
(Human growth hormone, or somatotropin/somatropin) |
Pituitary | Promotes growth in children and adolescents, and helps regulate body composition, tissue growth, and metabolism in adults | ||
| Melatonin | Pineal gland | Sleep; supports brain health, heart health, immune system, and cancer prevention | ||
| Insulin | Pancreas | Signals glucose to be transferred from your blood into your cells for energy usage; fat body regulation | ||
| Glucagon | Pancreas | Signals liver to release glucose into your blood | ||
| Prolactin | Pituitary, breasts, uterus, prostate, skin, fat, and immune cells | Promotes lactation, bonding, and more than 300 reproductive, metabolic, immune, and other functions10 | ||
| Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) | Pituitary | Stimulates cortisol release | ||
| Leptin | Fat cells | Fat regulation | ||
| Ghrelin | Stomach and pancreas | Stimulates hunger | ||
| Parathyroid hormone (PTH) | Parathyroid gland | Controls amount of calcium in your bones and blood | ||
| Thyrotrophin-releasing hormone (TRH) | Hypothalamus | Stimulates the thyroid gland to release TH | ||
| Humoral factors (e.g., thymosin) | Thymus | Development of a healthy immune system | ||
III. AMINO ACID DERIVATIVE HORMONES (AMINES): Derived from tyrosine and tryptophan, includes thyroid hormones and catecholamines |
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| Adrenalin | Adrenals | “Fight or flight” response: increases heart rate, dilates blood vessels, and releases glucose | ||
| Thyroidhormone (TH) | Thyroid gland | Organ development and metabolism | ||
IV. Eicosanoid hormones: Produced from fatty acids (arachidonic acid); very short-lived in your body and exert effects primarily on local tissues |
||||
| Prostaglandins | Nearly every cell in the human body | Varied, including uterine contractions, bronchodilation, inflammation, etc. | ||
Chart source: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/27/ — fantastical-world-hormones
