Reasons for Hormonal Imbalance

There are many reasons why you might experience hormonal imbalance. A decline in health or a deficiency with diet and exercise can cause your body to produce too many or too few hormones. The result is usually an imbalance of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and cortisol.

Cancer, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and even heart diseases are some of the major diseases that are caused due to hormonal imbalance. Hormone imbalance can be reversed when identified at an early stage itself because with the advancement in technology, it has become really easy to identify the issue. 

Hormonal Imbalance Symptoms

The problems due to hormonal imbalance can be easily identified if you have a close look at your physical appearance and behaviour. You may experience excessive hair loss, weight gain, delayed puberty, fatigue, muscle weakness, muscle aches, tenderness, stiffness or swelling in your joints, increased or decreased heart rate, etc. as symptoms.

Hormonal Imbalance in Women

A lot of women experience hormonal imbalances which can make them suffer physical and emotional changes in the body. In some cases, it can even lead to different types of diseases. 

Menopause is related to the hormonal changes in a woman's body when reproductive organs don't function as they should due to an end in ovulation, a drop in the amount of estrogen released during ovulation and a decrease in female sex hormones that play an important role in the reproductive organs. It's also related to the natural decrease in infertility that comes with age.

Women who are experiencing hormonal imbalance should include more healthy foods in their diet to keep the hormone levels balanced. Some of the foods that they should include in their diet are almonds, avocados, as well as broccoli.

5 Foods to Beat Hormonal Imbalance

Today there are so many things that can go wrong with our health and sometimes we could treat them with medication and sometimes not. 

Hormonal imbalances are common, affecting women and men equally. They are not life-threatening but they can cause several symptoms, leading to a life of discomfort. Hormonal imbalances can also affect sex drive, fertility, metabolism and even mood swings in both men and women.

Whether the hormonal imbalance is caused by too much stress at work or something else, balancing your hormones is essential for a healthy lifestyle. Here are some of the best foods to balance your hormones and bring them back to normal.

Quinoa: Quinoa is packed with essential vitamins, fibre and proteins that help in maintaining sugar levels in the body, which in turn keeps a check on insulin production and androgen levels. It is a rich source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that reduce the risk of diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases.

Apples: Apples have powerful antioxidant properties that reduce inflammation in the body, risk of cancer and help fight against high blood pressure and infections. Apples are one of the healthiest ways to reduce weight as it provides dense nutrition while being low in calories and rich in fibre.

Broccoli: Broccoli helps in breaking down estrogen, which in turn helps our body to maintain hormonal balance. One of the important elements of broccoli is sulforaphane, which is an efficient agent in treating cancer and fatty liver diseases. It detoxifies pathways that are essential for estrogen metabolism. Broccoli is a rich source of potassium, magnesium and calcium that improves muscle functionality and strengthens bones.

Blueberries: Blueberries are a sweet fruit and have antioxidant properties that can balance hormones and improve heart health. It also helps in preventing urinary tract infections and vision impairments. Blueberries can improve memory power and protect our bodies from oxidative damage as well.

Salmon and Tuna: Fishes like salmon and albacore tuna are rich sources of healthy fats and cholesterol, that are building blocks of hormones. Salmon stabilizes hunger hormones and is dense in Vitamin D, which helps in regulating female hormone levels. 

How to Cure Hormonal Imbalance?

It is important to note that hormonal imbalance is not a serious medical condition; hence it cannot be treated with conventional medicines. It is caused due to genetics and lifestyle habits. To understand the role of exercise and diet in hormonal imbalance, let us first understand the endocrine system.

To maintain hormonal balance, the endocrine system secretes certain chemicals called hormones. Hormones control blood pressure levels, body temperature, food metabolism and other body functions.

In women, menopause is the time when they stop getting menstrual periods. It happens to all women in the world when they reach the age of 51 to 55 yrs. The hormones that help in ovulation and pregnancy for women are estrogen and progesterone. 

During menopause, the level of both of these hormones falls and this is what causes symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings etc in women. It is also responsible for many other problems like osteoporosis (a disease in which bones become fragile and weak), weight gain around the midsection of the body, loss of sexual desire, complete hair loss etc.

Hormonal imbalance is one of the most common problems faced by both men and women in today’s time. Due to various reasons, the hormone secretion in the body gets affected. If you are also facing hormonal disorders, then you need to understand how exercise and a proper diet can help in improving your condition.

Exercise plays an important role in hormonal balance. Regular exercise and diet can help in treating hormonal imbalance. An improper diet can directly affect the gut by nervous reflexes through changes in the concentration of various metabolites in our blood.

A hormone-balancing diet should be rich in protein and essential vitamins. Along with a proper diet, regular exercise can boost our immunity to fight against external factors that affect our hormonal levels.

Hormonal imbalance occurs when the body produces too many or too few hormones. If it occurs in men, they might have enlarged breast size, feminine voice, lower sex drive, excess body fat and lack of muscles. In women, symptoms can include excessive facial hair, irregular periods, ovarian cysts, diabetes and breast cancer.

Take Away

Hormonal imbalance is the root cause of almost all diseases that occur in our bodies. It is advisable to maintain a certain level of hormones in our body at any point in time. When this balance is disturbed due to various reasons, it results in hormonal imbalance.