When you hear about hormones, it can often be related to overemotional pregnant women or postmenopausal irate women. But the thing is, hormones affect us all, right from birth. So it seems a shame that we associate such negative things with the term hormone. The distinction of ‘male’ and ‘female’ hormones doesn’t help either. As then it can become a bit of a taboo subject if you are female and have some more ‘male’ hormones or vice versa.
The truth is, many women can experience hormone imbalances. It can come as a result of pregnancy, lifestyle changes, health and diet problems or just be one of those things that happen. It can be quite frustrating to experience the symptoms of a hormone imbalance. As quite often, people, including doctors, will just write it off as something else. So if you have a few of the following symptoms, then you should speak to a professional and be persistent about it. There are things that can be done to help!
Persistent Weight Gain
We all need to take care of ourselves the best that we can. And lifestyle and diet do play a role in how much weight we gain. But if you have a hormone imbalance, then it isn’t the whole story. When you find it hard to maintain a healthy weight, then it could be because of an imbalance that could lead to something like insulin resistance. It can make it hard to lose weight, no matter how few calories you eat or exercise that you do. One of the things that you could do is to cut out refined sugars and wheat from your diet. If it starts to make a difference, then it cold well be that you have a hormone imbalance. It is all related to blood sugar levels and storing fat. So if the main culprits are eliminated, it might make it a little easier to lose weight.
More Facial Hair
When you have a hormone imbalance, it could be that your body is causing you to produce more of one type of hormone than another. One of those hormones that your body can start to produce more of is testosterone. It is typically a ‘male’ hormone, which is why many women can get depressed about it and not seek help as it is embarrassing. But if you are noticing more hairs on your chin or neck, as well as perhaps around your jawline or upper lip, then it could be the sign of a hormone imbalance. If so, you should seek professional help for it. You don’t want to go on suffering with it; there are things that can be done.
First of all, you should see a doctor. They might be able to prescribe some medication for you or perhaps suggest a new contraceptive pill for you that could reassess your hormone balance. Second, of all, you should think about ways that you can deal with the hair growth. You could use facial wax strips, for example, and use those yourself at home. You could pluck hairs from your chin if there are only a few. Just try to avoid shaving them as they can grow back thicker and more stubbly if you do that. You could look at changing what you eat for a while too, to help curb the symptoms of the imbalance.
Extreme Tiredness
Do you feel like you constantly wake up after a full night’s sleep feeling exhausted? Do you want to take a nap during that after lunch lull? It isn’t normal to feel this sluggish or be this tired. You might put it down to having young children or just being busy at work. But it isn’t normal to be so tired all of the time. You could try cutting out grains and wheat from your diet. This will help to stabilize your blood sugar, which in turn, will help your energy levels. When your blood sugar is steady, it makes your energy levels much steadier.
Another possible reason of bad night’s sleep is a deficiency of human growth hormones that regulate many vital functions of the body, including sleep. HGH is released during the first hours of sleep and is responsible for the quality of sleep for the rest of the night.
Morning exhaustion could be a sign of a growth hormone deficiency, which may require medical attention. For more information about the role of HGH, click here.
Depression or Anxiety
If you don’t feel like yourself, and you’re not even sure why then it is time to take a look at what the problem could be. It isn’t the time to just take some antidepressants and get on with it. If you are suffering from anxiety or depression, then it is an indicator that there is an imbalance. It also shows that you need to be taking better care of yourself as your body isn’t able to heal itself as well as it normally would. So if you feel overworked and a little stressed out, taking time for yourself is important. Listen to your body and what it is telling you. Slow down and take time out. Give yourself proper nourishment too. Your body can’t function and repair as it should when it is being filled with junk. You are what you eat, as they say. So take care of yourself, and you’ll feel much better for it.
Cravings
Do you find yourself eating way more than you should have? Yet even after that, you might still get a hankering for something in particular. When you feel cravings and end up eating a lot, it could be the sign of a hormone imbalance and insulin resistance, for example. So you need to look at what is going on. Keeping a food diary might be a good idea. Then you can make a note of what you ate, how you were feeling at the time, and how you felt afterward. Dealing with what you are eating and making some changes, could help with any digestive issues that you are having too.
If any of these symptoms are ringing true with you, then you need to speak to your doctor. Ask for a blood test; that’s all it is. Don’t be embarrassed about it. It is much more common than you would think! Then you can get a diagnosis and get yourself on the way to feeling better and getting those hormones in check.
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