Understanding Hormone Balance for Healthy Living

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Healthy weight loss takes a holistic approach. It is important to tackle your journey from every angle and one of the most important aspects is to understand how balancing your hormones improves your chances for achieving permanent results.

Understanding the mechanics of hormonal production and release can be important to making healthy lifestyle changes as your body ages. It operates through a negative feedback system to slow production and halt release.

Hormones facilitate two types of communication in your body. The first type involves glands stimulating each other to regulate your hormone levels. The second type of communication occurs between your glands and target organs. The hypothalamus and pituitary gland, located in the brain, act as a link between your nervous system and the endocrine system to maintain balance in the body through a process known as homeostasis.

Hair Loss Is Common Sign of Imbalances

During your mid-twenties, hormonal decline gradually starts to affect your body and typically becomes a natural part of aging. So anytime you’re feeling off your game, it may be time to do simple hormone testing. Discussed below are common culprits, such as:

Estrogen: If you think estrogen is only for women, you would be wrong. Estrogen plays a crucial role in both male and female bodies. In women, it's responsible for ovulation, menstruation, breast development, and more. In men, estrogen modulates libido, erectile function, and development of sperm cells.

Progesterone: Progesterone is a steroid hormone that the female body secretes through a temporary gland called the corpus luteum. This gland forms after ovulation in the second half of the menstrual cycle. Balanced levels make it easier to maintain a healthy weight and increases energy levels.

Testosterone: Imbalances in testosterone can have noticeable effects on both men and women. In women, high levels of testosterone hormone can result in hair thinning, irregular periods, low libido, and smaller breasts.

Insulin: Insulin is released by the pancreas and helps convert the glucose in the foods you consume into energy for your body. Understanding the effects of insulin is beneficial. Your liver is primarily affected by two opposing hormones, insulin and glucagon, that regulate your blood sugar.

Cortisol: Hormone balance is essential. Having too much cortisol for extended periods can cause hypertension, anxiety, sleep issues, and autoimmune disorders. On the other hand, low levels can lead to low blood pressure, weakness, and fatigue.

Thyroid Hormone: If you are tired, unmotivated, and struggling with weight gain, your thyroid hormones may be to blame. Thyroxin, a hormone produced in the thyroid gland, plays a crucial role in your body's development, metabolism, and energy levels.

An at-home hormone test kit from MRC can help identify hormonal imbalances by identifying common culprits that can lead to weight gain and make losing weight difficult. Increasing your fiber intake can promote an increase in ghrelin between meals. So, make sure to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains to get enough fiber as well as regular exercise, such as a daily walk.

At Metabolic Research Center, we work closely with our clients to test their hormones levels and identify any deficiencies. From there, we personalize a plan for healthy living that may include bioidentical hormone therapy, lifestyle changes, and optimizing adrenal and thyroid functions for improved hormonal balance. Healthy living depends on managing hormone deficiencies.