What is the first thing you think of when you hear the term 'hormones'? Likely puberty/adolescence, PMS, pregnancy, menopause, etc., but they have to do with SO MUCH MORE.
Hormones, secreted by the glands of your endocrine system (see image below), are chemical messengers that are released directly into the blood, which carries them to organs and tissues of the body to exert their functions including:
Development and growth
Metabolism of food items
Sexual function and reproductive growth and health
Cognitive function and mood
Maintenance of body temperature and thirst
Meet Your Endocrine Glands
Their role is crucial to maintaining your body's balance, or homeostasis.
➡️ Adrenals - Stress response and blood pressure/salt control ➡️ Hypothalamus - Influences, nervous and hormonal systems ➡️ Pineal - Sleep cycle ➡️ Parathyroid - Calcium and Vitamin D regulation ➡️ Pituitary - Reproduction, growth, childbirth, breastfeeding, hormone regulation ➡️ Pancreas - Blood sugar control ➡️ Ovaries - Female characteristics - Estrogen, Progesterone ➡️ Thymus - Lymphoid organ of the immune system ➡️ Thyroid - Metabolism, bone health ➡️ Testes - Male characteristics - Testosterone
Human body hormones. Image Credit: VectorMine / Shutterstock
Hormones and Your Health
Throughout the entire month of August, we're talking with other experts on how hormones affect your health, and natural ways to bring them into balance in our Facebook Live series, All About Hormones.
Catch our kick off last week, Intro to Hormones, with Holistic Health Coach, Christine Camara, LMT.
Due to the way hormones affect your body's processes, an imbalance will be disruptive and can cause some of the following symptoms:
Insomnia
Poor Sleep Quality
Weight Gain
Low Libido
Heavy or painful periods
Fertility issues
Skin problems
Bone weakness
Headaches
Mood Swings
Endometriosis
PCOS
Depression
The sad thing is most people (oftentimes women) are told this is just something you will live with, or told to go on birth control or other artificial hormone substitute, but these "solutions" do not treat the root cause of the issue.
Bringing balance and harmony to your hormones naturally IS possible! Just like when we discussed healing from pain & inflammation and gut health issues, it takes modifications to many aspects of your lifestyle and, of course, two other main ingredients: time & consistency.
Make sure you're on our weekly email list and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay plugged in to all of the tips and info we'll be bringing you to help balance your hormones!
Also, Christine and I are both taking 15-minute consultations, so click here to book if you need some one-on-one support! Click the drop-down that says "All Staff" to select who you want to schedule with.
Drop your insights and comments below. Love and light, friends!