Balancing your hormones

Women's World

Published: Sunday May 12, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Wednesday August 14, 2013 MYT 7:51:47 PM

by datuk dr nor ashikin mokhtar

Diagnosing hormonal imbalance conditions and treatments to correct the imbalance.

IN my previous piece for this column, I looked at the hormonal imbalance situation that appears to be on the rise in our population, especially among women.

The last three-and-a-half decades have seen hormone-linked health disorders such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), diabetes, thyroid conditions, adrenal fatigue, hormone-linked breast cancer, weight gain and worsening symptoms of PMS and perimenopause become increasingly common.

In the previous article, I discussed some of these hormonal imbalance conditions, the causes and the symptoms.

Now, let us look at how we can diagnose these conditions and the best therapies to correct the imbalance.

Do you need a hormone test?

Not every woman needs or should have a hormone test (sometimes called a hormone panel because several hormones are tested). They can certainly be useful in many cases, but for most women who only have ordinary symptoms of hormonal imbalance, a hormone test will not tell them anything they don’t already know.

For women in this group, which represents the majority of women, their individual symptoms can vary. They may be experiencing heightened symptoms of PMS, menopause or adrenal fatigue.
The general advice for these women is to restore their nutritional well-being, take the right basic supplements and make meaningful lifestyle changes.

However, there are women who may be suffering more severe forms of hormonal imbalance that cause very specific conditions, and they will find that hormone panels are very useful in identifying the cause of their problem and providing a solution.

At this point, I would like to highlight that women with fertility issues are a particularly important group when considering hormone tests.

Many fertility problems can be traced to hormonal irregularities, and pinpointing the specific hormone at fault will help lead the way to a more effective intervention.

Other conditions stemming from hormone imbalance may produce debilitating symptoms, such as PCOS, fibroids and diagnosed alopecia, and should be properly diagnosed with a hormone panel.

A panel of tests

Hormone tests are not as straightforward as many other medical tests, such as a glucose or cholesterol test. In the latter, you measure the level of glucose or cholesterol in the blood, and this single test can tell you whether you have high glucose or high cholesterol.

With hormone tests, you need a skilled medical practitioner who knows your history and will take the time to “connect the dots”. (Refer to the table which lists out some of the hormones tested in a basic hormone panel.)

Other hormones that may be included in a panel include cortisol, free T3 (thyroid), thyroid-stimulating hormone, pregnenolone and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).

Natural approach to balancing hormones

Hormonal imbalance is a complex condition and is still not very well understood by many physicians. Most women themselves are uncertain of how to go about describing their symptoms and may shrug it off as something that they have to live with.

Very often, women’s hormonal imbalance problems are treated symptomatically, such as by prescribing antidepressants or HRT. This approach usually assumes that oestrogen is the only cause, and does not take into account the different hormones at play.

Treating hormonal imbalance is not as simple as taking a medication or undergoing a procedure. It has to be holistic, looking at all the hormones that are interrelated, as imbalance in one hormone often affects all the other hormones it is linked to.

Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all therapy for hormonal imbalance. Most of the time, there isn’t even a single approach that can solve the problem – it will likely involve several approaches and interventions in combination.

The biggest mistake in treating hormonal imbalance would be to add more hormones into the body, based on the perception that if the body is lacking a hormone, simply increasing the level of that hormone will solve the problem.

However, more isn’t always better, especially when it comes to hormones like oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

When you artifically increase the levels of hormones in the body, you will create a spillover effect on other hormones, and this will lead to other problems.

Instead, the underlying principle in treating hormonal imbalance is to provide support for the body to restore its hormone balance naturally. When the body is healthy and strong, then the communication between hormones, organs and tissues will go back to normal.

The four main pillars of hormonal balance are good nutrition, stress management, reduction of toxins and lifestyle changes.

The principles of good nutrition are the same basic ones that you have heard many times before: a balanced diet, with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, high-quality protein, whole grains and healthy fats. Cut down on sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Reducing stress levels contributes a great deal to hormonal balance. It takes a conscious effort to manage your life so that you are less stressed out. It may require you to change your outlook on life, change certain aspects or routines of your personal and work life, as well as take things slow and easy.

As much as possible, you have to limit your exposure to toxins in your environment, as there are many chemicals that have oestrogenic effects in the body (xenoestrogens). These toxins can be found in pesticides, detergents, petroleum products, plastic products and cosmetics – all of which we use in our daily lives.

It is not easy to eliminate these products from your life, but you can start by storing food in glass containers instead of plastic, avoiding non-stick cookware, limiting pre-packaged foods, and buying natural products as much as possible.

Finally, look at your overall lifestyle to see how you can treat your body better. Lack of sleep and exercise are usually our biggest weaknesses that affect our hormones.

Lack of sleep affects the hormone melatonin, as well as the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Lack of exercise affects our insulin and cortisol levels. By ensuring that we get sufficient amounts of sleep and exercise, we could be making a huge difference to our hormonal health.

Find a doctor who specialises in hormonal health and anti-ageing therapies, so that he or she will be able to assess your condition properly.

Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar is a consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist (FRCOG, UK).


http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Viewpoints/Womens-World/Profile/Articles/2013/05/12/Balancing-your-hormones.aspx