Hormonal Imbalances
About
Hormones are chemical “messengers” produced by glands in your endocrine system that regulate many bodily processes including your appetite and metabolism, heart rate, sleep cycles, reproductive cycles and sexual function, growth, body temperature and mood.
Hormonal imbalances occur when there is too much or too little of a particular hormone in the bloodstream. Even a slight imbalance can cause detrimental health conditions.
Symptoms
Your hormones work in unison. When there is imbalance in production of one, it can negatively impact the rest of the network. Symptoms can overlap and may include:
Adrenals –
Acne • Brain fog • Fatigue • Feeling weak • High blood pressure • Insomnia • Loss of libido • Stress • Weight gain
Thyroid –
- Hypothyroidism (underactive): Brain fog • Brittle hair, nails • Constipation • Depression • Dry skin • Fatigue • Feeling cold • Muscle weakness • Mood swings • Weight gain
- Hyperthyroidism (overactive): Anxiety • Diarrhoea • Feeling hot • Hyperactivity • Itchiness • Loss of libido • Muscle weakness • Mood swings • Weight loss
Sex hormones –
Acne • Erectile dysfunction • Excess body hair • Infertility • Irregular periods • Hair loss • Loss of libido
Causes
Hormonal imbalances can cause serious health issues from adrenal fatigue, inflammation, diabetes, obesity and sexual dysfunction to heart disease, due to factors such as stress, poor diet, excess medications and environmental toxicity.
Adrenal hormones – after sustained periods of stress, cortisol can lead to hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and obesity. Proper functioning of the adrenals is essential for thyroid and sex hormone production.
Thyroid hormones – TSH is needed for production of T4 to be converted into its active form T3. A lack of key nutrients can cause thyroid dysfunction such as hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s) or hyperthyroidism (Grave’s disease).
Sex hormones – oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone fluctuate during puberty, perimenopause, menopause & andropause. Stress, nutrition & lifestyle factors contribute to underproduction of these hormones.
The risk of developing a thyroid issue develops with age. It is estimated that at least 1 in 20 people in the UK have a thyroid problem.
10x
more hypothyroidism in women than men
2%
of the UK population is affected by hyperthyroidism
Up to 69%
of hyperthyroid patients experience depressive disorders
The Functional Medicine Approach
Hormonal imbalances can be difficult to assess as they stem from many root causes. A combination of nutritional therapy, functional testing and lifestyle methods are key to resolving hormonal dysfunction.
Nutritional Therapy
Food is your friend.
A healthy diet is key to hormonal health. We assess your current symptoms and full health history to determine underlying causes that may be disrupting your hormonal balance. Balancing hormones is challenging as imbalance stems from different roots, but once identified, we can apply targeted interventions which help resolve symptoms and restore hormonal function.
Food intolerances, nutrient deficiencies and gut health are all essential to hormone function. We assess your diet to pinpoint whether any of these are an underlying cause of hormonal imbalance.
Nutritional therapy helps you understand the relationship between nutrition and hormones imbalances so you can make the right food choices in future.
Functional Testing
Harness the power of science.
Enables us to look directly at specific hormone panels to identify imbalances and help us design your personalised Nutrition & Lifestyle Action Plan, aimed specifically at restoring your hormonal balance. We choose the most appropriate test depending on the type of hormonal issue we are assessing:
Adrenal and Sex hormones
- DUTCH Plus (CAR) test – comprehensive assessment of sex and adrenal hormones and their metabolites. It includes the daily, free cortisol pattern, organic acids, melatonin (6-OHMS), 8-OHdG and adds the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) to bring another important piece of the HPA-axis into focus.
Thyroid hormones
- Comprehensive Thyroid Panel – full assessment of thyroid health, screening of hypo or hyperthyroidism, concerns about toxic element exposure and iodine/selenium deficiency’s impact on T4 to T3 conversion and testing for autoimmune thyroid disease.
Lifestyle Coaching
Empowers you to be at your best.
The links between hormonal function and lifestyle factors are well researched. We help you make sense of lifestyle factors that could be disrupting your hormonal balance and work together to implement strategies and positive changes response.
- Exercise – alleviates stress and has also been shown to improve thyroid function. It reduces TSH levels and increases T3 and T4, whilst helping lose weight which is a side effect of an underactive thyroid.
- Stress – leads to increase in cortisol which can disrupt hormone balance, causing obesity, depression, anxiety and cardiovascular issues.
- Sleep – a lack of it can cause endocrine disruption and affects your long term mental health and general wellbeing.
- Toxicity – environmental toxicity, excess alcohol and smoking hinder thyroid function by reducing TSH levels as well as impacting sex hormone production.
BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL
To ensure the continued practice of safe and reliable therapy, all consultations are currently being conducted virtually.
Satisfied Patients
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Sign up to receive discounts, promotions and the latest news.
T. Ladejobi
Hormonal ImbalanceCarmen has been my nutritional therapist for over a year now. Our first interaction was after fibroid surgery. Since then Carmen and I have been working very closely to improve my overall health and now on my fertility journey. What I love about working with Carmen, is that she treats me as the individual that I am. She helps me to find the right solutions based on my lifestyle and my budget. After years of seeking this kind of approach, I'm really glad to have found Carmen. I wouldn't trust anyone else.