Hormone Balance is a book written by Dr. Carolyn Dean, a medical doctor and naturopath, which explores natural ways to redress a hormonal imbalance within the female body. All sorts of things can cause our hormones to become imbalanced, including menopause and perimenopause, the menstrual cycle and bone density loss, as well as diet and lifestyle factors.
Dr. Carolyn Dean’s book, published by Adams Media in 2005, explores the causes of hormonal imbalance and compares the effectiveness of different remedies, including HRT and bio-identical hormones, as well as offering a series of expert tips on foods and supplements.
The book looks at both traditional and alternative solutions openly to help each reader find the solution that works best for them and helps them overcome the hormonal rollercoaster.
The infographic attachment shows some statistics for hormonal imbalance from a study of American women.
Exercise
One natural way to improve hormonal balance is through regular exercise. Even people who are unable to partake in vigorous exercise will find some benefit from taking regular walks or other light activity. Exercise helps increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin and raises levels of the hormone adiponectin, which helps regulate metabolism. It can also help boost levels of hormones that naturally decline with age, such as growth hormones and testosterone, which help maintain the muscles of the body. The best combination of exercise has been shown to be a mixture of aerobic and resistance training, although any exercise at all is helpful.
The embedded short video provides a definition of aerobic activity.
Managing Diet
Dr. Carolyn Dean talks extensively in her book about how to structure a nutritionally balanced diet that can help alleviate the symptoms of hormonal imbalance or prevent the condition altogether. Minimizing or avoiding intake of refined carbohydrates and sugar can help people see improvements in a number of health conditions, including hormonal imbalances. Conversely, foods that can help control hormone levels include healthy fats such as medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil, fatty fish and foods that are high in fiber.
Avoiding Stress
Stress can play a key role in causing hormones to end up out of balance. Managing or avoiding stress can therefore help avoid falling prey to hormonal imbalances. There has been shown to be a strong link between stress, hormone levels and the endocrine system, identified in a study published in the Experimental and Clinical Sciences journal. Stress causes the body to release higher levels of the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which can disrupt overall hormonal balance. Finding simple ways to reduce stress, such as listening to music, can help reduce the likelihood of suffering from hormonal imbalances.
Some tips on natural stress management can be found in the PDF attachment to this post.
Improve Sleep Patterns
Maintaining healthy sleep patterns can help reduce the risk of multiple conditions, including hormonal imbalances. The quantity of sleep is equally as important as the quality of the sleep we get. Poor sleep patterns have been linked to imbalances of multiple hormones, including cortisol, growth hormone, insulin and leptin. A minimum of seven hours uninterrupted sleep is required to allow the brain to go through all five stages of the sleep cycle, resulting in the right quality and quantity of sleep for the typical adult. The sleep cycle can easily be disrupted by exposure to too much blue light, so items such as cell phones should not be kept in the bedroom.