Hormone balancing supplements often don't get to the root of the problem.
Our thyroid and sex hormones — i.e., the ones that impact our mood, energy levels, metabolism, skin and more — take their cues from:
Gut health (chronic bloating, gas, parasites, yeast overgrowth, constipation, etc.)
Nervous system and how it’s interpreting your daily stresses
Immune balance (excessive inflammation from infections, mold, etc.)
Sleep habits
Nutrient levels and absorption (back to gut health)
Mindset and emotional state
If your body perceives a “threat,” which can include infections, nutrient deficiencies, toxins and negative thoughts or subconscious messages, your body may sacrifice the production, metabolism, detoxification and delicate balance of hormones so it can use its resources to manage those underlying issues.
If you have signs of hormonal imbalance, like…
PMS
Hormonal acne
Irregular periods
Painful periods
Fluid retention
Depression, anxiety or irritability that gets worse before your period
… you’ll likely need to look beyond those symptoms to resolve them.
Simply using herbs or supplements designed to “balance hormones,” while often helpful short-term, will miss the underlying issue, and those unpleasant symptoms will likely return or linger.
I’m not saying things like chaste berry (aka Vitex), black cohosh, maca and others aren’t helpful — they can be *extremely* helpful and provide much-needed relief — my point is that hormones aren’t leaders, they’re followers, or what we call “downstream”, and you have to look upstream — to the systems listed above — when looking for WHY they’re imbalanced in the first place, so you can regain balance long-term (and not be reliant on herbs or supplements to keep your hormones balanced forever).
A rebalancing plan will look different for everyone, because everyone’s needs are different. But if we were working together, common starting places are often:
Gut healing: anti-inflammatory whole foods, rebalancing the microbiome, healing and sealing the gut lining)
Stress management: breathing, meditation, daily tuning into your emotions and healthy emotional release, EFT Tapping, Emotion & Body Code, Reiki, MBSR etc etc.)
Optimize sleep: sleep hygiene, calming practices and herbs as needed in the short-term to retrain healthy sleep habits)
Check nutrient levels and rebuild as needed
Ensure daily movement is Goldiocks status — not too much or too little
It may seem complex, and sometimes it can be, but rebalancing things is always possible. And often, addressing the basics makes a huge difference. If there are other elements keep things out of whack, I’ve found a combination of lab testing and energetic testing to be very effective in identifying the underlying issues for long-term balance.
If you’d like to explore these aspects of your health together, schedule a free discovery call.