I have been noticing a concerning trend among my friends and clients. We all seem to be gaining weight and having a harder time losing it. For many of us, our old tricks like cutting out carbs or increasing exercise no longer seem to work. Balancing hormones with Essential Oils is a great way to keep your body going.
Balancing Hormones with Essential Oils
My research into what was causing the barrage of symptoms from weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, depression, mood swings to fertility problems, led me on a direct path to hormones, the chemical messengers that travel through the bloodstream to maintain the delicate balance in our bodies.
As you may know, hormones are responsible for countless body functions – from hair growth and skin quality, to metabolizing food, maintaining body temperature, causing our heart to beat, preparing our bodies for sex and reproduction, replenishing energy, weight gain — and of course, our mood.
Hormones are produced and regulated by the endocrine system, including the hypothalamus, pituitary, ovaries, adrenals, thyroid, along with the liver, gall bladder and lining of the gut.
When we support these systems to function optimally, the hormones released into our bodies are more in balance. Unfortunately, many aspects of daily life including stress, emotional upset, digestive dysfunction, toxic overload, chronic infection can throw our hormones out of balance and, with them, key health issues like .
I have been playing with a new Hormone Balance™ formula that seems to be working wonders on my system and helping me drop weight.
To support optimal hormonal health, it is also important to identify which systems are out of balance and help them return to optimal function so they can weather the increased stress of hormonal shifts, such as puberty or menopause. This support can include diet, supplements and Essential Oils.
How to Support the Organs that Produce Hormones
Hypothalamus™ – a small pea size region in the brain, controls all hormonal messages – collecting, assessing and responding to internal and external signals from the body. The Hypothalamus’s ability to interpret the information received determines which hormones are secreted. It needs to be functioning optimally for optimal hormonal balance.
Gut™ – If the stomach isn’t digesting proteins or the small intestine isn’t producing the proper enzymes to absorb of fats, our bodies won’t receive the proper building blocks to produce hormones. Similarly, the beneficial bacteria in the small intestine metabolizes hormones like estrogen that are discharged from the liver. If your body is lacking the probiotics and bacteria to break down estrogen or the intestinal permeability is compromised from leaky gut, you will reabsorb estrogens. The extra estrogen binds to sensitive areas such as the breast, uterus, or ovaries, contributing to fibroids, tumors and PMS symptoms. Finally, if toxins aren’t regularly leaving the body via bowel movements, they can leach from it into the nearby tissues of the reproductive system and impede their function.
Liver™ – supports hormonal balance by removing excess hormones of all types from the blood stream. Weakened liver function increases availability of estrogens in the body. If too many excess “used” hormones floating in the bloodstream, hypothalamus might fail to signal the pituitary gland to send out fresh hormones. If there are too many hormones in the body it becomes unbalanced and symptomatic. For example, an excess of estrogen might lead a woman to experience hot flashes, bouts of anger or depression, weight gain, cramps or irregular cycles. Another important factor in the body’s capacity to make hormones is the liver’s ability to process fatty acids. We must have fats in the diet to make steroid hormones, and the liver has to be able to process them.
Gall Bladder™ – is a small, pear-shaped organ that stores and concentrates bile, a fluid made in the liver that helps the body break down fat and carry toxins (including old hormones) out of the body. When the bile thickens, it disrupts the flow and elimination of toxins and old hormones from the body.
Adrenals™ – small glands located on top of the kidneys, are responsible for 25 % of sex hormone production before menopause, with the remaining 75% being produced by the ovaries. During menopause, ovarian production of estrogens and progesterone begin to wane and the adrenal glands become the back-up system for these hormones (with a little support from fat cells and the ovaries). Think of it like a train switching tracks. This transition can be smooth and seamless if the adrenals are in optimal condition.
Unfortunately, the adrenals also produce the hormones that help the body respond to and manage stress, such as cortisol. Chronic or prolonged stress can exhaust the adrenals and diminish their ability to produce sex hormones as the body will always prioritize need for survival (fight or flight) over keeping sex hormones in balance. If adrenals are supported and in good shape, you will not experience PMS or cramping prior to menopause and will avoid or significantly diminish menopause symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats.
Circadian Rhythms™ – Integral to support the adrenal glands is also supporting the natural sleep/wake cycle, known as the circadian rhythms. You see the sleep hormone, melatonin and the stress hormone, cortisol work in tandem, via an antagonistic relationship. When cortisol is high, melatonin is low and vice versa. This means that if we are not sleeping restfully and through the night, we not only rob our bodies of that critical rest and repair time, but we are keeping our cortisol high and further depleting our adrenal glands.
Click here for a FREE checklist to help you determine best strategies to return your body to optimal hormonal balance.
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