Female Hormone Imbalances

Hormonal imbalances lead to a long list of unwanted symptoms in menstruating, peri-menopausal, and menopausal females. This is because the female hormone cycle regulates up to 150 different bodily functions on a daily basis, including proper functioning of the endocrine system, immunological system, and neurological system. Female hormone imbalances across all ages are most always due to a dysregulation problem, and not necessarily a deficiency problem. The dysregulation problems must be identified and corrected first before considering hormonal replacement therapy. The most common hormone dysregulation symptoms I see among female patients in my practice include:

The traditional medical approach to female hormone imbalances includes synthetic contraceptives (ie. the birth control pill) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), both of which are used to manage symptoms only and can lead to serious side effects. In my functional medicine practice, I identify and remove the underlying causes of hormone dysregulation in the patient through proper testing and dietary/lifestyle changes. The most important factors to address in females suffering from hormone dysregulation include:

• Essential Fatty Acid Balance

• Liver Function

• Digestive Function

• Blood Sugar Balance

• Adrenal Function

• Endocrine Disruptors

All of the above can be corrected by proper testing and normalization of imbalances using a functional medicine approach. By correcting any imbalances in the above issues, the patient’s hormonal balance is brought back into homeostasis along with their overall body biochemistry.