Are Your Hormones Out of Balance?

Many times when our hormones are out of balance, it comes down to four things:

1. Fatigue and difficulty sleeping suggest possible problems with the adrenals. The adrenal glands produce stress hormones, such as cortisol.
2. Fatigue, along with constipation, thinning hair, brittle nails and weight gain suggest possible problems with the thyroid. The gland that produces thyroid hormone.
3. Perimenopausal and menstrual issues suggest possible problems with estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, the sex hormones
4. Weight gain could be the result of all three hormonal imbalances. This could mean eating too many sweets and starches and/or having a carbohydrate intolerance, indicating problems with the hormone insulin.

Unfortunately, we live in a toxic world, encountering thousands of industrial chemicals, heavy metals and pollutants in our air, food, water, home cleaning products, and personal-care items. Along with their general toxic burden, they work specifically to disrupt our hormones. These are referred to as "endocrine hormone disruptors."

Here are a few places where endocrine disruptors hide:

• Personal care products: cosmetics, moisturizers, shampoos, and conditioners often contain ingredients that disrupt your hormone balance
• Drinking water: atrazine, arsenic, and perchlorate are three endocrine disruptors that pervade many communities' supply of drinking water
• Canned foods: many food cans are lined with BPA, a common endocrine disruptor
• Conventionally farmed fruits and vegetables: pesticides, herbacides, and industrial runoff turn even healthy produce into endocrine disruptors
• High mercury fish: shark, swordfish, king mackerel, marlin and tilefish are high in mercury and heavy metals, which disrupt hormonal balance and function
• Home and office cleaning products: these are frequently loaded with industrial chemicals that disrupt your hormones
• Kitchen products: common hazards include nonstick cookware, plastic wrap, and plastic containers, especially when heated

There are things that you can do to protect yourself from these toxins. Here are a few suggestions to incorporate today:

• Avoid plastics whenever possible, especially plastics made with BPA. When you heat your food in plastics, molecules from the plastic make their way into your food and disrupt your hormonal balance.
• Use only "clean" personal care products. Avoid products that contain parabens, phthalates, DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (monothanolamine), TEA (triethanolamine), sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium laureth sulfate. For more information on which products to avoid, see www.ewg.org - The Environmental Working Group.
• Avoid plastic water bottles. As the water sits in the bottle, especially in the sun or in a warm environment, plastic molecules seep into the water.
• Avoid hand sanitizers and antibacterial soap - they destroy the bacteria on your skin, which disrupts your microbiome. Washing your hands with a good, pure soap is just as good as using an antibacterial.
• Get a water filter for each one of your home faucets, including bath and shower; you absorb disruptive chemicals through your skin as well as by drinking them.

Paying attention to the common endocrine disruptors mentioned above is key to fixing any underlying dysfunctions. Protecting yourself from those toxins will help your hormones find a nice, healthy balance.

If you are concerned about heavy metals in your body, a hair tissue mineral analysis could be the answer. See more about what a hair analysis provides here.

Always...Take Care of You!