Hormone Balancing for Women

1. Hormone Balancingfor Women Dr. Melanie MacIver, ND

2. Topics • About hormones • Benefits of balanced hormones • Causes of hormone imbalance • Bio-identical hormones • Lifestyle and nutrition tips for balance • Hormone health quiz • Q and A

3. About Hormones • Chemical messengers in the blood responsible for metabolism, energy, reproduction, growth, mood, hunger, immunity and more • Intricate web of communication between everyhormones and the nervous system, and all actions of the body • Production begins to decrease in middle age and continues in a linear fashion until old age

4. Benefits of Balanced Hormones

5. Balanced Hormones • Wake up feeling rested • Energy all day • Clear skin and full hair • Ideal weight • Healthy sex drive • Regular cycles for women • Good cognitive function • Balanced cholesterol • Good immune system and healing capacity

6. Signs of Hormone Imbalance • Anxiety • Depression • High cholesterol • Osteoporosis • Low sex drive • Hot flashes • PMS • Blood sugar issues • Concentration difficulties • Inflammation • Sleep disturbances • Allergies • Water retention • Infertility • Hair loss • Miscarriages • Irregular menses • Abdominal fat

7. Causes of Hormone Imbalance

8. How Did My Hormones Become Imbalanced? • Imbalance is on the rise • The hormonal (endocrine) system is especially sensitive to the problems of today’s lifestyle • Toxic environment • High stress lifestyle

9. Toxic Environment • Dead and chemicalfoods hard to process • Numerous additives, preservatives, colourings, and flavourings in food • Heavy metals from environment blockhormone making enzymes • Estrogen mimicking plastics and pesticides bind strongly to estrogen receptors

10. High Stress Lifestyle • Stress is necessary to push us to perform. The problem is when stress is too high,prolonged or accumulates • The stress hormone cortisol has significant effects on other hormone systems • When excess cortisol is produced less female hormones are made (especially after menopause), less thyroid converted and more food is stored as fat

11. Menopause and Stress • Adrenal gland makes cortisol and estrogen after menopause • Excess stress= excess cortisol produced so not enough estrogen • Body ‘steals’ progesterone precursor to make cortisol, so not enough progesterone • DHEA production inverse to cortisol, so not enough DHEA

12. More Causes of Imbalance • Artificial lighting • Lack of mineral cofactors from food • Less restorative sleep/ shift work • Medications including hormones, prednisone, long term antibiotic use • Lack of exercise

13. Bio-identical Hormones

14. Bio-identical Hormones • Synthesized hormones identical to those our body produces • Another tool in the naturopathic tool belt • Help many women reduce hormonal symptoms • Work nicely with herbal medicine • Thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, DHEA, cortisol and testosterone can be prescribed • Customized foreach individual patient • Important to receive comprehensive testing and risk assessment before beginning

15. Hormone Balancing Tips

16. Lifestyle and Nutrition Tips • Sleep • Support circadian rhythm and follow a routine • Liver and digestive support • Stress reduction • Exercise

17. Good Sleep is Healing • Good sleep necessary to heal and detox • Sleep until 9 am if possible (cortisol) • Sleepy herbs and calming amino acids if necessary

18. Support Circadian Rhythm • Adrenals especially involved, and cortisol/ melatonin hormones • Go outside in the daytime • Sleep in a totally dark room • Support melatonin production and consider a supplement if shift work history • Follow a regular routine for meals and sleep

19. Liver and Digestive Support • Take herbs to support your liver (milk thistle, rosemary, schizandra) • Eat freshly ground flax seeds 5 x week • Eat organic dairy and meat • Include enough good fats, protein, and mineral cofactors in diet, or supplement • Consider a probiotic • Cleanse it out!

20. Stress Management • Reduce if possible! • Nervous system tonic or Reba emotional homeopathics • Exercise, yoga, meditation • Eat breakfast

21. Are Your Hormones Balanced? • Hormone questionnaire • 24 hr urine test • Blood work or saliva testing

22. Our Hormone Balancing Programs • Unique integrated one year programs • ND partnered with MD • Regular and Unlimited visits programs • Includes initial assessment, 24 hr urine hormone test, any indicated conventional blood testing, test results follow up, and four additional follow ups that year

23. Hormone Health Quiz

24. Progesterone Deficiency • PMS • Painful and/or lumpy breasts • Insomnia • Early miscarriage • Unexplained weight gain • Cyclical headaches • Anxiety • Infertility • Water retention

25. Estrogen Deficiency • Vaginal dryness • Night sweats • Painful intercourse • Memory problems • Bladder infections • Lethargic depression • Hot flashes

26. Excess Estrogen • Puffiness and bloating • Abnormal pap smear • Rapid weight gain • Breast tenderness • Mood swings • Heavy bleeding • Anxious depression • Migraine headaches • Insomnia • Foggy thinking • Red flush on face • Gallbladder problems • Weepines

27. Excess Androgens • Acne • Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) • Excessive hair on the face and arms • Hypoglycemia and/or unstable blood sugar • Thinning hair on the head • Infertility • Ovarian cysts • Mid-cycle pain

28. Cortisol Deficiency • Debilitating fatigue • Unstable blood sugar • Foggy thinking • Low blood pressure • Thin and/or dry skin • Intolerance to exercise • Brown spots on face • Frequent infections

29. Questions? www.kineticpatterns.ca