A sneaky cause of major health issues

If you went to the doctor and reported having insomnia, you’d probably walk out with a prescription for sleeping pills.

Or if you mentioned feeling depressed, you may get an antidepressant.

If you complained about indigestion, acid reducers may be in your future.

But there is a common underlying cause for all of these health issues (and many more) that NONE of the prescription drugs in the world can touch—and in many cases, they make things worse.

Hormonal imbalances!

Here’s why hormones can make or break you in terms of health.

The ultimate power
When people hear the word hormones, images of menopausal women with hot flashes come to mind.
But that’s just a drop in the hormone bucket!

There have been over 200 hormones identified so far, and they control pretty much ALL of your body’s processes.  For example:

• Hormones trigger your digestive organs to secrete enzymes.
• Your metabolism is (hopefully) active because your thyroid is cranking out hormones that affect every single cell in your body.
• Your ability to deal with an emergency depends on hormones secreted by your adrenal glands.
• If you do not suffer from diabetes that’s because your pancreas is secreting adequate insulin.
• And if you sleep soundly at night your pineal gland is ensuring you have enough melatonin.

Why are people’s hormones so messed up?
Now more than any other time in our existence, people are suffering from hormonal imbalances, and at younger ages too.  Instead of affecting people in their 50s and 60s we’re seeing them in our 20s and 30s.

There are many factors that can cause hormonal imbalances and they include:

• Chemicals like BPAs, BHC, PCBs, etc. that are abundant in our environment
• Hormones injected into the animals raised for our food supply, which in turn make their way into your body
• Low-fat diets because your body needs fats to make hormones
• Prescription drugs—especially antibiotics, birth control pills and statins
• Liver malfunction—because the liver is responsible for clearing old worn-out hormones from your body, as well as manufacturing cholesterol to make your reproductive hormones

But the two most prevalent causes of hormonal problems are things that are very common is our society today…

Poor digestion and stress!
Here’s how:

The poor digestion connection
When your digestion isn’t going along so well, your system’s ability to assimilate and absorb nutrients from your foods is greatly impaired.  Since your body needs nutrients to make hormones, inadequate digestion can cause hormonal imbalances!

In addition, poor digestion can result in chronic constipation, which in turn can mean that old hormones your body is trying to eliminate with your bowel movements instead can be reabsorbed into circulation, creating imbalances and hyperstimulation.

Eating simpler meals—pairing protein and vegetables OR starch and vegetables—can be a big help in paving the way for easier digestion.

In addition, probiotics have been shown to be extremely helpful with easing constipation and improving nutrient absorption through the gut wall.

And if your not-so-great digestion includes heartburn or acid reflux, digestive enzymes can help give your body a much-needed boost to get the job done without your stomach going overboard cranking out acid.

Stress—the pregnenolone “hog”
The hormone pregnenolone is your “molding clay” for all of your hormones, and your body divvies it up as it’s needed to make the various types of hormones.

But your stress hormones trump all other types in your body.  So when you’re under chronic stress, your adrenals “hog” all of your pregnenolone to make the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol…
Leaving little or none for your other hormonal needs!

If stress is a regular companion for you, it’s time to find ways to chill out.  (Keep in mind regular exercise is a great stress reducer and encourages ALL of your systems to function at their best!)
Get help from a counselor or therapist if you need it.

Other ideas
Your doctor can do a complete hormone panel to see where you stand.  Since hormones control literally everything about you, a hormone panel should be as basic as a CBC or lipid panel in assessing your health at this point.

If you find you need some hormonal “assistance” consider bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.  Your body has a much easier time assimilating bioidentical hormones versus synthetic hormones because they are natural and molecularly identical to hormones created by your body.

Get enough healthy fats!  Your body’s ability to produce hormones is dependent on having enough fats for “raw materials.”  Healthy fats include real butter, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, avocado, wild caught fish and fish oil supplements.