Hormone Imbalances and How to Address Them
What are hormones?
Hormones are produced in your endocrine glands. They travel through your bloodstream and act as messengers to control things like your metabolism, adrenal responses and even your mood. Fluctuation in hormone levels is normal, especially when your body goes through puberty, pregnancy or menopause. However, if your body consistently produces too much or too little of a hormone, it can make you feel ‘off’ or even very unwell.
Symptoms of a hormonal imbalance
There are many different hormones that affect different parts of your body, therefore, the symptoms of a hormonal imbalance can vary significantly depending on the root cause.
General symptoms include:
- Changes to your skin
- Difficulty concentrating
- Difficulty sleeping
- Digestive issues such as diarrhoea and constipation
- Dry nails and hair
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Increased hunger or thirst
- Irritability, anxiety, depression and mood swings
- Loss of sex drive
- Sudden weight changes (gain or loss)
- Thinning hair and hair loss
Because men and women have different hormone levels, there are also symptoms that affect one or the other.
Men might notice:
- Changes to body and facial hair
- Erectile dysfunction
- Changes to breast tissue (gynaecomastia)
- Muscle loss
- Infertility
- Excessive sweating
Women might notice:
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- Excessive body or facial hair
- Cystic acne
- Tender breasts
- Vaginal dryness or atrophy
Causes of a hormonal imbalance
Hormone levels often fluctuate in a ทางเข้า UFABET สำหรับสมาชิกใหม่ สมัครวันนี้ รับโบนัสฟรี cyclical manner. Which is why women often experience changes in the bodies and moods every month. This is known as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and it is completely normal.
True hormone imbalances, on the other hand, can be caused by a number of medical conditions, including
- Overactive or underactive thyroid glands
- Cushing syndrome, which affects cortisol levels (steroid hormone)
- Diabetes
- Tumours
- Medication
- Hormone therapy
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Stress
- Eating disorders