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Today, many adults (both men and women) experience undetected hormonal imbalances because of the overabundance of estrogen and estrogen-like compounds in our food. Poor diets (usually high in carbohydrates and low in fat), nutritional deficiencies, and consumption of trans-fats are causes of hormonal imbalances. Synthetic chemicals and xenohormone exposure that we face at work, at play, and at home also have an impact.
Women in perfect health have a balance of natural estrogen and progesterone. Before reaching menopause, a woman will produce a higher amount of estrogen in the first 7 or 8 days of her monthly cycle, and a higher amount of progesterone afterwards. A man in perfect health will produce progesterone balanced with testosterone. Unfortunately, progesterone and testosterone tend to decline with advancing age. In addition, many women and men now are consuming extra estrogen that tends to block the absorption of progesterone and testosterone.
This common problem has been called "estrogen dominance," and it occurs frequently in women as well as men. Some of the symptoms of estrogen dominance include:
- menstrual cramps and migraines
- bloating/water retention
- breast tenderness
- hot flashes
- weight gain, especially in abdomen, hips, thighs
- fatigue and insomnia
- gallbladder problems
- anxiety, irritability, anger
- depression and mood swings
- loss of sex drive
- hair loss
- foggy thinking, memory difficulties
- fibroid tumors, endometriosis, polycystic ovaries
- infertility
- decreased resistance to all forms of cancer
The body’s hormonal levels are best determined by saliva panels. The reason saliva panels make sense is because most of any circulating hormone is bound to protein. The small protein that is not bound is called the free fraction. It is this free fraction that is bio-available (affects tissue). The salivary levels of hormones are very highly correlated with the free fraction in the serum and can match up with a person’s symptoms.
Hair analysis also offers a whole new approach to understanding and treating a wide variety of diseases and health conditions. It is unique in that it is non-invasive and an inexpensive way to give information directly about cellular activity—the main site of nutritional metabolism. It provides a good indication of the nutritional content of the body’s tissues, toxic heavy metals, the ratios of nutrients to heavy metal toxins, and the metabolism type.
Once a person determines his or her specific hormonal status and nutritional content, a host of natural remedies and nutritional protocols are available.
For more information on this subject, please contact Dr. Akin.
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