An imbalance in hormones can keep us from losing weight, shift body fat to accumulate around the waist-line and cause problems with moods, energy and of course, menstrual irregularities.  Estrogen and progesterone fluctuate with a woman’s menstrual cycle- estrogen higher in the first half of the cycle and progesterone in the second.  An imbalance between these two hormones can lead most commonly to estrogen dominance, estrogen deficiency (as seen in menopause),or progesterone deficiency.  The tricky this is that these hormones are intimately connected and sometimes a progesterone deficiency can cause what looks like an estrogen excess, which is why it’s important to evaluate all of the symptoms you are experiencing to identify your overall hormone pattern.   Lab tests can be used to further identify which hormones may need extra support, so that you can come up with the best hormone action plan to get you feeling like yourself again.  Although blood work can be valuable for some conditions, sometimes extra information is required.  Other options for testing include looking at your estrogen metabolism ratio to identify the balance of “bad vs. good” estrogen in your body or by measuring saliva hormone levels over one month (11 samples) or over one day to get a clear picture of what is happening on a functional level. 

Other Hormones
 Other hormones that may be involved in weight gain and hormone balance are cortisol, (a stress hormone), DHEA (precursor to testosterone) , low thyroid hormone and high insulin which is associated with poor blood sugar control.  Often when there is an imbalance in one hormone it can lead to other imbalances, so part of the detective work is figuring out which hormones are at the root of your concerns.

Restoring Hormone Balance
 The first step to restoring your hormone balance is to identify your hormone pattern and to get a clear picture on where to initiate treatment.  Here are some simple things you can do to restore hormone balance.

Xenoestrogens:  These are estrogen or estrogen-like compounds which we get from our environment.  These can be found in personal care products in the form of phthalates, in plastics as  Bisphenyl A (BPA) or as PCBs which are also found in things like pesticides and used in many other industries.  Reducing our exposure to these substances and never heating plastic can help with hormone balance and weight gain.

Lignans: These have been shown to promote a shift from the “bad” estrogen to the more beneficial estrogen and to increase estrogen binding which decreases free floating hormones.  A good source of lignans can be obtained by having 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds/ day.

Improve Digestive Health:  If digestion isn’t optimal it can cause poor excretion of estrogens which can lead to a ‘hormone back-up’ causing a relative excess.  Having a high fibre diet and ensuring that you have the proper balance of healthy bacteria in your digestive tract are essential to digestion as it relates to hormone health.

Brassica Vegetables:  Veggies from the brassica family like broccoli, bok choy, kale, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts are all high in indole-3 carbinol which affects hormone metabolism by promoting detoxification through the liver.  These all are also a great source of fibre.

Stress Management:  When we are under stress, our body makes cortisol instead of making our sex hormones and can affect thyroid hormone production.  This can shift the overall hormone balance so that we are low in many hormones and is often at the root of many hormonal concerns.  Check out the video below by a naturopathic doctor who explains this phenomenon in more detail.   

For more information on the Saliva Hormone Testing and Estrogen Metabolism Ratio testing visit Rocky Mountain Analytical or call one of my clinics to set up a free 15 minute consultation.

Why Am I Not Sleeping?
By: Dr. Meghan MacKinnon, ND
Markham Naturopathic Doctor
This is a very common question that many people have, because insomnia and poor sleep have so many causes.  While we sleep, our bodies recharge so that we are able to do all the things we need to do in our daily lives.  Poor sleep may be due to many things such as hormone imbalance, stress, sleep apnea or anxiety so it is important that you work with your Naturopathic Doctor to figure out why you are not getting a deep sleep.  Sometimes poor sleep is simply a result of what we call ‘poor sleep hygiene’,  referring to your sleep environment and what you do before you go to bed.  
Here are some naturopathic health tips to improve your sleep hygiene.

• Stick to a Schedule. Going to bed and rising at the same time, even on weekends and holidays can help improve sleep.
• Keep your bedroom cool. A drop in body temperature can stimulate sleep.
• Keep it work free. The bedroom is for sleeping. Remove all other distracting items like the TV, computer, phone and exercise equipment.
• Start winding down an hour before bedtime. Do some light reading, quiet conversation, gentle exercise or listen to soft music and avoid watching the news or stressful interactions after dinner.
• Keep the room completely dark with good blinds/drapes and no lights. This will help with the production of melatonin, the main hormone for balancing sleep cycles.
• Recognize when you need something more.  There are many simple things you can do to help with you sleep but sometimes using herbs and nutrients such as melatonin, Valerian and Passionflower to help with sleep is appropriate.  If supplementing, it is important to make sure you are taking something that is right for you and to be monitored by your naturopathic doctor. 

A new research finding proposes a connection between birth control pills and prostate cancer, which has many people talking.  Birth control pills containing estrogen and progesterone have become a standard in North America- almost a birth right for teenage girls and a standard treatment for any hormone imbalance.  One thing rarely thought about when we take our medications and supplements is that by-products can be excreted to re-circulate through the environment after we take them.  This means that  as more people take the birth control pill, there is more synthetic estrogen  released into our environment.  This can be difficult to filter out of our water supply, meaning it can affect us on a daily basis.  

For men, one thing estrogen may affect is their prostate.  The prostate gland is a hormone producing gland of the male reproductive system that makes secretions.  Interestingly, this study found that prostate cancer is much more common in North America and developed countries where usage of the birth control pill is high.  While an interesting link has been made in this study, it is important to note that this is preliminary research and it doesn’t mean that birth control pills = prostate cancer.  In fact, this is highly unlikely, because there are many other chemicals in our environment that also act as hormone modulators or ‘xenoestrogens’, perhaps creating an additive effect.  Some examples of these are bisphenol A (BPA), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and phthalates which are used in most plastic compounds.  The Endocrine Society continues to provide up to date research on the health effects of these substances to identify the health effects that these chemicals have on animals and humans. They say that xenoestrogens have many connections to hormone health including adverse reproductive outcomes (infertility, cancers, malformations) with increasing evidence for effects on other hormone systems, including thyroid, weight and metabolism in addition to insulin and glucose homeostasis.

For more information on how to avoid environmental estrogen, hormone balance, prostate health or detoxification email me to set up an appointment or ask a question on my FAQ page.