The Ups and Downs of Hormones: Know the Symptoms and Dangers of Hormonal Imbalance

Monitoring your hormone levels can be just as important as monitoring other health factors such as your vitamin intake, blood pressure, and sugar levels.

Hormone imbalances are often overlooked, yet they may cause numerous complications that people experience every day.

People are often unaware of these hormonal changes, or they mistake them for something else. It is crucial to properly treat hormonal imbalances, otherwise the condition may worsen.

Keep reading to learn about the common signs and symptoms that can indicate a hormonal imbalance, and the potential dangers they pose.

Different Symptoms for Men and Women

You might think that hormones only affect us during puberty, pregnancy, or menopausal years, however, there are different symptoms that can arise at almost any time in the life cycle that might point towards a hormonal imbalance.

Women
For women, hormonal imbalances can manifest themselves in the form of:

  • weight gain,
  • inability to sleep,
  • fatigue,
  • hot flashes and night sweats,
  • irregular menstruation and
  • low libido levels.

Men
In men, hormonal imbalances can show themselves through:

  • mood swings or irritability,
  • weak muscles,
  • depression,
  • hot flashes and night sweats,
  • erectile dysfunction,
  • an increase in body fat and
  • lower libido levels.

Determining Which Hormones are Out of Balance

It is important to first identify the hormone(s) behind the symptoms. Often a doctor may require blood work to facilitate the identification, which will allow them to determine if prescription drugs will be necessary, or if the hormonal imbalance can be treated with over the counter supplements or medications.

Additionally, a doctor may also simply prescribe a change of diet or recommend an increased intake of certain fruits and vegetables, since vitamins, fiber, and fatty acids (among other biomolecules) also play very important roles in regulating hormone levels and overall health.

Regaining Balance

Aside from promoting overall health, exercise, effective stress management, and maintaining a regular sleep schedule can help to re-balance hormone levels.

Exercising regularly will not only improve your cardiovascular health, but it will improve your body’s overall efficiency, including how much and when your body should be releasing hormones throughout the day.

Effective stress management is also important due to its role in regulating levels of hormones, such as cortisol.

According to the professionals at the Genemedics Health Institute who specialize in hormone replacement therapy for men, high levels of stress can create unregulated levels of cortisol, which can convert testosterone to estrogen.

Get proper rest

Getting plenty of rest during the night is also extremely important, as your body’s biological clock (or circadian rhythm) plays an important role for regulating hormones throughout the day.

Disrupting your regular sleep schedule will not only leave you feeling sleepy throughout the day, but it will leave you feeling fatigued and weak.

Hormone imbalance symptoms are often similar to symptoms related to other diseases and conditions, which is why these imbalances can be difficult to detect.

However, if you’ve tried to get healthy and still feel a little “out of whack,” you might be suffering from a hormonal imbalance.

In any case, it would be a good idea for you to consult a doctor if symptoms persist for more than a few weeks to ensure your symptoms are treated quickly and appropriately.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Hormonal imbalance may bring a lot of changes and cause some medical conditions in our bodies so we must know which one is imbalance so corrections may be done.

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