Happy Hormones

The relationship between our health goals and our hormones can sometimes be a little testing and they don’t always get along. However like any relationship there has to be an understanding by both parties of each other's needs, in order to co-exist in harmony. Our hormones are in charge of many essential bodily systems and functions, so any type of hormonal imbalance can wreak havoc on your body and mind. Don’t fear, Oxygen could be your hormone ‘relationship guru’.

- Kristina Janicas

Could hormonal imbalance be preventing you from feeling your best?

In my practice, the most common complaint from a multitude of women is that, despite maintaining a low-fat healthy diet and participating in a regular exercise regime, they are unsatisfied with their bodies’ response to their lifestyle interventions. Their concerns typically focus on weight retention, low energy, stubborn fat deposits and suboptimal results related to reducing caloric intake and increasing physical activity. Patients who pursue a comprehensive hormonal assessment have often exhausted every avenue with supplements, changed their fitness regime, partaken of fad or restricted diets, and tried to rule out a possible medical cause with their medical team. As such, they are left feeling completely frustrated and confused without receiving any concrete answers as to why they are not feeling their best. Could unbalanced hormones be the culprit to these frustrating and seemingly endless symptoms?

When women think about their hormones not being “balanced” their minds tend to gravitate towards the dreaded “menopause” or “change of life” that occurs when women stop menstruating.

These thoughts stimulate images of volatile mood swings, hot flashes and night sweats. However, this may not be how a hormonal imbalance presents itself. Although menopause and the reduction of certain hormones that decline naturally with age may cause the widespread symptoms described, unbalanced hormones can also significantly affect our mental and physical health and our state of optimal wellbeing. These changes can happen at any age and due to a variety of factors. Unbalanced hormones can also cause a worsening of medical conditions and a decreased responsiveness to intervention, as it may affect our immune system and our bodies’ subsequent response to conventional treatment.