Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone work together in the female body to support healthy function. According to Michele Helfgott, MD, PPG – Integrative Medicine, an imbalance of any of these hormones can lead to a number of health concerns.
Often, treatment starts with stress management and nutrition. If you come in and report symptoms like difficulty losing weight or your hair is falling out, but you’re sleeping OK, we’ll start by working on your nutrition and sleep. We will test your hormones and test stress hormones, but I might not give you hormones just yet, because maybe all you need to do is manage the stress and the nutrition part.
If your progesterone is low and your estrogen is high, I will give you progesterone to balance those. If you come to see me and say you aren’t sleeping, then that can be an issue for overall function. So, we’ll work on sleep first, with balancing hormones and supplements, then we’ll look at stress and nutrition and go from there.
A diet high in cruciferous vegetables, such as cauliflower, broccoli and Brussel sprouts can help regulate the body’s hormones. It’s also crucial that women avoid certain risk factors. Don’t use Styrofoam™ or plastic and stay away from parabens.
We love to reach out to 20- and 30-year-olds to say, don’t way until you’re in your 40s and 50s and having all these issues. Start now. If you’re having incapacitating symptoms – hot flashes, night sweats, trouble sleeping, moods (mood swings) – come see us.
With Integrative Medicine, we measure hormones, we want them in balance, we want other lifestyle pieces to work, but we also want women to know that you need hormones for healthy bones, heart and reduced brain fog. We educate women about hormones so they can choose the best option for them. If hormones aren’t the right fit, we explore what supplements we can give you to get the same benefits.
