TIS THE SEASON TO BALANCE THOSE HORMONES

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TIS THE SEASON TO BALANCE THOSE HORMONES

IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE COVID CHRISTMAS

As women, our hormones can normally take a beating over the holidays as a result of stress. But with all that’s going on out there, this year, holiday stress can come at you like a steamroller. It’s not visions of sugarplums dancing in your head. It’s visions of normally big and boisterous celebrations being cut down to those only in your household. It’s your kids wanting a dog, but discovering dogs are the new toilet paper.  It’s mistletoe that might be missed due to social distancing. It can all take a big chunk out of comfort and joy.

ALEXA, HOME SCHOOL THE KIDS WHILE I’M DEALING WITH MY HORMONES

Did you know that women are twice as likely to experience stress than men? More than anything else, stress derails our hormones, affecting our mood, mind, weight, and that’s just the start of the list. Actually, our overall health takes a huge hit from stress. The more your emergency stress system is activated, the easier it becomes to trigger and the harder it becomes to shut off. The most dangerous thing about stress is how easily it can creep up on you. Below are five stress-induced hormonal imbalances that can make your holidays feel far from festive.

ALL CAUGHT UP IN THE BLACK FRIDAY BLUES

CORTISOL is the Santa of stress hormones bringing a big bag of health woes. When the pressure is on, your cortisol levels can run high. This “fight or flight” hormone makes you want to get in a sleigh and fly away from it all; the tree-trimming, cookie baking, dreidel spinning, Kwanzaa candle lighting, online shopping, Zoom arranging. Unbalanced cortisol can cause weight gain, muscle weakness, headache, fatigue and difficulty concentrating.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PIES

LEPTIN is the hormone that reduces appetite and makes you feel full. Which is especially helpful when faced with holiday feasts that you’ll tend to want to gorge on since you can’t have a long table of guests to share all those gooey, fatty yummy feasts with. Leptin is our “enough already” button. When leptin levels are low, your stomach gets bigger than your eyes, your metabolism slows, fat accumulates and muscle decreases. It can also increase depression anxiety and cardiovascular disease.

DON’T GET TOO CLOSE TO THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRIES

INSULIN helps “unlock” the body’s cells so that sugar from the foods we eat can be used by the cells for energy. It also regulates carbohydrate and fat metabolism. Too much insulin can end up making you anxious, irritable, trembly, sweaty and confused. It’s enough to make your gingerbread house crumble.

WHAT THE DICKENS…

THYROID hormones, when unbalanced, can weaken or slow your heart, make you feel tired (OK, we’re going to say super tired all things considered) or out of breath. It effects your body temperature making you cold when the season should be making you feel toasty. It can also cause obesity, joint pain, high blood pressure, swelling in your ankles, as well as raise your cholesterol levels, which can increase your risk for heart problems.

OPPS, YOUR BATTERIES ARE WEARING DOWN

ESTROGEN, well you know about that. Painful periods, PMS, menopause misery, mood swings, bloating, weight gain. Estrogen levels have a domino effect on brain chemistry and affect parts of the brain that control our emotions. An estrogen imbalance can make you so crazed, you’ll be rocking around a lot more than the Christmas tree.

AND TO ALL NOT SUCH A GOOD NIGHT

PROGESTERONE is the pre-hormone of cortisol, which as we’ve said is the ultimate stress mess. It’s not a ho-ho-ho happy scenario. Low progesterone can cause low libido, sugar cravings, foggy thinking, anxiety, migraines, irregular menstrual cycles and endless nights of counting reindeer.

GOOD TIDINGS TO ALL, LADIES

Before you get all tangled up in tinsel about your hormones, there is happy news. Holidays don’t have to have your hormones roasting on an open fire. Expect “Stress” to be an unwanted house guest, but there are things you can do to cut his visit short:

  • Get some exercise
  • Get some rays
  • Listen to music
  • Dance up a TikTok storm
  • Pet a dog even if it’s not your own
  • Have a virtual ugliest sweater contest
  • Binge watch Christmas movies
  • Luxuriate in bubbles with a glass of bubbly

STAND UNDER THE MISTLETOE, GIVE YOURSELF A BIG HUG, AND CALL DENVER HORMONE HEALTH

Denver Hormone Health is at the head of the field of hormone replacement therapy. The hormone experts at DHH know hormones like no one else. And they understand just how much hormones can take the jingle out of your bells if they’re out of whack. You may feel frazzled, but the hormone specialists at DHH get it, and take the time to really listen to what’s going on. Simple tests can determine if you do have any hormone deficiencies and what they are. This allows them to create a unique treatment plan for you—one that fits perfectly, not like most gifts you get each year– to get you back to your best.  Quite the gift.  Time to make your hormones as merry, bright and balanced as they can be. Call Denver Hormone Health for an appointment now.

SUPERFOODS OR SUPER HYPE?

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superfoods

LET’S TALK TURKEY

If ever there was a time to talk food, this is it. But considering the food that’s on our minds is a virtual bacchanalia of greasy, crisp turkey skin, stuffing, sweet potatoes with those teeny gooey marshmallows, gobs of green bean casserole and every kind of pie possible…it might seem ironic to talk about superfoods.

WHO PUT THE “SUPER” IN SUPERFOODS?

The word “superfood” hit the nutritional scene somewhere around the 1990s, quickly becoming a buzzword in the language of food and health. A simple internet search for the word reveals close to 10 million results — predominantly from health and nutrition blogs, online newspapers and magazines. But the fact is, that there is no accepted definition, and definitely no scientific way of classifying foods into superfoods. And the term “superfood” is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. And yet, when it comes down to the concept of it, people are eating it up.

MMMM…MARINE PHYTOPLANKTON, YUMMY

You can walk down the fruit and vegetable aisles in the store, and pretty much everywhere you look, you’re looking at foods that are really good for you. Dark greens, avocados, berries…they all pack a healthy punch. But when it comes to what a lot of people think are superfoods, it can get somewhat exotic, not to mention expensive. Quinoa, chia, hemp seeds, kaniwa, teff, maca powder mangosteens, turmeric, dulse, hijiki, kombu, wakame, rambutan, jackfruit, carambola, kiwano, arame, dragon fruit, cherimoya, oca, raw cocoa, wheat grass, spirulina, camu camu, lucuma. Gets to sound a little loco. And not exactly appetizing, either. But oh, the wonderful ways they can heal your body and mind. Supposedly.

CLAIMS TO SUPER POWER

All right, we’re just going to go with a list here which will point out how just how ludicrous it seems for any foods, super or not to say they can do:

  • Reduce risk of heart attacks
  • Prevent blood clots
  • Protect against stroke
  • Improve fine motor skills
  • Relive tension headaches
  • Unstuff stuffy noses
  • Prevent nausea
  • Promote brain health
  • Detoxify your liver
  • Clear your skin
  • Undo diabetes
  • Fight and suppress urinary tract infections
  • Stimulate bone-building cells
  • Assist digestive system, relieve cramping, gas and muscles aches
  • Improve memory and coordination
  • Combat cancel and detoxify
  • Boost antioxidants
  • Prevent ulcers and yeast infections
  • Improve oral health
  • Protect bones
  • Ward off PMS symptoms
  • Unclot blood clots
  • Build bones
  • Build muscle
  • Convert food to energy
  • Boost your immune system
  • Lower cholesterol
  • Reduce inflammation
  • Reduce asthma-related wheezing
  • Help arteries stay relaxed and pliable
  • Fight infection
  • Lower blood pressure
  • Improve vision
  • Detoxify the body
  • Prevent hardening of arteries
  • Improve mood
  • Keep blood vessels healthy
  • Boost communication between blood cells
  • Neutralize free radicals that cause aging and cell damage
  • Reduce effects of age-related conditions like Alzheimer’s or dementia
  • Enhance libido to improve sex
  • And for the purposes of our discussion here, balance hormones.
  • All this from kimchee? Are you kidding?

WILL HEAPS OF HEMP REALLY BALANCE YOUR HORMONES?

If you Google (and the world is Googling 24/7), you’ll see tons of “10 Hormone Balancing Superfoods”, “Superfoods that Balance Hormones Naturally”, “The Superfood Solution to Balancing Your Hormones”, “40 Superfoods to Restore Hormone Balance”. Articles like these even turn up on Pinterest. Pinterest?  Sorry, but superfoods have no magical powers. They could be perfectly healthy, but they are not enchanted. Will a daily dandelion and goji berry smoothie smooth the way to extended life? Raise your hands if you believe it. Good. No hands. And thinking that any single superfood can make a dent in what hormones need to function, can be dangerous thinking.

SUPERFOODS AREN’T SCIENCE

Hormones control nearly every aspect of how we feel. Insulin, serotonin, cortisol and dopamine, not to mention estrogen and testosterone, can all be thrown off balance by a number of things from excess sugar, caffeine or alcohol, to aging, medications, stress, lack of exercise and even toxins in the environment such as solvents and pesticides. Because hormones are involved in so many aspects of our functioning, hormonal imbalances can have wide-ranging effects. Balancing them is a complex medical puzzle not to be solved by any so-called superfood on the planet. And not to be self-diagnosed as to what your body really needs.

REAL FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Treating hormone imbalances starts by determining exactly which hormones might be out of balance and causing symptoms you might not have attributed to hormones. At Denver Hormone Health, they know everything about every hormone in your body. And considering there are about 50 of them, you can trust them to help you more than mountains of any acai bowls. The medical hormone experts at DHH determine your hormone levels with advanced blood tests. That allows them to determine what might be out of balance, allowing them to create a unique treatment plan tailored to your needs. Incorporating superfoods into your diet can’t hurt, but it’s no substitute for making overall healthy lifestyle choices, one of which is calling Denver Hormone Health for an appointment now.

HORMONE IMBALANCE; LET’S TAKE A LITTLE QUIZ

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Hormone quiz

OK CLASS, LET’S START WITH THE BASICS; WHAT ARE HORMONES, ANYWAY?

Hormones are your body’s chemical messengers. Produced in the endocrine glands, these powerful chemicals travel around your bloodstream telling tissues and organs what to do. They call the shots in controlling most of your body’s major processes from metabolism to reproduction. Different hormones act on different parts of those processes. Considering the body secretes and circulates some 50 different hormones, it’s a train wreck waiting to happen. And boy, when it does, your body isn’t going to know what hit it.

SO, WHAT TIPS THE HORMONE BOAT?

A little too much of this hormone, a little too little of that hormone…they lose their delicate balance. It doesn’t take a lot to mess things up in ways you can’t imagine. Statistics show that 80% of women suffer from hormone imbalances. Often, they live with them without even realizing it. They just feel rotten, or can’t figure out what going on with them. They get to a point they think it’s in their heads. Nope, it’s in their hormones.

NEXT QUESTION ON THE TEST; NAME THAT HORMONE

Hormone imbalances can be a confusing thing to decode. As we said, different hormones cause different problems. See if you can answer which hormone causes what. And whether you recognize having some of these symptoms yourself. (Hint; the answer is at the bottom of each group of symptoms. All exams should be this easy.) Ready? You’ve got all the time you need. GO!

  • Bloating
  • Mood swings
  • Painful periods
  • Weight gain or difficulty losing weight, especially around the hips, butt and thighs

Hormone imbalance?  TOO MUCH ESTROGEN.

  • Overly emotional
  • Difficulty with memory
  • Depression or anxiety
  • Night sweats

Hormone imbalance? TOO LITTLE ESTROGEN.

  • Headaches or migraines
  • PMS
  • Swollen or painful breasts before period
  • Anxiousness

Hormone imbalance? TOO LITTLE PROGESTERONE.

  • Abnormal hair growth on face, chest or abdomen
  • Acne
  • Thinning hair
  • Oily skin

Hormone imbalance? TOO MUCH TESTOSTERONE.

  • Low libido
  • Lack of motivation
  • Loss of muscle mass
  • Constant fatigue

Hormone imbalance?  TOO LITTLE TESTOSTERONE.

  • Salty or sweet food cravings
  • Afternoon energy crashes
  • Need for naps
  • Tired in morning, even after a full night’s sleep

Hormone imbalance? TOO LITTLE CORTISOL.

  • Overwhelmed by stress
  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep
  • Mind going a mile a minute
  • Extra belly fat

Hormone imbalance? TOO MUCH CORTISOL.

  • Brain fog
  • Hair loss…all over
  • Constipation
  • Cold hands and feet

Hormone Imbalance? TOO LITTLE THYROID.

All right, so by now, you’ve all got a headache as to where you see yourself here, and more importantly, what to do about it. Which leads us to the last question in our little quiz, with an answer you’ll be happy to hear about.

WHERE’S THE ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, WITHOUT QUESTION BEST PLACE TO GET YOUR HORMONES HUMMING AGAIN?

If you say Denver Hormone Health, you’ve aced it. Hormone imbalances aren’t something your general doctor would know too much about. Good bet you wouldn’t ever hear them say, “maybe your cortisol on the wane”. All Denver Hormone Health does, has everything do with hormones. All of them. The medical professionals at DHH have years of experience treating patients of all ages to restore their body’s’ natural hormone balances. Determining your hormone levels starts with simple tests. But this allows the hormone experts at DHH to create a unique treatment plan tailored to your exact needs. If you’ve been feeling less than yourself, it’s time to get your life back in balance. There’s enough out of whack in the world as is right now. Call or text Denver Hormone Health now.