Hormone Issue

My First, My Last, My Endocrine

Everything you need to know about hormones. By Carla Thomas

Hormones. Everyone’s got ‘em, but for many of us, we don’t give them the full attention they deserve, nor do we understand the central role they play in our health and wellness. The truth is, hormones are essential to optimal functioning.

Although we tend to attribute things like sex, puberty and menstruation to hormonal activity, these multi-purpose molecules in our bodies are also the catalyst for virtually everything we do in our daily lives, including eating, sleeping, moving, and our overall emotional wellbeing. A hormonal imbalance can be responsible for a wide spectrum of symptoms, including heart palpitations, depression, hair loss, anxiety, weight gain, memory loss, and more. It can even increase the risk of serious health issues such as heart attack, stroke and osteoporosis. That’s why understanding our hormonal levels and how they actually work is crucial to living our best, healthiest lives.

So let’s dive into the weird, wonderful world of hormones, starting with the basics…

WHAT ARE HORMONES?

Hormones are our body’s chemical messengers. They’re produced via the endocrine system, a complex network of glands and organs: the hypothalamus, pituitary, and pineal gland in the brain; the thyroid and parathyroid in the neck; the thymus in the chest; the adrenal glands in the kidneys; and the pancreas and reproductive organs.

Each area produces and secretes specific types of hormones into the circulatory system, in order to control everything from body composition, metabolism, energy levels and growth, to our response to injury and stress. This process is largely kept in check through a feedback loop, meaning that once balance is restored in our bodies, the system should switch off.

Problems occur when our endocrine system either won’t turn on or off correctly, leading to a plethora of confusing signals floating around in our bodies and generally causing mayhem.

THE ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

PINEAL GLAND Produces melatonin and controls sleep

THYROID AND PARATHYROID GLANDS Controls your growth and metabolism. Parathyroid controls bone health. HYPOTHALAMUS Connects your endocrine system with your nervous system. Tells the pituitary gland when to stop and start producing hormones.

PITUITARY GLAND The body’s master gland that controls hormone production elsewhere in the body.

THYMUS Produces white blood cells

PANCREAS Produces insulin to stabilise blood sugar ADRENAL GLANDS Produces adrenaline for flight or flight response. Also produces corticosteroids, which controls your metabolism

REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS Testes produces testosterone in men, and ovaries produce oestrogen in women.

HOW DO THEY AFFECT OUR WELLBEING?

To learn more about the specific ways that hormones affect our day-to-day health, we spoke with functional medicine practitioner Miles Price. He recently opened his own clinic, Peak Metabolism, which specialises in hormonal regulation and metabolic health.

“One of the major hormones your body produces is thyroid hormone T4, or thyroxine, which is converted to the active form T3 (triiodothyronine) in the liver, kidneys, heart and gut,” says Price.

“Nearly every cell in your body is affected by your T3 levels. When you’re deficient, it can have wide-ranging effects, including stubborn weight gain, fatigue, disrupted menstrual cycles, constipation, depression, dry skin, muscle cramps, sensitivity to cold and loss of libido.”

That’s why keeping your thyroid levels in check is so important. What’s more, Price says that the thyroid is particularly sensitive to other hormones produced in the body, such as cortisol, the stress hormone. “Managing your stress levels and circadian rhythms is critical to keeping your thyroid function optimal,” adds Price.

A FINE BALANCE

According to Beth Wright, a Hong Kong-based personal trainer and health coach, having an excess of hormones can be just as problematic.

“Hormones can behave as blockers to the way we want to feel and look, and whilst our body does a wonderful job of regulating itself, sometimes tweaks can be made to help the process along,” she explains.

“It’s a little bit of a ‘Goldilocks’ effect where too much is potentially just as negative as too little. Cortisol is a good example of this - we’re not trying to eliminate it entirely, we want just the right amount.”

A lawyer by day, Wright’s journey into hormonal health began when she struggled with her own 20-pound gain and insomnia, something she attributes to high stress levels. She gradually started to learn about the interplay between hormones with nutrition, sleep, stress and weight, especially in women, whose hormonal levels tend to fluctuate more than men’s.

“I realised that the women I was working with, especially those around a certain age, found it harder to lose weight, feel better and improve things like blood pressure or cholesterol,” says Wright. “I would often hear ‘I am doing everything I did before but it is no longer working’.”

// We need to get serious about sharing the information, advice and support that women need to manage their hormonal health. //

HORMONES IN WOMEN

One reason why women in particular may struggle is due to the expression of different sex hormones. Unsurprisingly to anyone who’s struggled with PMS, women’s sex hormones like oestrogen and progesterone fluctuate wildly during the menstrual cycle. According to Price, women’s sex hormones are also more sensitively influenced by lifestyle.

“Oestrogen and progesterone levels are affected by factors like diet and nutrient intake, and they can directly affect the production of those hormones. From that perspective, women need to take more care with their lifestyle choices compared to men.”

There’s also the huge hormonal shifts that women face during life events like pregnancy, breastfeeding, perimenopause and menopause. Wright says that she started to think more about how to support women struggling with menopause, particularly after she noticed how the topic was trending outside of Asia.

“I actually really don’t like the term ‘menopause’ as it sounds so final,” she laughs. “I prefer ‘long-term female hormone deficiency’, which I find more powerful. It’s factual - and something we can work with, adjust and support.”

To help women optimise their hormone health, Wright even co-created a dedicated menopause programme, including nutrition plans to avoid unwanted weight gain and maintain energy levels; exercises to build bone density and muscle mass; and strategies to improve sleep.

“Compared to the US and Europe, where menopause is getting a lot attention right now, I find that Asia is sadly still far behind. We need to get serious about sharing the information, advice and support that women need to manage their hormonal health, because there’s no reason for anyone to suffer.”

RESTORE YOUR HORMONAL

BALANCE, NATURALLY AND RISK-FREE

Hormones are your body’s chemical messengers. They travel around your bloodstream, telling your organs, skins, muscles, and other tissues what to do and when. They play such a powerful role in your body that even the slightest hormonal imbalance can harm your health and disrupt your life. Hong Kong’s experts in hormonal health and balancing, IMI’s naturopaths are skilled at treating hormone-related conditions.

Irregular menstrual cycles, PMS, heavy/ painful periods, PCOS, endometriosis, infertility, thyroid disorders, weight gain, menopause, cysts, fibroids, acne and more. Rather than masking health conditions with hormonal medication proven to cause short- and long-term side effects, our naturopaths find and address the underlying cause of hormonal imbalances. They focus on bringing your hormones back in balance, naturally, risk-free, and for the long term.

Your journey to optimal hormonal health begins with your IMI naturopath doing a comprehensive intake of your medical history and current symptoms to deeply understand the internal and external factors at play. Drawing on industry-leading functional medicine and diagnostic tests, they then identify the presence of too little or too much of every hormone in your body and - with a crystal-clear view of your health - they connect the dots as to why your hormones are off-kilter.

To address your unique hormonal challenges, your personalised treatment plan may include specific herbal medicine, homeopathic remedies, and supplements from our in-clinic dispensary, as well as dietary and lifestyle advice. If a multidisciplinary approach is required, your naturopath may refer you to practitioners like osteopaths for structural blockages, psychotherapists for stress or trauma, or acupuncture to bring your hormones into balance.

IMI Naturopaths Dr Benita Perch, Dr Ardyce Yik and Dr Ji Woon Min are available for in-person and telehealth consultations. For more information on how they heal hormonal imbalances, visit https://www.imi. com.hk/health-conditions-hormones.

// The typical fast-paced, Hongkonger lifestyle of staying up late, drinking too much alcohol and coffee, and relying on take-away food can wreak havoc on the expression of some hormones. //

So what can we do to keep our hormones in check? The good news is that for most people, it’s not terribly complicated to correct and restore imbalances.

“For many of my patients, lifestyle changes and specific supplemental interventions are all they need, which can include vitamins D3, B-complex, magnesium, fish oils, and increased fibre,” says Price.

Maintaining a healthy weight, engaging in regular exercise, managing stress - these are the building blocks of a healthy hormonal profile. It’s not rocket science, but according to Price, that doesn’t make it any easier - especially in a city like Hong Kong.

“The typical fast-paced, Hongkonger lifestyle of staying up late, drinking too much alcohol and coffee, and relying on takeaway food can wreak havoc on the expression of some hormones.”

Both Price and Wright say that the first step to assess whether a hormonal imbalance is present is a consultation, where clients give a detailed history, including onset of symptoms and lifestyle habits. In some cases, a complete diagnostic work-up of hormone expression is useful, in order to better understand someone’s insulin, cortisol, thyroid and sex hormone levels - all of which can subtly influence each other. It may take some time, but Wright insists that knowledge is power when it comes to hormonal health.

“It is really enlightening to establish the ‘why’ behind certain issues including weight gain, libido, poor sleep, low energy, and so on. When we better understand what’s happening inside of us, we’re better able to get past our previous blocks to reach our desired goals.”

WHEN TO GET CHECKED

The signs and symptoms of a hormone imbalance are varied and can be attributed to many other causes, but if you’re regularly experiencing these symptoms and lifestyle changes aren’t helping to alleviate them, you may want to consult a medical professional specialising in hormones.

• Tiredness and brain fog • Irregular or atypical periods • Gastrointestinal problems leading up to periods • Heart palpitations and mood swings • Bloating and weight gain • Chronic acne, especially along the jawline • Headaches, mood swings and anxiety • Lower libido and vaginal dryness • Insomnia

INSULIN: THE GATEKEEPER OF HORMONAL HEALTH

Functional Medicine practitioner Miles Price is the founder of Peak Metabolism. He takes a deep dive into the role insulin and cortisol plays in our overall health, and explains how you can adjust your lifestyle to regulate these hormones for optimal wellbeing.

Hormones control nearly every aspect of our lives, and so optimising and balancing them can not only influence how happy and energetic we are, but also how fast we age. Functional medicine practicioners look at the total expression of hormones produced by the body. Of all the hormones in our body, stress hormone cortisol and insulin, which regulates blood sugar, are two of the most important, thanks to their influence on our thyroid and sex hormones. With today’s snacky, high-carb diets and stressful, imbalanced lifestyles, insulin resistance is on the rise and is currently experienced by some 1.5 million Hongkongers. Unfortunately, early symptoms are difficult to catch unless you are testing your fasting insulin levels, so it is rarely caught early. Subtle clues to look out for include low energy, cravings before and after meals and stubborn weight gain. With cortisol, the story’s the same. Working late, poor sleep and poor diets can disrupt cortisol production and impact negatively on energy, cardiac and mental health. Again, cortisol levels over a 24-hour period are rarely tracked and symptoms are often overlooked.

Insulin resistance (high insulin) has been shown to be associated with sub-clinical hypothyroidism, and continued hypothyroidism can lead to whole range of additional symptoms. Insulin resistance also negatively impacts the sex hormones by driving up testosterone and Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is a powerful androgen that can cause excessive hair growth, acne and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Insulin resistance also lowers the carrier protein for estrogen, which in turn dumps more estrogen into the bloodstream. This leads to estrogen dominance and its associated symptoms such as moodiness, heavy periods and fibroids.

Insulin resistance also negatively affects cortisol by driving up its production, which in turn contributes to insomnia, memory loss and confusion, anxiety, cravings, weight gain, hypertension and poor gut function. So we can see that by modifying just one hormone, insulin, you can influence many other hormones to self-regulate properly.

Taking the control of your insulin and cortisol levels and optimising them will have significant downstream benefits on thyroid and sex hormone expressions, as well as your overall health. Nearly every chronic health condition, including heart disease, alzheimers, cancer, diabetes and kidney disease can be linked back to insulin dysregulation. If there’s one thing to do for your long-term health, it’s to get your insulin levels in check.