Proper Testing, Diet, and Supplementation Can Restore Optimal Hormone Balance, Help Prevent Disease, And Enhance Your Quality Of Life

For women of all ages, hormone imbalance symptoms are common, perhaps even considered “normal.” Though symptoms may be common, they are certainly not healthy. Hormone imbalances will lead to symptoms, and symptoms always progress (get worse and worse) – leading to health complications.

Be Careful … There Are Many Hormone Tests That Provide Insufficient Information

Too often people live with the symptoms associated with hormone imbalance without having the appropriate tests done (not all tests are of equal value). Many physicians use general hormone tests that simply identify primary levels and markers in your system, but these tests often lack key details. Common tests do not measure the various types of estrogens, their ratios, or offer necessary information about your metabolism and methylation. Instead, they test total hormone values, not paying attention to the critical ratios of those hormones. Most doctors rarely if ever test for toxicity, or address the relationship between hormones and toxins.

Each hormone serves a specific purpose, and when one is too prevalent in its relationship to the others, its effects on the body can be problematic and even dangerous.

The relationships between estrogens (including estrone, estradiol, and estriol) is especially important.

Female Hormones: Too Much or Too Little Can Cause A Multitude of Symptoms

Hormone complaints are common, but not normal. PMS, bloating, cramps, tender breasts, fibrocystic breasts, low libido…these are all signals that your hormones are out of balance. These symptoms are normal among people with hormonal imbalance, but a it is not necessary to live with these symptoms.

Symptoms of estrogen dominance or estrogen deficiency may develop when:
hormones are not produced in the correct ratios, or
hormones are not caught up by their receptors, or
hormones are blocked at the receptor site by toxins (“xenoestrogens” – chemicals which mimic estrogen).

Instead of Testing For Total Quantity of Hormones In Your System, We Pay Attention To Hormone Ratios… And The Results Are Significant In The Way We Address Your Health Problems

Too often women hear only about their total quantity of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in their system. Few women know about tests that can reveal more critical information about their hormonal balance: estrogen ratios, estrogen metabolism, and estrogen methylation. Without knowing where your three estrogens stand in relation to each other, supplementing hormones can drive these critical ratios even further out of whack and there is evidence that it can even facilitate the development of cancer.

Ignoring Hormone Ratios Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

If you take an estrogen supplement, you may initially experience an improvement in symptoms. However, if your estrogen metabolism and methylation are poor, you may also be increasing your risk of a hormone-related cancer. Proper estrogen metabolism and methylation are essential to your health and to cancer prevention. For this reason, I strongly recommend that every woman undergo appropriate testing.

In menopause, estrogen fluctuates widely, which can cause hot flashes and breast tenderness. As a woman’s hormones settle and decline after menopause, and as she ages, she may experience signs of estrogen deficiency.

Signs of Low Estrogen:

  • Hot flashes
  • Night sweats
  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Mood swings
  • Decrease in bone density (because estrogen plays a role in bone repair & building)
  • Diminished sex drive
  • Vaginal walls thin out
  • Vaginal dryness, resulting in painful intercourse
  • Orgasms less intense & more difficult to reach
  • Skin changes: wrinkling, thinning, & dry skin
  • Premature aging
  • Memory loss

Signs of Estrogen Dominance:

  • Endometriosis
  • Infertility
  • Hormone-related cancer (endometrial, uterine, breast, ovarian, cervical)
  • Weight gain (especially hips, thighs & abdomen)
  • Water retention, “bloating”
  • Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
  • Breast tenderness
  • Uterine fibroids
  • Accelerated Aging process
  • Cervical dysplasia
  • Decreased sex drive
  • Depression with Anxiety and/or moodiness
  • Fatigue
  • Fibrocystic breasts
  • Osteoporosis
  • Hair loss
  • Brain fog
  • Irregular menstrual cycle
  • Irritability & Mood swings
  • Insomnia
  • Headaches
  • Allergies
  • Thyroid dysfunction & it’s symptoms (cold hands & feet, hair loss, weight gain, fatigue, thinning skin, restless legs)
  • Prostate cancer (men)

Many Female Hormone imbalance conditions can be helped with natural, herbal therapies and natural hormone sources. Conditions that can be improved through herbal support, nutrition, and natural hormones include:

  • PMS
  • Dysmenorrhea (menstrual cramps or painful periods)
  • Irregular periods
  • Ovulatory failure
  • Menopause
  • Androgen excess (high testosterone, facial hair )
  • Adult acne
  • Memory/cognitive impairment
  • Hyperprolactinemia
  • Hormone related migraines/headaches
  • Leg cramps
  • Delayed puberty
  • Early onset puberty

Hormone therapy or supplementation without proper testing can be dangerous. Get the right test.

Set An Appointment To See Dr. Jennings To Find Out If You Have “Too Much” Or “Too Little” Hormones … Let Dr. Jennings’ knowledge and experience help you identify if balancing your hormones can improve your health.