From Marigot Vreeland D.C.
The female menstrual cycle is an average of 28 days long; it can vary from woman to woman usually somewhere between 23 and 35 days. The day bleeding begins is counted as day 1. When bleeding occurs, you are shedding uterine lining. The uterus thickens with tissue, blood, and vascularisation in preparation for a possible implantation of a fertilized egg every cycle.
For many women, these cycles can be overly painful, irregular, nonexistent, or come with debilitating PMS. This should not be the case. Sometimes, our body gives us warning signs and we should listen to these signs. Diagnoses like endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), fibroids, cysts and others can be ways your body is telling you about an important dysfunctional hormonal balance in the body.
Many hormones throughout the female body help it to function properly. However, the two main hormones concerned in these scenarios are often oestrogen and progesterone. Our bodies are constantly exposed to xenoestrogens – chemicals that look like oestrogen and mimic its effects throughout the body. These hormonal disruptors can be found in many places, but some of the main ways are through parabens (in skincare and makeup products), BPA (in plastics – plastic water bottles, plastic food containers, etc.), flame-retardants (used in all furniture), insecticides and pesticides. These are all products we use every single day that raise the oestrogen level in both men and women.
Progesterone is the counter hormone to oestrogen. Progesterone is high throughout pregnancy, and is thought to be a calming hormone in the body. Progesterone levels should be higher in a woman’s body after ovulation (around day 14) until menses, or bleeding. When progesterone is low in relation to the oestrogen load on the body, the body can become confused as to where it is in its 28-day cycle. When this continues over a period of time, things like fibroids, PCOS, endometriosis, irregular menses, or amenses (no menses) can occur. These are signs not to ignore. High oestrogen levels have been linked to obesity, infertility, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and others over the long term.
The common treatment for hormonal imbalance in women is some type of birth control – either pill or shot. These are usually synthetic oestrogen and progesterone together to cover up the body’s inability to balance its own hormones. The problem is that these synthetic hormones can be just as harmful to the body as xenoestrogens or oestrogen dominance in general. The synthetic hormones have extra chemical compounds attached to them, making them profitable for the pharmaceutical industry. However, these extra chemical compounds can do damage to the body. The best way to manage hormonal levels is to do it naturally – by finding the cause of the imbalance and using bio-identical hormones to get the hormones into safe levels. With proper treatment, fibroids, cysts and endometriosis can shrink and symptoms can abate.
Balancing your hormones should never be done without the supervision of a clinician. It can be a very intricate process and levels must be in a specific range or it can become toxic to the body. If you believe you are suffering from hormonal imbalance, please contact Global Health at 581-7570.
