Many women experience things like acne, sleep problems, bloating, digestive issues, irritability, and migraines and think they are a normal part of life. Remember we talked about hormones and their role in essentially every single bodily function? Yep! And women have tons of them and [lucky us] they fluctuate all the time on a good day! It’s normal for your levels to shift at different times of your life, such as before and during your period or a pregnancy, or during menopause. But imagine what happens when you aren't eating right, sleeping well, are super stressed, or the myriad of other life stressors we face everyday. Basically, the slightest shift in your hormones can cause you to feel significant symptoms that may seem totally unrelated to hormones.
Here are two of the major hormone disruptors that can cause hormonal imbalance in women:
Our toxic environment and lifestyle: Some chemicals can interfere with the production, release, transport, metabolism, or elimination of the body's natural hormones. You can come in contact with them through air, water, soil, food, and consumer products. Sometimes they can trick the body into thinking they are naturally occurring hormones, causing overproduction and underproduction of actual hormones. They block the way natural hormones and their receptors are made or controlled. Some of the worst ones include dry cleaning chemicals, skin care products, and pesticides.
Our diet: Your entire endocrine system relies on the nutrients you consume through your diet, so when these levels fall short your hormones are thrown for a loop. Additionally, chemicals from foods such as antibiotics, added hormones, and insecticides can affect your hormonal balance.
And what's underlying all of this? Most of us simply being misinformed about our wonderfully hormonally-driven bodies!
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