Hormones and you: how small substances make big differences
What are hormones?
Whether you're suffering from tiredness, mood swings, or weight gain, understanding your hormonal health can be the solution to more balance. After all, hormones play an indispensable role in your body. For example, these small substances have a major impact on your energy level, affecting your mood, memory, sleep, libido, fertility, focus and the extent to which you experience stress.
So it is extremely important to keep the right balance. Because even small changes in hormone levels, may big have effects on how you feel and how you function.
Which hormones play an important role and which complaints may indicate a hormonal imbalance? We have listed it for you.
Important hormones and their functions
- Cortisol
Function: Cortisol is known as the stress hormone, cortisol regulates your response to stress and plays a role in your metabolism, blood sugar and immune system.
Imbalance: Chronically elevated cortisol levels can lead to anxiety, insomnia, weight gain and high blood pressure.
- Insulin
Function: Insulin helps regulate your blood sugar levels by bringing glucose into your cells for energy. You can see it as keys that make it possible for glucose to enter your cell.
Imbalance: Insulin resistance can lead to type 2 diabetes and is often associated with weight gain, tiredness and hunger.
- Estrogen
Function: Estrogen is essential for the development and regulation of the reproductive system and secondary sexual characteristics for women. In men, it plays a role in bone health, brain function, and regulation of libido.
Imbalance: An excess or lack of estrogen can lead to various health problems. In women, this can result in menstrual problems, mood swings, fatigue, and joint pain. In men, an imbalance in estrogen can lead to decreased bone density, mood swings, and changes in libido.
- Testosterone
Function: Important for muscle growth, fat distribution, bone mass and libido.
Imbalance: Low testosterone can cause fatigue, depression, and loss of muscle mass. Too much testosterone can lead to aggression and acne.
What complaints can you experience with a hormonal imbalance?
- Fatigue: You can feel constantly tired, even after a good night's sleep. This can be a sign of an imbalance in, among other things, your cortisol.
- Weight gain or loss: Unexplained changes in weight may indicate problems with insulin or cortisol, for example.
- Mood changes: frequently changing moods or feelings of anxiety and depression may be related to an imbalance in estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone.
- Trouble sleeping: Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep may be a sign of too much cortisol or an imbalance in melatonin.
- Digestive problems: Hormonal imbalance can lead to problems such as bloating, constipation, or diarrhea.
Recognizable? Interesting? What now?
What you've read is just about a small part of all the information available. When you understand more about your body and the role that hormones play, you can make better choices that contribute to your balance.
