The female hormonal system can be compared to a symphony orchestra. If one instrument in the orchestra is out of tune, it can negatively affect the quality of the music produced by all of the instruments.

 

This thought process can be used to help understand the delicate balance of the female hormonal system. The adrenals, thyroid and female hormones all play a beautiful, balanced symphony in a woman’s body. All three of these “instruments” need to be in tune for a feeling of overall well-being.

When the adrenals are not balanced, the body may not use the other hormones effectively. The adrenals have two main functions in the body. Feed and breed, and fight or flight. When we are stressed, our adrenals go into a state of fight or flight. This is a normal physiological reaction for survival. We were designed to deal with severe stress for short periods of time (ex. A lion chasing us). During fight or flight, blood is diverted away from the digestive system and the reproductive system, and shunted to the large muscles and brain.

When one is relaxed, not stressed, the adrenals have the body shunt blood supply to the digestive system and reproductive organs. This allows us to digest food, eliminate waste and have the reproductive systems working properly. This relaxed feed and breed mode of the adrenals also helps the body get into a good REM (rapid eye movement) sleep cycle. This is important for repairing, rebuilding and restoring the body after a full day of use.

The human body cannot be in a state of fight or flight and feed and breed at the same time. With our current lifestyle, many people are in a stressful, fight or flight mode most of the day. This causes the body to move away from hormone balancing to survival. Many women entering peri-menopause find they move through this period of time pretty smoothly with minimal issues. Other women find they have severe hot flashes, interrupted sleep, mood changes and other hormonal symptoms.

The women that are having the higher level symptoms, generally are stressed, or have been under stress for a while. The hot flashes may be caused by an adrenal surge, and the adrenals are stressed to begin with. So helping restore normal adrenal balance is necessary to help with the menopausal symptoms.

Thyroid issues are also common in women. Many women find they are constantly having their thyroid medication doses raised or lowered, or are told their thyroid hormone levels are “normal”. However, they don’t feel well and have thyroid-like symptoms. The adrenals many times are the cause behind this feeling. When the adrenals are balanced, it can be much easier to get the “good” feeling back. The symphony will finally be in tune.

Lifestyle changes, exercise, good quality sleep, healthy relationships, nutritious eating, clean foods and removing stressors when possible will help to get the hormonal symphony back in tune. The underlying theme here needs to be to assess and balance the whole person, not just one part. Keeping all of the parts in tune is the best way to start to have a balanced body, mind and spirit. Try to look at all the parts (instruments) and make sure the whole orchestra is in tune. This will ensure that you are living life to the fullest.

Dr. Gary Kracoff is a registered pharmacist and naturopathic doctor at Johnson Compounding & Wellness Center, in Waltham. For more information, call 781- 893-3870 or visit NaturalCompounder.com.