Have you ever wondered, “Just what are female hormones?” It’s one thing to know that hormones play their role in our bodies, but do you REALLY know what hormones are, what they do, and how they can contribute to some of the major issues women face?

“Oh, she’s just being hormonal!”

Let’s be honest here, how many times have you heard the words hormones or hormonal used in a sentence with a seemingly negative connotation? Our guess… more often than we’d like to admit. When did the word hormones become a bad thing? Is there any truth to a statement like, “She’s not acting herself, her hormones are making her act crazy!”

When YOU think of hormones, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it your adolescent or teenage son or daughter going through “changes?” Maybe you relate it to excessive emotions during a pregnancy or when PMS symptoms seem to completely derail you during “that time of the month.” Perhaps you think of hormones as something that only effect “older” women who are going through menopause. Although all these situations and phases of life involve a hormone connection, the truth is, your hormones effect every part of your body throughout your entire life. So, it’s safe to say most people truly do not understand what hormones really do, or better yet, how they are meant to function properly.

Take the power back!

Ladies, we are about to blow your minds. Are you ready for it? Hormones can be your best friend! Not only do they have the power to help your body work exactly as it was meant to, they can help you feel energized and youthful, help you stay calm even in times of stress, promote deep restful sleep, burn fat, and so much more! In short, they have the power to make you feel amazing! On the other hand, when imbalanced, they have the crippling power to make you feel miserable.

Female Hormones 101

Hormones are often called “chemical messengers,” created in the endocrine glands. Let’s think of them as mailmen delivering important messages to recipients in your body 24/7. In terms of hormones, there are about 50 different mailmen, and they are all dropping off important pieces of mail or messages that your body needs to survive. When they are on their “A-game,” everyone gets their mail on time. But when something gets in the way or they get interrupted, the messages may be delayed or lost in translation.

So, what are these important messages? Hormones deliver messages that essentially tell your body what to do and how to function. These functions range from simple basic needs like hunger, digestion, and immune function to complex systems like reproduction, your metabolism, blood sugar, and even your emotions and mood. Not only do your hormones individually deliver these important messages, they work as a unit or a team. So, when one of them isn’t delivering their specific important message, it affects everything in your body.

The Endocrine System – AKA The Post Office

Hormones are part of what is known as the endocrine system. The endocrine system is a set of hormone secreting glands within your body. The job of the endocrine system is to keep balance. Some of the main hormone-producing glands are:

• Hypothalamus: The hypothalamus is responsible for body temperature, hunger, moods and the release of hormones from other glands; and controls thirst, sleep and sex drive.
• Pancreas: This gland produces the insulin that helps control blood sugar levels.
• Thyroid: The thyroid produces hormones associated with calorie burning and heart rate.
• Adrenal: Adrenal glands produce the hormones that control sex drive and cortisol, the stress hormone.
• Pituitary: Considered the “master control gland,” the pituitary gland controls other glands and makes the hormones that trigger growth.
• Pineal: Also called the thalamus, this gland produces serotonin derivatives of melatonin, which affects sleep.
• Ovaries: Only in women, the ovaries secrete estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone (the female sex hormones).

Upper Management and their Roles

As we mentioned, your body has many different hormones. And although all these hormones work together, there are certain types that play a bigger role in your body’s health and well-being. Understanding these roles is important if you are looking to protect and manage your health at any age.

Progesterone

A fat-burner and diuretic that soothes mood, nurtures sleep and calms PMS and menopausal symptoms. Progesterone also helps to balance out blood pressure and blood sugar levels.

Estrogen

A key hormone in ovulation and libido, it also supports many other functions in your body. When out of balance, it can also trigger weight gain (belly fat), fluid retention (breast tenderness, migraines, high blood pressure, leg swelling), mood swings, anxiety, insomnia, cravings, and thyroid issues. In addition, out-of-balance estrogen levels cause female issues including heavy periods, fibroids, endometriosis, and even some female cancers.

Cortisol

A stress hormone needed to buffer our bodies from the effects of stress. Cortisol itself is not a “bad” hormone but is problematic when we cannot produce enough of it to meet our needs. Simply, when our bodies can’t make enough cortisol to meet the demand, progesterone is stolen and converted into cortisol, leaving our bodies with a condition known as estrogen dominance. This condition lays the foundation for stubborn weight and PMS/menopausal symptoms.

Insulin

A hormone produced by your pancreas which plays an important role in metabolism and blood sugar. Insulin helps your body convert the food you eat to be used for energy or for storage. However, if we are under chronic stress and/or eating a diet high in processed sugars and carbohydrates, our bodies will over compensate by producing too much insulin. Over time, this can cause our cells to stop responding, or become resistant to insulin. This can result in high blood sugar levels, fatigue, and sleepiness, brain fog, weight gain, fat storage, and high blood pressure.

Your body was meant to be and wants to be in balance. But when even one system is out of balance – whether it’s your blood pressure or blood sugar (too high or too low), or your sex hormones (too much or too little), the results can be disastrous.

When Hormones (Mailmen) need a GPS

Sometimes the messages from our brain and organs don’t make it to the proper destination. If we have overloaded our cell with too much of a hormone, our body can stop receiving the message, telling it what to do, and will turn off communication. In other instances, we may stop making proper amounts of a hormone altogether. Whatever the case may be, if the communication isn’t there – we suffer. The good news is, there are natural options and lifestyle factors that help correct the miscommunication! So, if you and can relate to any of the following questions (below), it’s time to take a closer look as to what might be going on with your body’s messengers.

• Have you tried every diet and exercise plan out there with little to no success keeping the weight off?
• Do you struggle with intense cravings?
• Are you having trouble sleeping and suffering from low energy levels?
• Are your thyroid results coming back as “normal,” but you are dealing with symptoms of thyroid dysfunction?
• Do you feel like your moods and emotions are all over the place?
• Is your sex drive low to non-existent?
• Do you feel anxious or have bouts of depression?
• Do you have hot flashes or night sweats?
• Are your PMS symptoms unbearable?

If so, it’s time to turn your life around by using the power you have within. It’s time to get to the root cause of your symptoms. It’s time to get balanced from the inside out – naturally!

Are you ready to start feeling better? Schedule a FREE consultation today to learn more at a BeBalanced center near you! Our mission is to help you feel empowered and to take control of your health and happiness through natural hormone balance.

Click here to find a center near you or fill out our FREE hormone assessment to see if your hormones could be holding you back from living your most vibrant life!