FEELING ANXIOUS, IRRITABLE OR ANGY?

HORMONE IMBALANCE MAY BE TO BLAME

If Anxiety, Irritability or Anger have taken over your personality, you’re not alone. Many women experience these feelings. When Estrogen levels drop, or wildly fluctuate, the diameter of a woman’s blood vessels can change and that can result in the feeling of anxiety. When experiencing decreased levels of Progesterone, irritability, inflammation and spasms may occur. Likewise, when a woman has Testosterone deficiency, anxiety is often the result along with fear and social withdrawal. To make matters worse, Testosterone deficiency can also be associated with low libido (sex drive), and can contribute to depression. On the reverse side, an excess of Testosterone may result in intolerance to stress and a tendency to jump to anger.

Synthetic pharmaceuticals are often prescribed to “treat” these symptoms without correcting the underlying cause – hormone imbalance. My approach to restoring balance is to create a strong foundation for hormone production and normal function by using whole foods first, and nutritional and herbal formulations second. The key is to not only restore levels, but assist the body’s cells in responding to hormones. It’s not just about the hormone levels, it’s also about the body’s ability to “listen.” Cellular response is as important as the function of hormone production, and when a prescription drug is used to treat hormone imbalance, it replaces, but does not restore.

Building a strong foundation with a whole foods diet, and sufficient intake of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, can often be enough to allow one’s body to naturally restore hormone balance. For others, short term herbal supplementation can be used to enhance ideal health by restoring optimal function of hormones.