A Complete Approach to Balancing Your Hormones
by Dr. Kannankeril ND
Many women are reading more and more about the benefits of natural hormone balancing and bio-identical hormone treatment. This kind of treatment has been written about in books and even featured recently on a major television talk show. With approximately 80% of women today dealing with some kind of hormone imbalance, it is not surprising that correcting these imbalances has become a hot topic.
While many physicians prescribe hormones based on symptoms through a trial-and-error process, balancing hormones is a science. It requires careful interpretation of symptoms and specialty lab testing. Even if two women come into my office with identical symptoms (e.g. fatigue, low motivation, hot flashes, weight gain and mood swings), chances are their hormone test results will be completely different based on factors such as medical history, family history and lifestyle.
It is also important to not only address the hormone imbalance itself, but the root cause of the imbalance. Part of the underlying cause is often due to stress, environmental exposure, poor dietary habits, oral contraceptive use or various combinations of these factors. Naturopathic medicine works to treat the hormone imbalance, thereby relieving the symptoms, but also works to remove the sources of the imbalance. Oftentimes, women are put on an ideal prescription of the right balance of hormones, but the improvements only last so long. This is often due to lack of focus on the original cause. Unless that cause is dealt with, through botanical medicine, specific vitamins and minerals, adrenal support and lifestyle changes, the imbalance will keep perpetuating and the need for hormones will continue to increase.
Here at NIHA, we use state of the art salivary hormone testing to assess active amounts of hormones. We then create custom compounded hormone formulas based on those results, your health concerns as well as the underlying cause to most effectively address your symptoms and get you started on the road to good health.
Bio-Indentical Hormone Therapy