Hormones, a love story.
A few years ago, I had a really stressful job. I was an anxious, emotional, insomniac who only wanted junk food. I was desperately unhappy, but I wasn't in a position to make a change. Luckily, we broke up, and I'm in a much happier situation. While I knew I was stressed, I had no idea the true cost of chronic stress on my body.
Our bodies are pretty amazing, but they can't differentiate between big stress—you're in mortal danger—and just being super annoyed by your co-worker. This is a problem because wielding a sledgehammer over and over exhausts the body (aka adrenal fatigue). Long-term stress in women can affect fertility, create estrogen dominance, be an underlying cause of depression and fatigue, and affect your thyroid, but that's another newsletter.
So why am I talking about stress? Welcome to the glorious world of hormones, the chemical messengers in the body that help regulate our vital processes, including metabolism, growth, sleep, and reproduction.
We have hundreds of hormones, with more discovered every year. For the next few weeks, I want to introduce you to the A-Team: Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone, Cortisol, T3, and T4 (Thyroid). These are also key players for women hitting menopause.
When working in balance, our bodies are a beautiful symphony of signals and responses that enable us to live healthy lives. When they are out of balance, it can feel like a dumpster fire.
Where do hormones come from?
Don't worry; I didn't remember high school health class either. Let's just say that from your head to your hoo-ha, you have glands and glandular organs responsible for churning out hormones. It's an information superhighway, with your brain sending signals to glands to release hormones that head to specific cells. Everything is interconnected, and if one is off, others will be thrown out of whack, too.
Back to the A-Team - Multitasking Heroes!
Estrogen is a leading lady. It's primarily produced in our ovaries (our adrenal glands and fat cells also make a small amount). It's responsible for our feminine traits and reproductive health. It also plays a role in cholesterol levels, heart health, skin hair, and even brain function. Fun fact: men and women have estrogen.
Progesterone is the supportive sidekick produced in our brain tissue. It plays a key role in reproduction prepping the uterine lining for pregnancy and helping with breastfeeding. It also protects and repairs the covering (myelin sheaths) of the nerves in our brain.
Testosterone keeps us feeling sexy. It also converts fat to muscle, affects bone density, and cognitive function. It’s not just a guy thing; women have testosterone too.
Cortisol is our stress regulator and necessary for survival. It’s made in our adrenal glands near the kidney and helps manage our metabolism by regulating our body's use of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. If you've got a dad bod or a muffin top, chances are you have higher cortisol levels play a part. Belly fat cells have 4 times more cortisol receptors than other cells.
Thyroid (T3 & T4) May look like a delicate butterfly near your trachea but she's bad bi*ch. Your thyroid is like a gas pedal - too much and we're starring in Fast and Furious (hyperthyroidism and Grave'sGrave's disease), too little and Driving Miss Daisy (hypothyroidism and Hashimoto's disease) is snoozing in the back seat. It helps regulate heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, energy, and metabolism. It can affect and interact with every single cell in our body.
What does this mean? Understanding how you may have arrived at an unhealthy place is a first step. Making informed decisions to change habits is empowering.
What's stressing you out? How can you mitigate it? Being alive means having stress but we should identify those triggers that cause sustained, elevated stress and try to build new habits that help manage it.
Take a moment to think about one thing you can do this week to help you reduce stress. Some easy things I've found:
Take a walk; bonus points for doing it without your phone.
Eat whole fruits and vegetables. Don't beat yourself up if you reach for junk food, but try to balance out stress-induced cravings with fruits and vegetables to replenish vital nutrients. Pro tip: Grab a handful of blueberries which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, as well as cognitive and cardiovascular benefits.
Practice deep breathing: Try box breathing exercises.
Meditate: Mindful meditation, has a positive impact on mental health.
Consider supplements like Ashwagandha for a little extra calm. Do some reading to see if this is for you. I've taken it and like it.
Exercise: Yeah, I know, but it activates endorphins and really helps.
Get enough sleep! Turn off the cell phone, make it dark, and try to get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. If you can, avoid a late night cocktail, it interrupts sleep.
Reframe Stress as an opportunity instead of a roadblock. And turn down the negative voices in your head!
Understanding our hormones and how they respond to stress is the first step towards reclaiming our well-being. So, take charge, reduce stress, and let the love story between you and your hormones flourish.
See you in two weeks!
Jennifer
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