There are several approaches in alternative medicine that claim to bring the hormonal balance back, including natural hormone therapy, herbs and diet and nutritional support. Once the hormones are brought back to normal, weight loss is achieved.
Hormones are released by the numerous endocrine glands in the body to perform their job of regulating energy production, sexual development, stress responses, growth, kidney function, menstruation, blood sugar balance and many other functions. These hormones are so powerful that small quantities of hormones released can do many things in our body. One can imagine the result of these hormones going out of balance. The major symptom of hormonal imbalance is gaining weight or not losing the existing weight.
Another factor that seems to create an imbalance is the pill. Most women say that they are hungrier as soon as they are started on the pill and also put on weight faster. This is because of the hormonal changes brought on by the pill. It makes them crave carbohydrates, which in turn helps the body retain water and adds to the weight gain. A hormonal imbalance also causes the body to convert more carbohydrates into fat that gets stored.
Low or high mineral levels in the body also affect the body systems. Low sodium and potassium indicate that the adrenal glands are stressed out. The adrenal glands are located just above the kidneys and as a response to stress, they produce hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. This production as a response to stress is known as the “fight or flight response.” In cases where the adrenal glands are stressed out for a long time, they can actually become very tired and weak and they have problem even pumping out the normal hormones.
They also affect the thyroid gland. When the adrenal glands do not function properly, the thyroid gland tries to help out by producing more hormones and due to this over-work, with time, even the thyroid gland becomes sluggish. The result is that both the adrenals and thyroid gland are weakened and this weakens the metabolic rate in the body, which means the person’s capacity to burn calories is reduced and the end-result is weight gain.
As it can be seen, a thorough understanding of the body is essential to take care of weight gain as there are so many factors involved. Many women face this situation; however, they do not understand why they are gaining weight.
Even women who are going through menopause or perimenopause experience several symptoms, such as mood swings, weight gain, night sweats and hot flashes. It is not only women, but men also experience the “grumpy old man” syndrome, which is the male menopause, in their fifties. The symptoms are fatigue, short-term memory loss, decreased libido, weight gain around the midriff and less muscle strength. The reason why people experience these symptoms is again - hormones.
Hormones are chemical messengers that regulate metabolism, kidney function, the body’s response to stress, blood sugar balance, sexual function and menstruation. When there is an imbalance of the hormonal levels, due to stress, aging, medications and other reasons, problems are caused throughout the system and the most common problem is weight gain.