Hormones are one of the most important ingredients to your body’s physiological processes. They play a role in everything from gene expression to mood management, which makes it important to understand and regulate them.
Unfortunately, many people live with hormone imbalances that they don’t even realize. Instead, they live with the symptoms and convince themselves it’s something else. These deficiencies can linger on for days, weeks or even years!
Thankfully, there are ways to regulate your hormones. In severe cases, medications offer relief. However, most people can modulate their hormone levels through simple changes to diet and exercise.
First, let’s meet the players
There are a few important hormones that play a major role in everyday life. And, it’s these same hormones that many people experience deficiencies of. Some of the most common include:
As you might imagine, lacking any of these hormones can be very disruptive! It’s why many people feel sluggish, lethargic, dethatched, apathetic and unmotivated so often. Long-term deficiencies can lead to depression, sexual dysfunction, insomnia and memory loss. Safe to say, it’s critically important that our bodies produce enough of these hormones.
What causes hormone deficiencies?
Why are so many people hormone-deficient? It depends, but there are a wide range of factors that play a role. Some of the most common include:
- Pituitary gland disruption caused by injury or illness
- Lack of nutrition due to poor or imbalanced diet
- Free radicals and environmental attacks on the body
- Prolonged stress, anxiety or depression
- Lack of stimulation or a sedentary lifestyle
In most people, hormone deficiency is caused by more than one single catalyst. Often, diet and lifestyle are to blame above all others. People simply aren’t getting the nutrition they need to regulate the body, nor the activity to stimulate it.
How to improve your hormone levels
Adopting a healthy diet and more active lifestyle are the first and most important steps to kick starting hormone production once again. If you visit a doctor to test your hormone levels, they’ll almost always ask about diet and lifestyle first, to pinpoint natural remedies before prescribing medication.
It might seem difficult to find the motivation to eat better and move more, but it’s important to overcome hormone deficiencies mentally first. You might lack endorphins due to lack of exercise, but you need to exercise to produce them. Don’t get stuck in a “chicken vs. egg” debate. Instead, take your destiny into your own hands and get moving!
Overcoming hormone deficiencies can take time. Stick to a healthier diet and an active lifestyle, and you’ll start to see improvements almost immediately. From a higher libido after working out to more energy and a positive outlook after a healthy meal, it all adds up to a healthier you—made possible by healthy hormone levels.
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