One of the common complaints I hear when I ask patients why they have come to see me is, “my hormones are all out of whack”! Often they come to me after they’ve already tried dieting to lose weight, tried libido tonics to feel sexy again, taken a bit of St John’s Wort or Chaste tree here and there to help with PMS. Some women have gone through many different types of contraceptive pills just to see if they could balance their hormones or regulate their periods. Women in particular are at their wits end trying to figure out what their bodies are trying to tell them, and what they can do about it. Let’s look at what hormones are, what their job is in the body and why they can sometimes get out of balance.

Hormones are chemical messengers in the body. They are produced in the endocrine glands and are transported in blood or other body fluids to tissues to control things like hunger, sex drive, metabolism, fertility and mood. Hormones can influence thirst, sleep, energy and the way we respond to different situations and tolerate stress.

Hormones maintain a high level of expert communication with one another to maintain a delicate balance and activity level of the endocrine glands. If one hormone speaks out of turn, too loudly, or too softly, the entire communication system can fall apart. This can lead to other organs in the endocrine system missing out on proper instruction or doing their own thing and running their own agenda. There are so many processes and corrections needed to maintain proper function that constant vigilance by the body’s hormonal regulation systems is required. Sometimes, when there is overload or stress on the body, these regulation systems can become distracted and dysfunction can occur.

Take Lily for example. Lily was enjoying the good life. She had recently married, had a career she enjoyed and was expecting her first child. Lily was feeling great during her pregnancy, but the birth was another story altogether. After the birth of her son, Lily haemorrhaged and lost a lot of blood. While she recovered well, all things considered, Lily’s body had to make some quick assessments and changes during that crisis. You see the body is designed to maintain a certain level of balance. It is very good at prioritising critical needs. Lily’s body decided that some processes need to be turned off and toned down in order to preserve energy and aid recovery. So, instead of ramping up the hormones that stimulate milk production after birth, these hormones were toned down. Lily’s body had determined that she didn’t have the resources to sustain feeding a baby, so it held off her milk supply. Lily also found it difficult to lose weight after the birth, and started to gain weight again. She did her best to exercise and eat well, but her weight was slowly rising.

Stress, whether it is physical or emotional, if severe, or prolonged can place a huge load on a person’s hormonal regulation system and create a series of unfortunate events. The compensatory measures that the body puts in place sometimes become so complex that it is difficult to see where exactly the problem began and where to start work on fixing it. I see patients with heavy and painful periods or unexpected weight gain not knowing where or how it all began. Medicating this without looking at the full story, promises only a short term fix if anything.

To regain health it is important to dig deeper and investigate where, when or how the body got out of whack. Working in reverse to uncover the causes, re-calibrate and re-establish a good communication network for the body’s messenger system is essential. It is possible, once the causes are identified and managed, to get hormones back into balance, fit back into clothes from your mid 20’s and trust your body to do what it is supposed to do again.

Some of the reasons your hormones could get out of whack, or have trouble returning to baseline include:

Toxins

There are certain toxins we may be exposed to on a day to day basis which can disturb hormone function. These toxins are known as endocrine disruptors. They can mimic, block or potentially alter the hormonal systems in the body. Toxins known as xenoestrogens are chemicals in our environment, that when taken into the body can imitate oestrogen. This can mean that your body exhibits symptoms of excess oestrogen due to what is coming in externally, rather than what your body is making. Xenoestrogens affect both male and female reproductive systems. In males there is evidence that xenoestrogens alter sperm quality, number and may affect fertility. Sources of xenoestrogens include plastics, chemicals, pesticides, tap water, shampoos, lotions, soaps, toothpastes, sunscreens, styrofoam cups, takeaway containers, food additives, tinned foods. Yes, endocrine disruptors are everywhere! Our best solution is to minimise our exposure and ensure our detoxification system is in peak condition

Some patients with heavy or painful periods report significant changes after a few months, when they reduce their contact with plastics, and switch to natural and chemical free body and personal hygiene products.

"ONE OF EVERY FIVE ADULTS ARE POTENTIALLY EXPOSED EVERY DAY TO ALL OF THE TOP SEVEN CARCINOGENIC IMPURITIES COMMON TO PERSONAL CARE PRODUCT INGREDIENTS — HYDROQUINONE, ETHYLENE DIOXIDE, 1,4-DIOXANE, FORMALDEHYDE, NITROSAMINES, PAHS, AND ACRYLAMIDE.” ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP.

Poor Detoxification Pathways

The liver is considered the main organ of detoxification. It’s job is to bind up or transform toxins into a safer compound that can be efficiently removed from the body. It’s step by step process is finely tuned and requires all the right ingredients for success. Then the gall bladder, colon, kidneys, skin and lungs do the job of removing the packaged toxins from the body.

Unfortunately in today’s world, the workload on the liver, and the organs of elimination is increasing dramatically. There is no longer anywhere in the world that is pure, pristine and toxin free. The water we drink, foods we eat, air we breathe, clothes we wear and products we use to clean ourselves and our homes are potential sources of toxins. Our livers are pre-loaded with toxins to deal with even before we are born, with scientists finding over 200 chemicals in the cord blood of new born babies.

In a nutshell, the detoxification systems of the body are under a lot of strain. If any of the steps in the liver detoxification pathway (as summarised in the image below) are not able to be completed efficiently, chances are your body will recycle these toxins back into your system and tuck them away “safely” in your fatty tissue. In other words, your body has a back up plan. If it can’t remove toxins for any reason, it will do its best to limit their impact on your body. Rather than double handling and leaving the toxins floating around in your blood stream, your body sequesters them into fat, bone, and brain tissue. Unfortunately these stored toxins still have some level of influence while they are trapped in the body. The fatty tissue will slowly release these toxins back in to the blood stream, meaning that fat stores become a constant trickle source of toxins. When fat is broken down during weight loss, the body can once again become overburdened with toxins and affect metabolism, detoxification and hormone systems in a cumulative way. In some cases, the body will do it’s best to minimise this toxin release by preventing a person from burning fat. Cue – difficulty losing weight.

Hormone Detox Pathways

Nutritional Deficiencies

Certain nutrients and vitamins are critical for the production and regulation of hormones. Hormones are predominantly made from cholesterol (steroid hormones); amino acids and proteins (peptide hormones) and fatty acids (eicosanoid hormones). Then there are the micronutrients which are also critical for the production of hormones. Take iodine for example. The body cannot make thyroid hormone, T4 with an absence of iodine or tyrosine. In order to make the active thryoid hormone T3, the body needs zinc, selenium, iron, b6, b1, b2 and others. Vitamin B6, B3, chromium and magnesium are important in the regulation of insulin the hormone which manages our blood sugar levels and body weight. Vitamin B6 , zinc and magnesium are also involved in the regulation of oestrogen and progesterone. In other words we need optimal nutrient levels for optimal hormone and body function!

Just getting your RDA or recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals isn’t enough. Nutrient deficiencies can occur due to insufficient intake in the diet, poor absorption or uptake from the diet, loss in body fluids such as blood, sweat and faeces and urine, and also with increased demand such as following trauma, illness or infection. The body will give you a sign when it is lacking certain nutrients. Signs can take a while to show up though and most people don’t know what to look for. Your wholistic health practitioner is trained to identify and monitor nutrient deficiencies and help you to correct this through food, functional foods and sometimes nutritional supplements. Food first where possible!

Hormone helpers- foods!

Having hormones out of balance or “out of whack” will cause different issues in different people. Some will suffer fatigue, weight gain and hair loss, while others will be moody and get monthly thrush and migraines. There is no cookie cutter approach when it comes to identifying hormonal issues. Your hormone picture and how you experience life is going to be completely different to another person your age, gender and ethnicity.

Find Your Balance

There are certainly patterns that run in families, and this can be a good place to look for clues on where to start work. Dig deep into your health history looking with “new” eyes on the subject. Has there been prolonged exposure to toxins, either with yourself or through your parents before you were born? Do some research on endocrine disrupting chemicals to see where you can reduce the things that could be impacting your hormone system. Consider past health issues or medications which could have disturbed your hormone system eg severe stress, prolonged illness, medications like the oral contraceptive pill, hormone blockers, IVF medications or chemotherapy. Having a good understanding of your past health can provide a better action plan for your future health and hormone balance.

Restoring communication within the hormone messenger system can be complex, but a rewarding process. Once the layers are uncovered, systems cleaned, pathways cleared, and nutrients restored the body can return to a state of balance. The lines of communication will be open again, the zing will return to your step and you can trust your body to do what it’s supposed to do.

If you would like some help to create a clear picture with all the pieces of the hormone puzzle you can book your naturopathic consultation at Northside on 7999 7448.

What Causes Bloating

Do you ever feel like you want to switch into stretchy pants after a meal because you bloat after eating? Digestive bloating may be caused by the build up of gases in your middle or lower gut, by overeating or due to food intolerance. This kind of bloating has you feeling like there is a pressure from the inside pushing your abdomen out, and is usually worse within one or two hours of eating. Some people describe feeling and looking like they are pregnant due to the distension of their stomach. The discomfort of bloating is most commonly a result of nerves in the gut wall being triggered by overstretching. The good news is that this kind of bloating can often be taken care of naturally.

Bloating…when you feel like you are growing a food baby.

How To Prevent Bloating

Eat less. The empty stomach is typically the size of one of your closed fists. Overeating and eating foods that are slow or difficult to digest, can mean your gut becomes stretched beyond its natural preference. The slowest and more difficult foods to digest, generally speaking, are those highest in protein and fat. If bloating is a problem for you, consider eating your proteins and fats in smaller portions, rather than as a large meal late in the day. Avoid drinking too much liquid with meals. In order to digest food adequately, we need a low pH or very acidic environment in the stomach. This high acid is needed to break down foods efficiently so they can make their way through the digestive tract. If you are drinking large amounts of water or liquids just before or during your meal this can slow things down. Not only will the liquids cause the gut to stretch, but they may also overly dilute your digestive acids, rendering them ineffective. Aim to fill your daily water quota between meals or on an empty stomach, and only sip small amounts for water during meals. Encourage the digestion to switch on when its time for a meal. Hurry and worry are the enemies of digestion. If you are in flight or fight mode – aka, hurrying around completing chores while you eat, this is asking for trouble. The brain needs to signal the digestive tract to produce the enzymes, digestive juices and muscle actions required to break down your food and move it efficiently through the gut. If your brain is distracted by chores, your work to do list, phone calls or traffic, chances are it is distracted away from the food that is about to enter your mouth and stomach. Try to prepare your meal mindfully, sit down away from your work desk and concentrate on chewing your food well and slowing down while you eat. Avoid foods you are intolerant to eg. lactose or fructose. Some people have difficulty digesting and absorbing simple sugars due to inflammation, infection, or damage to the small intestine. Excess sugars remaining in the gut may be fermented by bacteria into gases which can cause symptoms of bloating and other issues contributing to diarrhoea or constipation. If you suspect food intolerance it is not always helpful or wise to eliminate entire food groups for extended periods of time. However in the case of a true allergy such as coeliac disease life long avoidance of gluten is necessary.

Home Remedies That Will Help Reduce Bloating

Fennel seeds ease bloating.

Do you find it awkward when you have to loosen your belt buckle or escape the office after a meal to let out some gas? Sometimes, but not always, bloating comes with flatulence or belching. This can lead to a level of anxiety as you find yourself planning your day around avoiding embarrassment. There are those unique humans who pride themselves on the volume and impact of their eructations. They know who they are. It seems they fall into one of two categories – the silent and violent or loud and proud. Either way, it’s uncomfortable for someone. To avoid categorisation into either of these somewhat unpleasant situations, there are a few effective solutions herbalists and naturopaths have been employing for centuries with great success.

Fennel – Foeniculum vulgare is a vegetable underestimated for it’s medicinal properties. The bulb and its leafy top are useful in preventing constipation and the bloating that comes with it. The seeds made into a tea or taken as a tincture, can help relieve the abdominal discomfort, cramping and flatulence associated with bloating. Use the whole fennel bulb and leaf raw in salads or roasted. Sprinkle the seeds into salads, or in casseroles and stews.Cinnamon – Cinnamon verum or true cinnamon is known to soothe spasms in the gut and assist digestion among many other medicinal uses. Cinnamon can help reduce nausea and diarrhoea, making it useful when lactose has been accidentally consumed by someone who is lactose intolerant. Making a tea with cinnamon, or incorporating it into smoothies, yoghurt or curries, can help soothe digestion and help your body tolerate sugars better. Peppermint – Mentha piperita is often underestimated for its digestive properites. Helping to relieve colic, flatulence and stomach discomfort, peppermint is easy to apply. Take as a strong tea after meals, or massage the diluted essential oil onto the abdomen to relieve irritable bowel symptoms and bloating. Ginger – Zingiberis officinalis not only relieves nausea, but also aids digestion and has anti-inflammatory properties. Combine freshly grated ginger in with your peppermint tea, or incorporate into stir fry, curries, and marinades. Chen Pi – Citrus reticulata is known more commonly as tangerine. The dried aged peel is traditionally used in Chinese cooking and in medicine. It is valuable as a soothing digestive and useful for intestinal colic, bloating and flatulence. Without a doubt, this is one of my favourite herbs to use in customized formulas where the patient has a weak digestion and suffers with abdominal discomfort from bloating. You can sun dry tangerine peel during the fruiting season, and store in air tight containers to be used in stews, soups, broths or as a tea to boost digestion. Chen Pi is also traditionally used for lingering cough after cold or flu.

Get To The Bottom Of The Bloat

Discussing your dietary intake, symptoms and health history can help your practitioner determine if testing or referral is necessary to determine the underlying cause for your bloating or intolerance. If the above remedies are giving you some relief, but the symptoms keep coming back after meals, this means there is a persistent issue or imbalance that needs to be identified and addressed. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to know what to eat without worrying that your stomach was going to grow or ache every single time?

Get some professional advice and investigate the causes, so you can work to clear the issue which could be also causing nutrient deficiencies, fatigue, brain fog, mood swings, anxiety and other health issues.

If bloating is an ongoing problem and you are waking up bloated most days, this could be a sign of more serious health issues. Abdominal discomfort and distention that is constant or painful should be investigated without delay.

Are you sick of hearing about gut bacteria yet?! Sometimes it seems that you cannot turn on the TV or open a magazine without seeing something about these little critters. It certainly reflects their importance and the exploding amount of research focussing on their roles.

Amazingly, back as far as 400BC, Hippocrates was wise enough to observe that “all disease begins in the gut”. And it still stands true today for a wide range of health conditions, according to extensive medical research; if in doubt, look at gut health to explain your frustrating health symptom that perhaps cannot be explained by your GP or specialist doctor.

The trick to gut health is fine tuning this incredibly intricate and complex part of our body. It involves stomach acid, the bacteria in our mouths, digestive enzymes coming from our liver and pancreas, gut movement, gut nerves which connect to the brain, immune tissue located in the gut, chemicals produced in the gut such as serotonin which affect mood, food eaten, vitamins that are activated or made inside the gut, and that critical bacterial mix.

If there is one thing that impacts our gut and whole body health more than any other, it is what goes into our mouth each day. The food we eat feeds the gut bacteria in a positive or negative way. Chemicals, preservatives and the often ridiculous amounts of sugar in our diets mess with the fine balance of many body pathways. Chemicals and medicines can have a profound impact on gut bacteria.

Studies reveal that a single course of antibiotics can leave gut bacteria affected even 2 years later and some species can be killed off irreversibly.

Children who have even one course of antibiotics in the first year of life are at higher risk of obesity and allergy later. Great care is required to look after these bacterial friends inside us as they influence many functions in our body.

Wonderful advice and guidance can be shared by a naturopath, nutritionist, dietitian or integrative GP who has a deep understanding of gut health. These practitioners can guide you precisely as to what to eat and drink to optimise gut health. Some of the strategies that will be laid out include eating as wide a range of vegies as possible, sensible amounts of fats, proteins and healthy carbs, probiotic and prebiotic foods and herbs and natural supplements to support digestive enzymes.

This is a complex discussion which requires a special interest in gut health. Expect to see improvements in IBS (irritable bowel), reflux, constipation and whole-body complaints such as arthritis, depression, skin issues, allergies, behaviour issues and fatigue. Reviewing your diet is one of the most powerful health actions you can take. So if in doubt, if you are not making headway with your wellbeing, look at your gut health.

Dr Danielle Stewart

Northside Health NT

It is usually impossible to know if you have osteoporosis, or it’s precursor osteopaenia. Most people (usually women) have a bone density test done at some point after menopause, as prior to this, the naturally higher level of oestrogen acts as strong bone protection. Reasons to suspect you are at higher risk of bone thinning include: thin build, low exercise level, smoking, early menopause, and nutrient malabsorption issues including chronic IBS, IBD or gut problems.

If you do discover on bone density testing (which involves a simple X-ray), that your bones are not what they used to be, you need to start a bone strengthening plan.

If you are at the stage of osteoporosis, your mainstream GP will usually offer you a weekly bisphosphonate tablet or 6-monthly injection (“Prolia”). These prescription medications work by slowing down the osteoclasts (which break down old bone), leaving the osteoblasts to go about their work of building bone up.

Sounds simple, right?

But think about it a bit more deeply and you would be right to have concerns about messing with this delicate balance. Evidence shows that the bone that is built up when people use bisphosphonates is less structurally strong, as the damaged bone is not being cleared away as it should. This lesser quality bone appears not to be as strong. And strong bone is what we are trying to achieve- the point of preventing and treating osteoporosis is to prevent fractures. (And fractures can include arms and legs from falls but also fractures of your vertebrae in your spine when you just bend over, if you have significant osteoporosis).

I prefer to recommend a natural approach to bone strengthening for most people. Versions of this can be used by people who have osteopaenia, not osteoporosis, or who just want to maintain their bones in an optimal state.

Here are the key nutrients that support bones-

CalciumMagnesiumVitamin DVitamin KPhosphorousOther trace minerals including boron, copper and manganesePlus- exercise and healthy lifestyle measures including lowering or managing stress and getting adequate sleep have all been shown to support bone density!

It is important to firstly eat foods that are dense in the above nutrients. If you have a low or non- dairy diet, that is fine. There are plenty of other high calcium foods. Testing your levels of some of the above nutrients can be very useful also, as you may discover that supplementation is required. But two critical points:

Calcium via common supplements is not the best form to use. Osteoporosis guidelines now acknowledge that not only are high doses of calcium poorly effective in bone strengthening but they actually significantly increase your risk of a heart attack and stroke. It seems that when you take calcium (such as the popular Caltrate), it is laid down preferentially in your blood vessel walls, rather than going into your bones. The only calcium form that I recommend is calcium hydroxyapatite- not found in mainstream supplements but in products such as Bioceuticals Advacal Forte. This form acts completely differently in the body and has good evidence backing it. The key piece of information here is that you need much more than just calcium for bones!

Until now, my favourite mental health book was titled “Healing Without Freud or Prozac: Natural Approaches to Curing Stress, Anxiety and Depression” by David Serban-Schrieber (2004). The author was a psychiatrist who had become frustrated by the two key mainstream approaches to healing mood problems- talking therapy and drug therapy. When I read his book, it made enormous sense to me and it struck me as very sad that we have lost touch with so many basics. If there was one thing that Dr Serban-Schrieber would pick as important to mental health, “it is the nature of your relationships with other people. I have to say that this is so critical. We are highly social animals. That emotional brain is totally tuned in to how we are connected with folks around us, especially those we love and care about - but also how we contribute to our community, whether we are valued by the group as a whole - that emotional brain is extraordinarily sensitive to that.

If the emotional brain is going awry, the whole physical state is going awry as well.”

The book details seven approaches to healing mental illness, all of which use the body as the doorway to transforming mental pain rather than attempting to tinker with brain chemistry or better understand the problem by talking about it. Some will be familiar, such as acupuncture, physical exercise and omega-3 essential fatty acids, while others are less well known- one involves circadian rhythms; another developing "heart rhythm coherence" with biofeedback; a third, a technique known as EMDR, makes use of eye movements. But they are all backed up by research evidence for their effectiveness. Dr Serban-Schreiber replaced his previous approaches of drugs plus talk therapy with these strategies and got better results, after observing how traditional cultures were using them to effectively treat mood disorders.

Twelve years later and another psychiatrist, Kelly Brogan, has gone through an identical process of becoming disillusioned and replacing drugs and talk therapy with whole body healing. It’s a confronting testament to the power of the pharmaceutical and medical industries that in those 12 years, instead of swinging closer to valuing a whole body approach to inflammation as a root cause for mood problems, we have instead continued to prescribe and swallow more and more and more psychiatric medication.

In “A Mind Of Your Own- the truth about depression and how women can heal their

bodies to reclaim their lives” (2016) Dr Kelly Brogan says- “We think (because our doctors think) that we need to “cure” the brain, but in reality we need to look at the whole body’s ecosystem: intestinal health, hormonal interactions, the immune system and auto-immune disorders, blood sugar balance and toxicant exposure. And we need natural evidence-based alternatives to psychiatric medications- treatments that target what’s really awry in our bodies. That means strategic dietary supplementation and non-invasive remedies like light therapy and cranial stimulation, but also smart (ie biologically compatible) food and exercise choices, restful sleep, a detoxed environment and meditation/relaxation practices. The best way to heal our brains is to heal the bodies in which they reside. Or as I also like to put it, free your mind by healing your whole body.”

Dr Brogan’s book is wonderfully mind opening. It opens by ruthlessly obliterating the weak evidence base for our modern anti-depressants. It then explores the ever-expanding evidence base around whole body inflammation affecting brain function. I really like her analogy that anxiety and depression are like the Overheat Guage on our whole-body engines. These mood disorders are shouting out to us that our engines are inflamed and we need to stop and look at what is causing all that overheating. Instead, most of us just keep on barrelling down the highway at full speed, unwittingly causing more overheating.

What I find so satisfying about functional & integrative medicine is that we try so hard to always consider what is overheating people’s engines. Sometimes it is obvious, and sometimes it takes a real detective mission to work it out. And as Dr Brogan says- “Mental health will always be grounded in whole body health. When you discover the real imbalances underlying all your symptoms- physical and mental- and take steps to address them, you can restore your health without resorting to problematic drug treatments and endless psychotherapy.”

Dr. Danielle Stewart