Hormones and Weight

Do you struggle to lose or maintain your ideal weight? Your hormones may be sabotaging your weight loss efforts!

Hormones are messengers throughout your body - instructing your cells and organs - and help regulate many body processes such as metabolism and weight.

Many women have underlying hormone imbalances that cause much frustration in regards to regulating weight.

The most common hormone imbalances that may be influencing your weight include -

THYROID FUNCTION

Many women have under-active thyroid function and lower than ideal thyroid hormone levels (T4 and T3) which regulate our weight and metabolism, along with many other influences particularly on our energy and mood. If you have been told your thyroid is ‘fine’ after a blood test, you may still have an under-active thyroid and can read more here.

INSULIN RESISTANCE

Insulin helps to regulate blood sugar levels and keep them within an ideal range. When the demand for insulin is excessive - primarily from consuming too much sugar, sweet foods/drinks and refined grains - you can become insulin resistant, meaning you need more and more insulin to have the same effect.

This imbalance is mostly associated with diabetes, but is becoming more common, occuring at younger ages and contributes to the development of many chronic health issues. Insulin resistance is also a major factor in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). You can read more about insulin resistance and how to improve it here.

CORTISOL

Many women live in a constant stressed state which results in increased cortisol and adrenaline. Cortisol is protective and energising in acute bursts but our bodies are not designed to handle ongoing stress and will eventually reach burn out. Along the way our ability to regulate weight will be impacted in a number of ways.

Cortisol slows metabolism by impairing thyroid function, may lead to comfort eating or poorer food choices, contributes to other hormone imbalances, impacts gut bacteria balance, and increased cortisol levels are linked to increased abdominal fat cells. Stress impacts every area of our body and managing stress is key to keeping your hormones and weight in a happy balance!

SEX HORMONES

The most common imbalance for women is higher estrogens in relation to progesterone. This estrogenic environment encourages weight to be stored around the hips and thighs, and you may experience other symptoms such as PMS, fluid retention, sore breasts, painful or heavy periods, fibroids and endometriosis.

Many factors can encourage this imbalance especially ongoing stress, use of the Pill and exposure to estrogenic chemicals (skin care, make up, fragrances, cleaning products, plastics and pesticides). Especially as women we can be applying and exposing ourselves to a huge amount of these chemicals everyday!

Estrogen plays a significant role in the regulation of adipose tissue or fat cells, and these cells can also contribute to the production of more estrogen. Optimal liver and digestive function is important in helping your body to remove these excess estrogens.

Hormone imbalances have numerous impacts on weight regulation, and while supplements can help restore hormone balance there are also steps you can take in your daily life to support happy hormones and improve weight regulation.

Here’s my top 5 tips -

• Stress Management to help reduce cortisol. Lack of sleep, caffeine and alcohol can all increase cortisol, while gentle to moderate exercise can help to reduce cortisol. Here are some other cortisol lowering tips.

• Follow a low sugar lifestyle to regulate blood sugar and insulin - you can read more here.

• Include a variety of vegetables and fibre to support digestive health and removal of excess hormones and chemicals.

• Make sleep a priority as this influences other hormone levels and weight regulation.

• Switch to non-toxic products, use glass/ceramic/stainless steel over plastics and choose spray free or organic produce whenever possible.

If you need help assessing your hormones and restoring hormone balance I’d love to help you.

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances, anxiety and fatigue.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

Is Your Thyroid Really 'Fine'?

Do you suspect you have a thyroid issue but have been told your test result is fine?

I see this happen regularly and this week had another client who had experienced the same thing.  Once we tested her thyroid more thoroughly her levels indicated an under-active thyroid and also the presence of thyroid antibodies which indicate auto-immune activity.  If these levels are high enough a GP would diagnose you with Hashimoto's - the auto-immune version of hypothyroidism or under-active thyroid.  This condition is quite common in women, especially if you have a family history of thyroid issues. 

This client had a number of chronic health issues that she'd been struggling with for years, which could all be linked to a suspected under-active thyroid.  These symptoms included constipation, anxiety and fatigue.  Other common symptoms that may indicate thyroid issues include weight gain or trouble regulating weight, brain fog, low mood, feeling cold all the time, low libido and hair loss.

A qualified Naturopath will assess all three thyroid hormones - TSH, T4 and active T3 - which are all needed to properly assess thyroid function.  We also look for 'ideal levels', not just that the result is 'within range'.  Other tests include thyroid antibodies to rule out auto-immune activity, reverse T3 and urinary Iodine.  Many women I see are also low in iron which is also essential for thyroid and immune function. 

Many women have sub-optimal thyroid function - meaning it's less than ideal, but goes undiagnosed as the test levels are still within range - it's not bad enough yet for a 'diagnosis'.  However this is the best time to start supporting your thyroid and body, and working on improving it's function, instead of waiting for things to get worse!  This is where a qualified Naturopath or Nutritionist can help you restore optimal thyroid health before you get to the stage where you may need replacement thyroid hormone medication for the rest of your life.  It's much easier to treat imbalances as soon as possible and prevent disease, rather than waiting for things to become more advanced or chronic.

Quality thyroid supplements can help improve your thyroid function and reduce symptoms.  These usually include herbs such as Withania and nutrients including iodine, selenium, zinc and tyrosine.  Stress and adrenal support, with herbs such as Rhodiola and Rehmannia are also great, as stress and cortisol impair thyroid and immune function.  

It is best to work with a qualified practitioner if you have antibodies or auto-immune thyroid issues so that these levels can be monitored and the correct dosages are prescribed for your needs.  For example, iodine is critical for thyroid function but too much iodine can worsen auto-immune thyroid issues, especially if you have low selenium.  It's all about finding the right balance for you.

Other things you can do to support your thyroid, especially if it is auto-immune based include

• Going gluten free or avoiding a high wheat intake. Gluten can aggravate digestive and immune based issues, and you can be reactive to gluten even if you are not Coeliac.

• Avoid halogens which interfere with iodine and thyroid function. These include bromine found in regular breads, flouride and chlorine found in tap water. Chlorine also disrupts gut bacteria and therefore our digestive and immune function. Use a tap filter that removes these chemicals.

• Work on stress management and include gentle exercise to help reduce cortisol and stress.

• Include seaweeds, seafood and pumpkin seeds for iodine and zinc, and a few brazil nuts for selenium. (Soaked or activated nuts and seeds are easier to digest).

• Avoid eating an excessive amount of raw or uncooked cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale) due to goitrogens - which may impair thyroid function. Cooked cruciferous vegetables are great and have many disease fighting phytonutrients.

• Limit or avoid soy - a small amount of fermented, organic soy is ok such as tempeh and miso.

• Avoid other chemicals in plastics, fragrances and skin care as much as possible, as these impact hormone levels and our immune system, as well as contributing to disease and cancer risk. Use glass, ceramic, stainless steel and non-toxic skin/body/cleaning products.

If you feel something is not right, even though you've been told your test results are fine, please seek another opinion from a qualified Naturopath or Nutritionist who can assess your health and test results in a holistic and comprehensive way - and help you to improve any imbalances and symptoms before they become bigger health issues.  If you'd like a second opinion or advice from a preventative health care perspective, I'd love to help you.

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances, anxiety and fatigue.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.

The Tests Your GP Won't Run - And Why You Need Them!

Have you had tests done with your GP and been told everything's fine - even though you don't feel fine?  This is a really common and frustrating experience for many women!  There are other tests and interpretations which your GP will likely not run, and these can give you the answers you're looking for!

Due to Medicare restrictions and differences in training, your regular blood tests may not be very thorough, and as long as they're within the 'range' you'll likely be told there's nothing wrong - even if your symptoms say otherwise!  

Qualified Naturopath's and Nutritionists can assess your blood results differently and look for optimal levels - not just anywhere in the 'range'.  We also use other functional testing which can give you a better indicator of your nervous system and stress, hormones including thyroid, estrogen and progesterone, and also your digestive function.  These areas have a huge impact on your energy, mood, menstrual cycle, fertility and ability to regulate weight.  Certain tests can help us to see where there are imbalances in your body which can make treatment more specific to your needs.

Some of these tests include other blood tests, such as testing your three thyroid hormones, not just TSH.  Also assessing you have optimal iron levels and iron stores, vitamin D and B12 - which are commonly low in clients.  Saliva testing is used to assess other hormones such as cortisol, estrogens and progesterone, while a stool sample can provide a wealth of information regarding your digestive and immune function - including bacterial imbalances (dysbiosis), how well you're digesting food and levels of inflammation or gut permeability (leaky gut) - which is typically involved in auto-immune conditions, allergies and skin issues.

Higher levels of estrogen are associated with a higher risk of certain disease and cancer including breast cancer - so knowing where your levels are at now and working on re-balancing them can not only help with current symptoms, such as painful or heavy periods, but also help prevent disease in the future.  This is also true of low Vitamin D, high homocysteine, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and their increased risk of disease - but which there's lots you can do to restore your levels to promote good health and prevent disease! 

Unfortunately Naturopath testing isn't covered by Medicare, but we can assess any recent tests you've already had done with GPs and specialists, which can limit further testing costs.  Tests range from around $20 for some blood tests to $100-$400+ for more in depth functional testing. 

As a holistic healthcare practitioner I look at certain tests but also the symptoms you're experiencing - and work with you to figure out which underlying factors are contributing to your symptoms.  Rather than just trying to eliminate a symptom, we look at the underlying imbalances that are contributing to your health concerns - there's usually more than one and rarely one solution that will suit everyone! 

If you'd like to find out more about testing or work on getting to the bottom of your health concerns, I'd love to help you.

Marion McConnell is a degree qualified Naturopath who helps women with stress, hormone imbalances, anxiety and fatigue.  The clinic is located in New Farm Brisbane, and consultations are also available via Skype.  You can contact Marion here.