Hormones, or a lack of them, have a massive effect on both men and women. If we are lacking even one hormone, it can through or very being out of whack, mind, body, and emotions included. We’ve all heard about PMS and how a woman’s hormones can lead to struggles emotionally and mentally, but how else do they affect us? Maybe there is more to blame on hormones than we thought.
Hair Loss
Contrary to popular belief, men aren’t the only people that experience hair loss. Hormonal changes in the body can lead to hair loss for both men and women; particularly, women during post-pregnancy notice hair falling out by the handful in the shower. Don’t blame the pony-tail holder, blame the hormones.
Hair Growth
Hormones can cause hair to grow in undesirable places. Females with a hormone imbalance might notice a mustache or even beard hair growing. The cause is usually an overproduction of androgens, the hormones in males that include testosterone. Men and women both produce testosterone and estrogen. Males have more testosterone, while women produce more estrogen.
Sweating
We all secrete sweat! However, hormonal fluctuations during pregnancy and menopause can turn our bodies into hot flashing, sweating machines. Hormones imbalances can also cause men to sweat more than they naturally would.
The Cravings
Intense food cravings can be caused by fluctuating hormones, especially during pregnancy and PMS. The fluctuations throw off our insulin levels, making us crave sugar! When our serotonin levels are low, our body craves carbs because our body uses them to create serotonin. When women are experiencing PMS, our serotonin levels drop. So, when we eat a lot during a certain time of the month, we can blame it on the hormones.
Emotional Roller Coaster
Hormones can have us crying at the drop of a dime, as well as having an angry bloy up. When our hormones fluctuate wildly, it can lead to anxiety, anger, and irritability. Estrogen affects parts of our brain that control emotion.
Acne
Hormonal shifts play a big role on our skin. The increase of progesterone during pregnancy, post-pregnancy, and pre-period, stimulates out production of sebum. The increase leads to a buildup of sebum, which in turn leads to acne breakouts.
Headaches
If you have a headache, you might be able to blame it on… hormones. Right before our menstrual cycle, our estrogen levels fall, which can lead to headaches, especially migraines. Women also experience headaches during peri-menopause and menopause for the same reason.
Hormone imbalance happens all the time. More often than not, we go on about our life not considering what might be causing our mood swings or cravings. You can talk to your doctor about testing your hormone levels to see if you're lacking or maybe there’s an increase. Once you know what you need to increase, you can up the ante and find relief. If your levels are too high, your doctor can help you go over what you can do to lower those levels.
