Your Stress Hormones

Normalizing Your Hormone Levels: Part I

        Having attended a four-day Nutritional Lyceum in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, I was treated to quite a spectacular four days with the top nutritional experts delivering the most up-to-date information on restoring health through high quality nutrition.  And of all the information that was presented within the seminars, the information about balancing your hormonal levels, and how to determine most accurately where the imbalance is coming from, seemed to be the most helpful.  Having asked some of the other practitioners which speaker they enjoyed the most and what information did they consider the most valuable, everyone had the same answer... "The information about balancing hormones."  Since there were two different speakers, Angela Hywood, ND from Australia and Dr. Janet Lang, from the mid-west, I will be pulling from both of their information to help you understand the basis for fully balancing your hormones and what the best way to evaluate where your hormones are out of balance.  For this newsletter, I will be discussing Dr. Hywood's information entitled "Stress Management: Strategies to Support Adrenal Vitality," and our next newsletter will focus on Dr. Lang's information "Functional Endocrinology: Balancing Female Hormones."

Understanding the Stress Response

        When dealing with stress, the glands associated with the body's response to it are the Adrenal Glands.  These are paired glands that sit just above your Kidneys.  It should be noted that Sex Hormone Balance cannot be achieved without healthy Adrenal function.  Because of that, I am discussing Adrenal function first and we will visit the Sex hormone portion in my next newsletter. 

        Back in the 1930's a doctor by the name of Hans Selye determined that stress is a state of threatened homeostasis, and a stressor is anything that threatens this balance within the body.  The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) associated with the body's reaction to stress is as follows.  There are three phases the body will go through when trying to maintain balance within, and these are Phase 1 The Alarm Phase where the body produces the hormones Cortisol and DHEA in response to the fight or flight response.  The normal release of these hormones occurs during these stressful times in our day (getting our normal routine handled in an efficient manner) and the body is usually asymptomatic, as the stress is mostly short lived in duration.  Everyone experiences this type of response with the resulting normal adaptation and resistance.  As stress begins to accumulate and become more of a challenge, Phase 2 known as TheResistance Stress Phase kicks in.  This is the early stage of Adrenal exhaustion.  The person has become what is termed Sympathetic Dominant.  Cortisol increases in response to the stress, but the DHEA begins to decline.  The person who is Sympathetic Dominant feels "stressed" as this is associated with anxiety attacks, mood swings, and problems falling asleep.  Does any of this sound familiar?  Phase 3 The Exhaustion Phase has both Cortisol and DHEA in decreased amounts.  This is associated with the symptoms of problems staying asleep, feeling down or depressed, along with fatigue or physical exhastion.   Maybe this sounds like you.  Your nervous system is now  Parasympathetic Dominant.

        So what are these two hormones, and why are they important?  Both of these hormones are derived from cholesterol, which then gets converted to a second hormone called Pregnenalone.  The Pregnenalone then gets converted to Cortisol and DHEA.  Cortisol influences the activity of Insulin, Thyroid Hormones and DHEA.  Insulin release is directly tied to Cortisol production, while Thyroid Hormones and DHEA are suppressed and lowered upon Cortisol release.  Cortisol is directly involved in Balancing Blood Glucose, the Immune System Response, Bone turnover rate, Mood and thought, REM sleep and Tissue breakdown.  Under prolonged stress, Cortisol will increase initially, followed by a decrease over time due to the constancy of the stress.  This results in declines within the Immune System function leading to Natural Killer Cell cytotoxicity, problems with Secretory IgA levels and the disruption of gastrointestinal microflora balance.  In laymens terms, you can't fight off infection, as well as, your digestion and food breakdown become poor, leading to food allergies and poor health. Some foods which stress out the body and create increases in Cortisol release are your Hydrogenated and Trans Fats.  Take the time to read your food labels and realize everytime you consume those types of foods, you will be decreasing your body's ability to fighting off infection, in addition to increasing your chance for developing food allergies. 

What To Consider

        Everyone suffers the effects of stress.  A great place to start improving your health is to improve your body's ability to handle the stress you experience.  From the seminar, I was taught how to evaluate a persons response to their stress by ordering a Saliva Test that can be done within your own home.  The test kit is taken home and saliva samples are collected by you at four times during the day.  Each sample is placed within the test kit and then it is mailed to the company in a postage paid package.  The results are then sent to my office where we then have you come in and go over the results.  Based on what the test shows, it tells us exactly what the protocol is for balancing your Adrenal response to stress, and what it will take to keep you healthy.  The technology behind it is great and the protocols are fantastic. 

        Why it is important to evaluate your hormones this way instead of using a blood test?  Blood tests are not as diagnostically significant in determining abnormal hormone levels.  Blood tests are also more expensive then the saliva tests, and because of the various hormones effecting each other,  blood tests can come back normal even though hormonal imbalances exist.  Advantages of Saliva testing are the free hormone levels are more diagnostically significant, and the validity and accuracy of saliva testing is well established through research.

My Offer To You

        For ALL Current Practice Members and Prospective New Practice Members:  If you suffer from a stressful life, either minimally or maximally, you would benefit from having one of these tests done.  It will help you see which of the three phases you are currently in, and help us to determine how to eliminate the effects of that stress.  Some other conditions associated with too much Adrenal stress would be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, PMS, menopausal symptoms such as Hot Flashes, Night Sweats, Insomnia, along with a decreased labido.  If any of these sound like you or a loved one, call the office today at (845) 561-2225 and tell us you need to get the Stress Evaluation.  During the Month of May, I offer you this as part of Our Mother's Day Give Away.  Make an appointment during the Month of May and during your visit I will do a simple test to evaluate the need for the Saliva Test.  If you qualify, we will give you a test-kit to take home and when we get the results, the two of us can then make the necessary changes to your system and allow for your body to begin managing your stress in a much better way.  Why wait any longer, Call The Office Now at (845) 561-2225 and schedule your appointment Today! 

        And men be mindful, this is not just a woman's health issue.  Men too suffer from Adrenal burn-out which creates Impotence/Erectile Dysfunction, and a condition known as Andropause or Male-menopause, which includes a decreased labido.  So you too need to call The Office at (845) 561-2225 and tell us you want to evaluate your stress response.  Why wait, call NOW while I have your attention.

        And for those of you who live out of town, the Saliva Test can be mailed to you and we can consult over the phone, or through e-mail when dealing with the results.  You don't even have to live in the Hudson Valley in order for me to help you.  So you too can get the help you need by calling the office at (845) 561-2225.  I welcome the opportunity.  Give us a call and get a handle on how your body manages your stress Today!

        For more complete information on this and all hormone related concerns, consider purchasing my new book entitled When Your Health Matters: Using Your Body's Natural Rhythms To Restore Your Health, available by calling my office at (845)561-BACK or 561-2225.  Call me and I will be happy to set one aside, or you can call me and I will mail you an autographed copy.