Part Four of our Happy Hormone Series
Last week in Series three it was all about developing an understanding of PCOS, Endometriosis, & Estrogen Dominance. We discussed:
- The 411 on PCOS
- The 411 on Endometriosis
- The 411 on Estrogen Dominance
- How I help my clients transform their hormonal health using a Food-First Approach, the Right Movement, & Stress Management Strategies.
- Finally, Your Freebie this week!! A complete 7-day Meal Plan designed to support PCOS, Endometriosis & E.D, and why those foods are there!
If you missed the blog post last week from series three, you can snag it here before we move on. If you are all following along then great let’s dive into Series Four; Hair Loss, Skin Health, Weight, & Premature Aging. In Series Four, we are discussing:
Hair Loss 101 & What you can do nutritionally about it?
The Skin & Hormone Connection
The Weight & Hormone Balancing Act
Hormone Imbalance & Premature Aging
What you can do daily to support your hair, skin, nails, find a healthy weight (whatever that is for you and you feel you’re most amazing at!).
Plus your Series 4 FREEBIE!!! Food for vitality inside and out!
Series 4 is gonna be awesome so let’s get started!
1) Root Causes of Hair Loss & What you can do about it?
Hair Loss. It is a topic that many of my clients, both men and women come to talk to me about. “WHAT can I do nutritionally to help with hair loss?” They want to know the role of Nutrition in Hair Loss and what kind of customized nutritional plan and/or supplements can be done to address their concern. I find that this is a growing request in my practice but also an area that holds a lot of shame and fear, especially for women. So, let’s break the silence and talk about it a little today!
Did you know we are all losing hair? We typically lose about 100 hairs per day! For most of us, it’s not noticeable due to our constant hair cycle, growing more hair as we naturally shed some. Hair loss happens when this cycle of shedding and growing new hair is interrupted.
Who Experiences Hair Loss? According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 40% of women by the time they reach 40 experience hair loss. I get many clients who are women, around the age of 30 dealing with hair loss asking for guidance on how to address this issue nutritionally.
How do my hormones play a role in my hair loss?
Hormones are the most common cause of hair loss for both women and men. In both sexes, the specific hormone responsible for hair loss is the same: dihydrotestosterone (known as “DHT”), a hormone that your body produces as a byproduct of testosterone.
Both men and women need testosterone. In men, the body has a larger amount of testosterone and a fairly small amount of estrogenic hormones. In women, this ratio is reversed, with a small amount of testosterone and larger quantities of estrogen and progesterone hormones.
Testosterone is responsible for several functions in your body, from regulating your sex drive to keeping your bones and muscle tissue healthy and strong.
Your body uses testosterone as a precursor for several other hormones. One of these hormones is DHT. DHT affects your hairline by miniaturizing hair follicles, causing the hairs to stop growing as they normally would and eventually fall out.
This hair loss is called androgenic alopecia, or female-pattern hair loss (FPHL). Overall, it’s the most serious form of hair loss. Because androgenic alopecia can miniaturize your hair follicles, the hair that you lose is often gone permanently.
In women, hormonal hair loss produces different results from men. Instead of the horseshoe-like hair pattern or receding hairline common in men, women with hormonal hair loss usually notice a diffuse thinning pattern across the entire scalp.
Luckily, androgenic alopecia can be supported through diet, lifestyle, supplements, stress management, and hormone support (as it applies and discussed with your ND or GP).
5 Nutrition Reasons You May Be Experiencing Hair Loss?
2) The Skin & Hormone Connection
Your skin is your largest vital organ. Yup “VITAL” just like your heart, brain, liver! Your skin performs essential biological functions and is crucial for life and our ability to connect with the world and the people around us. Your skin is compromised of 3 layers; Your Epidermis, the Dermis, and subcutaneous tissue. And guess what?? hormones are involved in all three layers!
If your skin does not produce enough sebum (oil) dryness and wrinkling occur. The opposite where too much oil is produced we can have breakouts and hormonal acne. And surprise! your sebum and sweat glands respond too??…… yup your hormones. Testosterone, DHEA, & Progesterone excess is linked to breakouts and acne. Testosterone, Estrogen, & DHEA imbalance can contribute to excess sweating and body odor. Thinning, loss of elasticity and sagging comes with decreased estrogen as we age, which is why during and post-menopause we see such a change in our aging skin.
Glowing skin, thick lovely hair, and strong nails are markers of your hormonal balance. When our hormones are out of balance we see a change in these areas.
Here are 6 ways in which hormones affect your hair & skin:
3) The Weight & Hormone Balancing Act
Message One: Don’t Diet its an old oppressive practice created by “the man” and the “diet industry” which makes us feel shitty about ourselves and can foster an unhealthy relationship with food.
YUP, I hear this and I believe it.
Message Two: Intuitive Eating, Anti-Diet, Undieting is the right path to listen to your body and tune in to your natural hunger signals. Throw out the scale, forget rules and restrictions, and eat for the love of food and to nourish your body.
Yup, I hear this, I live this, I believe it.
- You are not going to lose weight like you did when you were in your 20’s. I am sorry for the hard truth. Do not place these unrealistic expectations on yourself to set yourself up for failure. Progress will be slower when dealing with hormonal weight. LOVE THE SHIT OUT OF THE BODY YOU HAVE TODAY. Give it ALL THE LOVE while it takes the time it needs to shift and keep health balanced.
- Talk with your NP/GP about having a hormonal panel done. Understand what is going on so you can develop a custom lifestyle and nutritional plan to address what is going on (i.e. if you have low testosterone and higher estrogen you will want particular nutrients in higher amounts versus if you have the opposite then your nutritional needs are different). So one of the best things you can do is identify where your hormones are at and then work with a Nutritional Consultant/ Naturopath to get things balanced. The weight will normalize to its healthy set point as we get those hormones in order.
- There are hormones that are pack on the pounds and hormones that are your fat-burning friends. Learning how to support the right ones and balance others takes some work but it is possible! Not sure where to start? message me!
8 Hormonal Reasons for Stubborn Hormonal Weight
4) Hormone Imbalance & Premature Aging
So as we have talked through hormones and how they impact our skin, hair, nails, and weight you can begin to draw a picture between how vibrant and a healthy balanced hormonal system impacts how we look, feel, and act every day. Hormonal balance impacts your sleep, mood, metabolism, energy level, sex drive, and yup our looks.
Each and every one of us is beautiful right now in the body you are in. You need to love your body at every stage of life. It is the only place you have to live in. DO not shame her, talk down to her, abuse her, restrict, punish, and hate on her. Stop the war with her, she (your body) just wants to keep you healthy and well.
Now, restoring Strength, Vigor, and Radiance in our body as we age is about ensuring that as we age we can still enjoy and do all the things that we love to do without pain, low energy/libido slowing you down.
So what can you do to support your vitality and longevity??
Finally, your series 4 freebie will be coming out at the end of this week to everyone on the listserve (if you have not signed up you can do so on the home page). The freebie for Series 4 is 10 Beauty Recipes!! 5 to eat for beauty from the inside out plus and 5 of my fav all-natural DIY beauty recipes for external use. So be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss your final freebie.
I hope this information has been helpful. All 4 series you can come back to on the Blog to reference at any time. If you are not sure where to start or would like some nutritional guidance head over to my shop page and book in a FREE, 15-Minute Nutritional Consult for guidance.