Posts in Other hormone issues
Adrenal fatigue: facts and fictions

I frequently get calls from prospective clients asking if I can help them with adrenal fatigue. I then invite them to briefly describe their experience, how long they have been suffering, and if there are other health issues they are currently facing. Adrenal fatigue typically requires an extended conversation, this blogpost covers some aspects of this conversation.

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Hormone trickery: endocrine disrupting chemicals

The endocrine system consists of many glands distributed throughout the body, producing more than 50 hormones that are released into the bloodstream or the fluid surrounding cells. Receptors in various organs and tissues respond to these hormones in specific and vital ways that control metabolism, immunity, development and growth, reproduction and behavior.

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Hypothyroidism… or Hashimoto’s?

The thyroid is a gland shaped much like this butterfly that is located in the front of the neck below the Adam’s apple (for a man). It is one of many important endocrine glands that manage the body’s hormone system. Hormones produced by the thyroid affect many body functions including lipid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism, growth, the cardiovascular system and the reproductive system.

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Hypothyroidism: the bigger picture

Hypothyroidism is the name given to a condition characterized by underfunction of the thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland located in the front of the neck below the Adam’s apple. Hormones produced by the thyroid affect many important body functions including lipid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism, growth, the cardiovascular system and the reproductive system.

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Chronic stress and its effect on hormones

When considering changes that need to be made in order to have a healthy lifestyle, nutrition, physical exercise and sufficient sleep are usually the first things that come to mind. But stress management can also play a critical role. This is because of the many ways that chronic stress undermines good health.

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Hyperthyroidism: your thyroid in overdrive

Hyperthyroidism is a set of conditions that result in overactivity of the thyroid, a butterfly-shaped gland located in the front of the neck below the Adam’s apple. This is the opposite of hypothyroidism (or thyroid underfunction), which is far more common. Hormones produced by the thyroid affect many important body functions including lipid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism, growth, the cardiovascular system and the reproductive system.

60 to 80% of hyperthyroidism cases result from Grave’s disease, an auto-immune condition that tends to run in families, occurs more often in women and frequently peaks between 20 and 40 years of age.

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I can't sleep: is it my hormones?

About 30% of adults report insomnia at any one time, with 10% suffering from chronic insomnia. Women as well as people over 60 tend to be more affected. There can also be grave consequences, including a range of other chronic health conditions (such as diabetes, high blood pressure and weight gain), unproductive work lives, car accidents and fatalities. For these reasons, insomnia is considered a serious public health problem.

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Change of life: for men?

Sometimes called “andropause”, the question of whether men have a change of life similar to menopause for women has long been debated. While women experience age-related physical changes at a rather specific time (when ovarian function declines leading up to age 50), for men the shift occurs much more gradually. A reduction in testosterone production happens over many years as men age, and can result in diminished muscular strength, energy and libido, erectile dysfunction, depression, and even osteoporosis. The problem is that these symptoms are often not seen in men with low testosterone and may also be caused by other factors such as stress, illness, medications, obesity, psychiatric conditions, diabetes, high blood pressure or low thyroid levels.

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Osteoporosis: the bone loss disease

Osteoporosis is one of a small number of common metabolic diseases that show no symptoms until there’s a crisis. What’s the crisis? Bone fracture. How common is it? Fifty percent of all women and 21% of all men 50 years or older experience one or more osteoporosis-related fractures in their lifetime. While the condition is generally four times more prevalent in women, that doesn’t mean men can afford to ignore it.

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