WOMEN’S HEALTH
Naturopathic medicine can support conditions such as:
Peri-menopause and Menopause: The transition period leading up to and following menopause can cause hormonal fluctuations, leading to irregular periods, hot flashes, and other symptoms.
Endometriosis: An inflammatory, hormonal condition where the tissue that lines the uterus grows outside of it, causing pain, infertility, and irregular periods.
Amenorrhea: Absence of menstrual periods for three or more months in a woman who has previously had regular menstrual cycles.
Oligomenorrhea: Infrequent menstrual periods occurring more than 35 days apart.
Dysmenorrhea: Painful menstrual periods that can range from mild discomfort to severe cramping.
Menorrhagia: Heavy or prolonged menstrual periods that last longer than 7 days and involve excessive bleeding.
Metrorrhagia: Irregular bleeding or spotting between menstrual periods.
Polymenorrhea: Menstrual periods that occur more frequently than every 21 days.
Anovulatory bleeding: Menstrual bleeding that occurs without ovulation, often resulting in irregular periods or prolonged bleeding.
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS): A group of physical and emotional symptoms that occur before menstruation and can include bloating, breast tenderness, mood swings, and fatigue.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS): A common hormonal disorder in women of reproductive age that can cause irregular periods, excess hair growth, acne, and difficulty getting pregnant.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD): A severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) that can cause mood swings, anxiety, and depression.
There are a multitude of factors which can contribute to hormonal imbalances:
Iodine levels: iodine is a key nutrient for the metabolism of oestrogen. Environmental toxins and digestive issues can impede absorption of the little iodine we are exposed to. Low iodine levels also correlated with conditions where cells proliferate (or clump together) in hormonal tissue - such as PCOS, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, fibrocystic breasts and even benign prostatic hyperplasia in men.
Stress: Reproductive hormones are particularly sensitive to changes in stress levels.
Thyroid issues: Your thyroid is essentially the conductor of the hormonal orchestra in the body, and it controls the metabolic speed of every cell in your body. Thyroid issues can exacerbate all hormonal symptoms and throw your cycle out of whack. Thyroid issues can also exacerbate menopausal symptoms such as weight gain, anxiety and insomnia.
Digestive microbiome: Certain bacteria in the gut make a bi-product known as beta-glucoronidase which reconjugates oestrogen and puts it back into circulation, essentially making it harder for your body to clear oestrogen via the gut. This will not only fatigue the liver, but lead to excess oestrogen floating around in our bodies - driving symptoms such as breast tenderness, PMS, as well as painful and heavy periods.
Histamine intolerance: Histamine and oestrogen have an interesting inter-connected relationship. Excess oestrogen down regulates an enzyme which helps clear histamine from the body. When this happens, histamine levels in the body can increase, which can drive up oestrogen and continue to worsen and drive symptoms.
Liver stagnation or insufficiency: the liver is our main pathway for clearing all hormones, so any sort of liver sluggishness is going to lead to disrupted hormone metabolism.
We can help guide you towards the best testing, treatment and options for you.