While their role in the healthy functioning of our bodies is of the utmost importance, our bodies’ hormones are particularly fickle beings. These vital chemicals require a delicate balance that we must keep in check via proper diet, exercise, lifestyle, and behavior.
While hormones will naturally decline as you continue aging, there are certain medical conditions that may be responsible for unusually low levels of sex hormones. Courtesy of Renewed Vitality, you can read more about five of them right here.
Anorexia
Anorexia nervosa is a condition in which a person purposely loses an unhealthy amount of weight through extreme dieting and sometimes excessive exercise, bingeing, and/or purging.
Like many eating disorders, Anorexia can lead to issues with bone density, delayed puberty, higher risks of osteoporosis, anxiety and depression, a decreased sex drive, and several hormonal balancing problems like low estrogen, amenorrhea, and low testosterone.
If you suspect that you or someone you know is suffering from anorexia, you can get help from a primary care doctor, dietician, or a mental health professional with experience in the field of eating disorders.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition in which the tissue found inside the uterus grows in places where it is not biologically supposed to grow.
Normally, the uterus is lined with tissue (endometrium) that grows and thickens every month is preparation for the possibility of pregnancy. This monthly process is controlled by ovarian estrogen hormones. If pregnancy does not occur in a given month, this tissue breaks down and leaves the body in the form of your period.
In a person with endometriosis however, problems with this system arise when endometrial tissue grows in areas outside of the uterus, including the ovaries, fallopian tubes, the bladder, bowels or rectum, or on the tissue that lines the pelvis.
Not only can this condition cause chronic pain and infertility, it can also lead to a dramatic imbalancing of vital sex hormones.
Cancer
Cancer is a serious medical condition characterized by rapid cell growth that may cause the formation of abnormal masses on vital organs within the body. These masses are known as “tumors” and can either be identified as benign (non-cancerous, lacking the ability to spread) or malignant (cancerous, including the ability to spread).
Often, various forms of cancer, including breast cancer, testicular cancer, ovarian cancer, and pancreatic cancer can negatively impact your endocrine system, which is responsible for regulating the secretion of your body’s various hormones.
Did you know that hormonal balance is important in decreasing your risk of cancer? For more information, or if you have concerns about your hormones or your genetic predisposition to endocrine cancers, speak to a professional endocrinologist as soon as possible.
Diabetes
Diabetes is an incredibly common medical condition. In fact, one in eleven adults worldwide has diabetes, which constantly puts endocrinologists on the front lines of the public health crisis. In the United States, about 30 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes, and another 7 million are living undiagnosed with the disease.
Diabetes occurs when the pancreas, a vital gland located behind the stomach, fails to produce enough of the hormone insulin, which is responsible for carrying sugar from the bloodstream into the cells. There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.
Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas makes little to no insulin. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin everyday in order to supplement the insulin that their bodies are unable to naturally produce.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of the disease, affecting 90-95 percent of those suffering from the condition. It occurs when the body becomes resistant to the action of insulin, preventing it from properly carrying sugar into the cells.
Diabetes makes it difficult to keep your glucose levels in check, but doing so will greatly lower your chances of developing long-term complications with hormonal balance. In addition, treatments like hormone replacement therapy can help make this process easier.
Menopause
Menopause is a condition that occurs in every biological female at some point during their lives. Typically, menopause is officially diagnosed if you have been period-free for one year without being pregnant, breast-feeding, sick, or taking other medications. Over the course of menopause, women are likely to experience more erratic periods which may be shorter, longer, heavier, or lighter, before they eventually stop altogether.
In the years leading up to menopause, a woman’s ovaries will shrink in size and the amount of hormones (specifically estrogen) they produce will fluctuate. While menopause is a perfectly natural condition, it can unfortunately lead to symptoms including hot flashes and vaginal dryness.
Luckily, Hormone Replacement Therapy is a great way to treat these symptoms, especially in menopausal women. At Renewed Vitality, we specialize in helping people get their lives back and achieve their dreams. We are the Berks County area’s premier facility for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and other treatments.
We serve both men and women, offering safe, effective care that relieves hormone imbalance symptoms and restores quality of life for patients at all stages of life. To learn more, don’t hesitate to contact Renewed Vitality in Wyomissing, PA today!