Hormones and stress

With the challenges of career, family, finances and home, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. Most of us have to live with a hectic schedule. In fact, the women I see in my practice are faced with the challenges of managing this chaotic lifestyle and, all too often, this can lead to chronic stress, fatigue and, eventually, burnout.

Adrenal fatigue is very common in most people, especially women. The adrenal glands are two small glands located above the kidneys and play an essential role in the body's stress response.

They release stress hormones to help the body fight and regulate stress. When the stress response is triggered too often, as in chronic stress situations, the adrenal glands become exhausted and are therefore less effective at doing their job. Common signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue include: feeling overwhelmed, chronic fatigue, sleep problems, abdominal fat and reduced immune system effectiveness. A group of plants called adaptogens can be very beneficial in nourishing the adrenal glands and thus improving the body's ability to cope with stress. Rosemary, Siberian ginseng, ashwangandha, suma and schizandra are found in AdrenaSense, a product that many of my patients find very effective in combating stress.

As women age, through peri-menopause and menopause, they experience hormone fluctuations, mood swings, irregular cycles and much more stress on the body. Maintaining adrenal health during menopause is important to ease this period of a woman's life. In addition to carrying the burden of stress, the adrenal glands are also responsible for hormone production when the ovaries cease to function at menopause.

Since the most recent scientific advances confirm the negative impact of synthetic hormone replacements, many women are looking for natural alternatives to reduce their menopausal symptoms. Menopause is not a disease, but a normal stage in life, and unpleasant symptoms can be reduced with natural plants, physical activity and a healthy diet. Black cohosh is a plant that has been used in Europe for over 40 years by more than 1.5 million women to treat menopausal symptoms: hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia and mood swings. MenoSense contains black cohosh, chasteberry, dong quai, gamma-oryzanol and hesperidin, all compounds that can help women to get through menopause smoothly.

Women going through hormonal changes often complain that their metabolism is slow. And this is thyroid gland which is responsible for metabolism. Extra stress on the adrenal glands can often cause more stress on the thyroid gland, and many women report the following symptoms of hypothyroidism: fatigue, weight gain, cold intolerance, thinning hair, constipation and mood swings.

The good news is that there are natural solutions to stimulate the thyroid gland and metabolism. Compounds such as iodine, manganese, l-tyrosine, ashwagandha, copper and guggul help support thyroid hormone production and are all found in ThyroSense for healthy thyroid hormone production and relief of hypothyroidism symptoms.

We're hearing more and more about the negative impact of environmental toxins on our hormones. Most women use cosmetics, shampoos, deodorants and lotions on a daily basis, without thinking about the ingredients and the stress these ingredients cause to their hormonal balance. Bisphenol-A (BPA), triclosan, phthalates and parabens are classified as "xenoestrogens", or foreign estrogens, and have the ability to mimic our own natural hormones, particularly our natural estrogens. This can cause a lot of stress, as these chemicals mimic our estrogens in a very harmful way. This phenomenon is often referred to as "estrogen dominance". Several research studies have linked these xenoestrogens to numerous women's health problems such as uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, PMS, endometriosis, infertility and even breast cancer.

Milk thistle has long been recognized as a liver detoxifier. A healthy liver helps eliminate and detoxify harmful, excess estrogens to boost metabolism. Other beneficial herbs to help balance estrogen levels include: curcumin, calcium-d-glucarate, indole-3-carbinol and sulforaphane. During detoxification, it's also a good idea to include free radical scavengers such as lycopene, rosemary and green tea extract. I recommend

EstroSense to women of all ages, regardless of whether they suffer from any of the above symptoms. It's important to support a woman's body in a preventative way, especially as life moves so fast and we can't always avoid stress and environmental pollutants.

Women in Canada - A portrait

- 21% of single mothers live in poverty
- 36% of Aboriginal women live in poverty
- Every day in Canada, more than 3,300 women (and their 3,000 children) are forced to sleep in an emergency shelter to escape domestic violence.
- Every year in Canada, an estimated 362,000 children witness domestic violence or experience family violence.
- In grade six, 36% of girls say they have self-confidence; this percentage drops to 14% in secondary four.

Help us improve these statistics in your community and across Canada by participating in the "Thank you for my life" campaign; your help is essential.

Thank you for my life

The Canadian Women's Foundation empowers women and girls across Canada to escape violence, overcome poverty and gain self-confidence. To find out more about the Canadian Women's Foundation, visit http://www.canadianwomen.org/fr

by: Marita Schauch, BSc, ND