by
Shanelle Butler
Istruggled for years with acne, PCOS, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and a few extra pounds that really didn’t want to budge. Truth be told, I tried a million things and did not know what else to do. Then I came across some research about hormone disruptors and how many everyday items impact the way the body metabolises hormones and the way that hormone balance is impacted. I was shocked!
But I also had some direction.
Here’s the thing – this isn’t new information, but it’s likely new to you (as it was to me!) In 2004, the Environmental Working Group noted “The average adult uses nine personal care products each day, with 126 unique chemical ingredients. More than a
quarter of all women and one of every 100 men use at least 15 products daily.” Why is that significant? Well, I’ll tell you: these chemicals disrupt your hormones and create a toxic overload on your liver and burden on your body.
I realised that what I struggled with for the longest time were hormonal imbalances. I googled and searched and felt overwhelmed at first, but then I learned that there are simple, effective ways to help the body. I learned how to detox my body in a safe and gentle way. I removed foods that were hindering my endocrine system; stopped using many chemicals that were endocrine disrupters and began a whole foods detox to support my liver. My life began to change. I felt like I was me again.
If you’re like me and millions of others, you too are bombarded on a daily basis with toxins. Toxins are found in the air we breathe, the foods we eat, chemicals in the water, makeup, lotions, shampoo, hair dyes and perfumes.
These toxins enter the bloodstream, and the liver works hard to filter them out and detoxify the body.
Unfortunately, our toxic load is enormous. The liver becomes overworked and sluggish, all the detoxification pathways suffer, and your health suffers. Now realistically, it is impossible to eliminate all toxins from your environment, unless you go live in a bubble. However, you can decrease the amount of toxic load in your body, by choosing to eliminate the amount of toxic chemicals you use in your household cleaning, the foods you eat, and the products you use on your hair, skin and nails.
Get ready to take notes.
Take out a pen and your journal and keep reading!
As we go on, I am going to share five of the simplest, gentlest, most effective things I learned that help support and detox the body from this incredible burden. By doing this type of detox, you are supporting your liver and other detox pathways, so your body can get a chance to heal and feel great again. Your health will finally have a chance to improve and balance. Let’s get you feeling great and vibrant again!
WARNING SIGNS
If you’re like me, there are things that you may think are totally normal… things that you have put up with for so long that they seem fine, and things that you figure you just have to accept because nothing you’ve done has changed them. What happens when we shift and reframe those little things into flashing warning signs that the body creates to let us know that something is out of balance or that our health is in danger? Just like warning lights on the dashboard of your car, symptoms are your body’s way of letting you know that something needs attention.
Let’s take a look at some of the signs your body may be expressing. Keep track as you run down the list. I’m going to have you write down your score below.
Do you experience:
• Low energy and feeling sluggish
• Mood swings, anxiety, depression, irritability
• Painful, irregular, or heavy flow periods
• Tender breasts
• Bloating
• Skin problems
• Weight gain
• Low sex drive or libido
• Hot flashes
• Vaginal dryness
• Trouble getting pregnant or complications in pregnancy
• Estrogen Dominance
• Ovarian cysts
• Endometriosis or PCOS
• Hair loss or excessive body hair
• Muscle or joint pains
• Intense cravings
• Recurrent yeast infections
• Headaches
• Trouble sleeping, falling asleep or staying asleep
• The need to get up at night to urinate
Write your score here: ______ out of 21
If you are experiencing three or more
of the symptoms listed, then your body might benefit from a detox!
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SYMPTOMS GO UNCHECKED?
Okay, you ran down the list and checked off your symptoms.
Now what?
Left untended, any one of those symptoms could lead to a bigger imbalance. Symptoms are an expression of an underlying imbalance or issue; your body is trying to tell you something. Regardless of the cause, a body that is out of balance is a stressed body… and a stressed body is at greater risk of developing health issues. It is the perfect environment for non-communicable diseases, flu viruses and so much more.
If we put on our detective hat and dig a little, we are likely to tease out at least one possible root cause. For example, low energy and weight gain can be symptoms of thyroid hormone imbalance. They can also be a result of poor sleep and an imbalance in cortisol or something like hypoglycemia. Butof course you need to seek out medical advice and lab tests to confirm these findings; in no way am I saying play doctor with yourself. What I’m saying is, if you feel that a symptom you are experiencing isn’t right then it isn’t, and because most of your friends, family and work colleagues experience the same thing it doesn’t make it normal, it just makes it common.
Without intervention, thyroid hormone imbalance can impact your heart, lungs, mental status, bones, eyes and metabolism. Hypoglycaemia and blood sugar imbalance can put stress on your pancreas, heart and liver and potentially lead to diabetes and other serious illnesses (Alzheimer’s is one.) In fact, a study done in 2018 found that people with elevated blood sugar have a higher risk of cognitive decline and of developing Alzheimer’s. The higher the blood sugar, the higher the risk.
When the female sex hormones are imbalanced and the body becomes estrogen-dominant, many health problems can arise.
Conditions caused by imbalances in the sex hormones, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), fibroids and endometriosis, are very common in women but are often very challenging to live with (sometimes there are devastating effects like infertility), and to recover from.
The health issues stemming from hormone imbalances are not limited to the reproductive system. As mentioned above, hormone imbalance can also increase the risk for autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases are much more common in women than in men. According to the NIH, of the 8% of people affected by autoimmune disorders, 78% are women! If keeping hormones balanced can be part of keeping the immune response in check, then let’s do it!
Our job here is not to diagnose or play doctor, our job is to begin to be more mindful of the body so we can make necessary shifts and supports that are needed to bring balance back and restore our good health. Make sense?
HOW TO DETOXIFY YOUR BODY FOR HEALTHY HORMONES
It may seem like a daunting task, but I assure you, there are some simple steps you can take right away to help your body!
What everything boils down to is reducing or eliminating burden on the body (especially the liver). The liver naturally eliminates many xenoestrogens and other endocrine disrupting chemicals, but a lot of junk can get lodged in our system when the liver gets overworked.
See 5 tips to help you detox for healthy hormones in the June edition of Better Health magazine.
Good luck for your journey towards a new and healthy body.
Shanelle Butler is a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach and Certified Massage Therapist
