10 Regular Habits that are Kidnapping Your Hormones

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Come one, folks, let’s admit it; anytime you feel out of whack or a bit whacked out, you blame your hormones, don’t you? The thing is, you are probably right!

These tiny little chemical messengers zoom along inside you at will and they pretty much have the rule of the roost, so to speak. They influence everything we do, from our weight, sex drive, sleeping patterns, to our appetite, or lack of one.

Getting all hormonal isn’t just a random thing many times. Certain habits that we have can cause your hormones to take a time out or go on a wild ride; and take their toll on how you feel while they do so.

Besides feeling a bit whacked out, hormone dysfunction is becoming rampant in our society. Think about it; prostate cancer, breast cancer, and hypothyroidism are becoming common place and all these cancers have links to our hormones.

Take a look at the top 10 everyday habits many of us indulge in that are holding your hormones hostage and keeping you feeling out of sorts.

1. Sun Avoidance

In the past 20 years we have been inundated with messages that the sun is somehow bad for you. Safe sun exposure allows your body to turn that sunshine into vitamin D. Without this very important vitamin, a neuroregulatory hormone won’t be made by your body. A lack of vitamin D has also been linked to numerous cancers. Get safe sun exposure or take supplements if you live in areas where there is little sunlight.

2. Lack of Exercise

When you don’t get regular exercise, your body does not make and release endorphins, which are those Gee-I-Feel-Great hormones that make you feel happy and alert. These hormones also keep your immune system in optimal condition, as well as increase your sex hormones so you have that natural desire for sex. The more you move, the more endorphins your body will make so, no matter what you do, you need to move that body! Read more how to get fit even if you haven’t exercised for year.

3. Crazy Crash Diets

Ladies, you know the ones, eat only grapefruit for a week or the “drink only cabbage soup for 10 days”, or the “600 calorie a day” diet. A huge drop in levels of body fat, wither due to super low calorie diets or intense exercise sessions, will dramatically lower your estrogen levels. This will stop your natural menstrual cycle until your body feels this “emergency” has passed and body fat levels return to a healthier level. Find out other worst mistakes of the modern day diet.

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4. Coffee

Drinking coffee regularly can artificially stimulate your adrenal glands. This induces a state of extreme alertness or even a state of panic, which eventually depletes your adrenal reserves. If you reach this point, balancing your hormones is virtually impossible and you will be plagued with chronic fatigue. This means you will more than likely reach for more coffee to get that needed energy rush, and the cycle goes on and on.

5. Overuse of Electronic Gadgets

Our current obsession with anything electronic including computers, tablets, smart phones, GPS devices, exercise monitors, and flat screen TV’s has made our lives more convenient and pleasurable in some ways, but much more complicated in other ways. All these electronic screens are producing an excessive amount of EMF’s, which result in anxiety, stress, poor quality sleep or lack of sleep, lower energy levels, thyroid issues, digestive problems, and inflammation. Find out dangers of WI-FI. All of the above problems contribute to your hormonal imbalance.

6. Irregular Sleep Patterns

Ah, modern life! Working overtime, graveyard shifts, The Twilight Zone all night marathons, all of these things interrupt our circadian rhythm that oversees our sleeping/awake cycle. Keeping irregular hours screws with our melatonin and cortisol levels. Usually the opposite of what we want, with high cortisol levels and low melatonin levels. Keeping irregular hours will really mess up your hormones.

7. Stress

Stress levels seem to be higher every day and the toll stress takes on your hormones is devastating. The truth is chronic stress among young people leads to hormone levels about the same as a 70 year told. Ongoing stress depletes adrenal energy, which also can create hormone problems.

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8. Poor Nutrition

It’s fairly obvious that our society has a problem with obesity, but even with all the food surrounding us, we are a nation in a terrible state of malnutrition. Most people eat high sugar, highly refined, GMO, high trans-fat, chemically treated, pesticide laden junk food over fresh, clean, wholesome, nutritious foods from Mother Nature. Our diet choices have had a terrible effect on our digestive systems which results in negative effects on body’s hormones.

9. Xenoestrogens

Xenoestrogens are manmade estrogens; molecules mimicking estrogen, which are often found in products we use every day and they are very toxic. You will find xenoestrogens in the lining of canned foods, plastics, Styrofoam cups or containers, cosmetics and other beauty products. These hormone disruptors will cause you things like poor sleep, concentration, energy, as well as your libido, but worse than that this is also related to hormonal cancers such as prostate, ovarian, and breast cancer.

10. Prescriptions/Medications

Most of us have become so accustomed to having prescription medication, we don’t think twice about it. In fact, this has become so commonplace, that it’s estimated that as many as 7 out of 10 people are using at least one pharmaceutical drug.

Unfortunately, anti-anxiety drugs, birth control pills, sleeping pills, pain relievers, heart medication, and even things like aspirin and ibuprofen, all contribute to hormonal imbalances.

Sources:

Healingthebody.ca

Organiclifestylemagazine.com

Healingthebody.ca

Healingthebody.ca