The Complete Guide to Energy and your Hormones
Have you ever wondered why some days you're bursting with energy, while on others, even the simplest tasks feel like a monumental effort? The answer lies in the intricate interplay of hormones within your body. Hormones act as messengers, orchestrating various bodily functions, including energy regulation. Oftentimes, chronic fatigue or fluctuating energy levels can be a result of a hormone imbalance.
The hormones at play:
⚡️Cortisol: Known as the "stress hormone," cortisol plays a significant role in your body's response to stress. In healthy amounts, it helps to give you energy and motivation, but chronic stress can lead to cortisol imbalance, contributing to fatigue and burnout.
🦋Thyroid Hormones: Thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) are the engines of your metabolism. An underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) can lead to sluggishness and persistent fatigue.
🍭Insulin: Responsible for regulating blood sugar, insulin helps provide energy to your cells. Fluctuations in blood sugar levels can result in energy crashes and mood swings.
🌸Estrogen: During certain times of the menstrual cycle, estrogen levels naturally fluctuate. However, significant imbalances, such as excessive estrogen dominance or low estrogen levels can cause fatigue. Estrogen and thyroid hormones are interconnected. Imbalanced estrogen levels can impact thyroid function, leading to conditions like hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) or thyroid dysfunction. Imbalanced estrogen levels can also affect the body's stress response, which is intricately connected to adrenal gland function. Estrogen also has an impact on neurotransmitters like serotonin that influence energy levels as well as energy production at the mitochondrial level.
Other contributing factors to poor energy:
🔥Inflammation. Chronic low grade inflammation requires a significant amount of energy for your body to maintain. Constant activation of the immune system can lead to feelings of fatigue and decreased overall vitality.
🥦Nutrient deficiencies. Deficiencies in essential vitamins like vitamin D, vitamin B12, and iron can result in fatigue and low energy levels.
🧘♀️Stress and a hectic schedule. If you are consistently pouring from an empty cup, of course you’re going to be fatigued. We need as much yin time as we do yang time.
🛌Insomnia. Conditions like insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome can disrupt sleep quality, leading to persistent fatigue.
☕️Excessive Caffeine: While caffeine can provide a temporary energy boost, excessive consumption or reliance on caffeine can lead to crashes and fatigue.
💧Dehydration: Even mild dehydration can cause feelings of fatigue and low energy. Staying properly hydrated is crucial for maintaining bodily functions.
Sometimes by symptoms alone we are able to make some assumptions on your root cause of fatigue. For example, if your diet could use some work we probably know there is a nutrient deficiency or inflammatory component. If you are struggling with tons of period problems and PMS, there’s likely a hormonal component.
But sometimes the picture isn’t as clear and we could really benefit from some testing. This is when I like to test some hormones like cortisol, estrogen and its metabolites (through the DUTCH or Feminade Tests), inflammatory markers, a thyroid panel, or blood sugar markers (fasting insulin, fasting glucose, HbA1c).
If this is something you are interested in then hit me up and let’s fix your energy levels!
Want to learn more about strategies you can use to fix your period problems?
📘Access my FREE e-book: How to Start Balancing your Hormones: Fix Your Period Without Overwhelm.
📗My Eating for Hormone Balance e-book breaks down everything you need to know about diet and your hormones. Learn about the basic macros, how to support gut health, what to do about inflammation, and more!
📞 Book a free 15 minute discovery call to see if we're a good fit to work together.
👩🏻💻 Book a 60-90 min initial consultation where we work 1:1 to dig deep into your health history to figure out the root causes of your period problems. From there I provide you with an individualized treatment plan and consistent support along the way.
🏫 Period University™ is the ultimate self-paced online course that teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know about your period and hormones.
In healing,
Allison
