Finding the right balance for hormone support

Posted: September 2021
Author: Sharlene Bennett |  BHSc, AdvDip Nat, AdvDip Med Herb

At one time or another, we all feel the effect of hormones. From our feel-good neurotransmitters serotonin, to our reward and pleasure neurotransmitter dopamine and the sleep-inducing melatonin for a peaceful night rest, we feel the impact in our daily lives from our endocrine system.

Many of our female hormonal conditions, are strongly linked to poor reproductive or infertility issues such PCOS and endometriosis, including an increasing issue of estrogenic dominance, imbalanced progesterone or testosterone levels and generic hormonal dysfunction. Our main hormones, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone can become common drivers of chronic hormone conditions.  

There is never one simple approach, but many multifactorial contributing factors that can come together to help with better patient outcomes, just like the aetiology of the disease, there is no one treatment protocol or method that works for everyone.  The endocrine system is involved in our overall health, from our mood, to depression, the HPA axis and stress response to our sleep/wake cycle, they are part of many major daily processes in the body. 

The three detox phases – why these help as an essential management tool

Phase one detoxification

During our normal metabolic detoxification pathway, the first phase includes transformation of intermediate metabolites (the fat-soluble toxins in our cells) into water soluble molecules in the liver for safer absorption.³

In phase one the core reactive driver is cytochrome P450 enzymes, these directly help to neutralise toxins, but during this process they can temporarily produce more toxic compounds that release more oxidative reactive species (ROS) on their way to becoming neutralised and becoming water soluble molecules.  Phase one is all about getting these compounds ready.³

For those with phase one difficulties, our antioxidant can help here, think broccoli sprouts, milk thistle, schisandra and turmeric.

Phase two detoxification

Our phase two is all about conjugation in the liver, so absolutely neutralising those toxic compounds produced by phase one detoxification. This is achieved by six primary pathways, glutamination, glucuronidation, methylation, peptide conjugation, sulphation and acetylation. ³

These conjugation pathways are supported by their own unique nutrients. Without their required nutrient’s that cannot perform their detoxification roles so well.  Some of the essential nutrients are cysteine, taurine, MSM, glutamine and glutathione. These are the powerhouse ingredients required for adequate phase two detoxification in the body.

Phase three detoxification

Our last not but not least, is phase three detoxification, this pathway is our elimination part of the detox cycle, crucial for getting rid of all the waste and toxins. Effective elimination occurs through our bile, blood, lymphatics urine, and faces.

These elimination channels need to be working well to also help optimal detoxification of toxins and hormones, such as estrogen. Ingredients such as pectin, slippery elm, yellow dock, cascara, milk thistle, dandelion, chlorella, and fibre all help the phase three detox pathway.  It is about the whole picture of our detox cycle working well for balanced hormone health and everyday wellness.³

Healthy detoxification is a starting point for helping in the right balance for hormone health, for optimal patient well-being.

Trying to resolve the methylation mystery

If our methylation cycle is impaired or struggling to cope, we also feel those effects through hormone regulation, it shows by impacting on our energy levels, general immune health, pain and inflammation alongside our detoxification ability in our liver. Poor methylation impacts on our hormones by causing altered and disordered hormone function.

Similar to our detoxification cycles, healthy methylation requires certain enzymes and nutrients, but also other factors come into our methylation. Epigenetics, endogenous and exogenous hormones have the ability to affect the methylation cycle, also xenobiotics, our lifestyle, diet, genetic mutations and defects such as the MTHFR gene. In simple terms methylation is an adding of a methyl group to a DNA molecule, helping in our gene expression.³

When methylation goes wrong, our whole detox cycle and ultimately gene expression is impacted. Also, our neurotransmitters like dopamine. Disrupted dopamine levels causes imbalance levels of other neuro chemicals, creating a cascade like effect on our mood and mental health.³

This can result in low mood issues, poor focus, memory deficit, lack of sleep and also overburdens our hormone regulation further.¹ There is no one fix here, but including magnesium, folate, choline, and B vitamins, especially B12, and sulforaphane rich foods can help broccoli sprouts, artichokes and alfalfa alongside further diagnostic gene testing for those suspected individuals with chronic non respondent hormone issues may help in solving a piece of the case.

The serotonin effect – how our feel-good hormone goes wrong

Our most famed neurotransmitter serotonin, often helps us out we know it as our feel-good neuro hormone. It is often a favoured neurotransmitter for its eternal happy mood effect. Our ovarian hormones play a pivotal role in our pain threshold and sensation. The key female hormone estrogen acts on serotonin, it has the ability to stimulate serotonin release and impact its metabolism in the body.

Serotonin levels are often related feeling happy but they can have another relationship, that is to chronic pain conditions, fibromyalgia, migraine sufferers or IBS are all seemly connected in that way.¹ Serotonin is found in the central nervous system (CNS) its release and modulation can have an effect on driving pain conditions depending on the site it is activated from, most serotonergic cells are located in the brain stem, but there are serotonergic cells within the cardiovascular system and spinal cord, and these may drive an inflammatory stress response in the body.¹ Serotonin, also shows us just how the right balance is often needed to obtain inner equilibrium, homeostasis and complete body wellness.

Estrogen and serotonin demonstrate an intertwined relationship in the body, and imbalanced or increased levels of estrogen have shown to over activate serotonin release and possibly be part of the picture for complex hormonal pain conditions such as endometriosis.²   

Top herbs

Our top favoured detox and hormonal herbs such as Milk thistle, Globe artichoke, Schisandra, Rosemary, Peony, Licorice, Chaste tree may all be favoured options for helping find the right balance for hormonal health depending on your patients need.

Our unique New Zealand Natives such as Kawakawa, Manuka and Hoheria can also be of help, our lace bark known as Hoheria is an ideal choice if gut issues like IBS are present alongside hormonal dysfunction which can often be the case, and Kawakawa and Manuka are beneficial for helping both digestion and nervous system support. Not least, but our Kohekohe for heavy bleeding such as menorrhagia and Tanekaha for pain such and dysmenorrhoea can be of further clinical aid.

As always, our botanicals help in more than one way, although they have their main actions on certain body systems, they act as natural modulators, and work in a synergistic manner for the right balance of wellbeing for you.

 

References:

1. Paredes, S., Cantillo, S., Candido, K. D., & Knezevic, N. N. (2019). An Association of Serotonin with Pain Disorders and Its Modulation by Estrogens. International journal of molecular sciences, 20(22), 5729.
2. Anderson, George. (2019)"Endometriosis Pathoetiology and Pathophysiology: Roles of Vitamin A, Estrogen, Immunity, Adipocytes, Gut Microbiome and Melatonergic Pathway on Mitochondria Regulation: " Biomolecular Concepts, vol. 10, no. 1, 2019, pp. 133-149.
3. Hodges, R. E., & Minich, D. M. (2015). Modulation of Metabolic Detoxification Pathways Using Foods and Food-Derived Components: A Scientific Review with Clinical Application. Journal of nutrition and metabolism, 2015.