WHAT IS A HORMONAL IMBALANCE?

Hormones are your body’s chemical messengers. Produced in the endocrine glands, these powerful chemicals travel around your bloodstream telling tissues and organs what to do. They help control many of your body’s major processes, including metabolism and reproduction.

When you have a hormonal imbalance, you have too much or too little of a certain hormone. Even tiny changes can have serious effects throughout your whole body.

Hormonal imbalances occur when there is too much or too little of a hormone in the bloodstream. Because of their essential role in the body, even small hormonal imbalances can cause side effects throughout the body.

Hormones are chemicals that are produced by glands in the endocrine system. Hormones travel through the bloodstream to the tissues and organs, delivering messages that tell the organs what to do and when to do it.

Hormones are important for regulating most major bodily processes, so a hormonal imbalance can affect a wide range of bodily functions. Hormones help to regulate:

• metabolism and appetite
• heart rate
• sleep cycles
• reproductive cycles and sexual function
• general growth and development
• mood and stress levels
• body temperature

Men and women alike can be affected by imbalances in insulin, steroids, growth hormones, and adrenaline.

Women may also experience imbalances in estrogen and progesterone levels, while men are more likely to experience imbalances in testosterone levels.