Wellness by Dr. Shikha Sharma -HT Brunch ( 18/10/09)

Hormonal harmony

AS I explained in my previous column (Get the message, Oct 4), a hormonal imbalance is what happens when the natural balance of the hormones is disrupted. This can be due to an excess of a certain hormone or its deficiency. Imbalances could be due to anything from an unhealthy diet to lack of exercise, consumption of alcohol, use of medications, menopausal age, longterm use of hormone pills and so on.
The best way to manage a hormonal imbalance is to rectify the problem in its early stages rather than later, when the symptoms can become debilitating despite medication.

Nutrition is the foundation of healing, so it needs special attention. Foods that might contain doses of hormones must be avoided. Such foods are dairy and meat. The hormones in meat and dairy may not be active on consumption, but they do have components of hormones that may cause imbalances in your body. In fact, the meat and dairy industries use hormones to increase milk production and artificially increase the size of animals. The hormone Oxytocin is commonly used in milk production.

Women with serious hormone problems also need to look at the state of their liver and kidney.
These two organs are the body's cleansers and if they are not functioning properly, there is a high chance of an inefficient degradation of hormones leading to an over-accumulation of circulatin hormones and therefore an imbalance. hormones and therefore an imba Foods of choice are organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables Organic farming is important for hormonal problems because the chemicals in the foods mimic the body's hormones or bind to existing receptors, which leads to an over-availability of endogenous hormones. As far as is practical, eat unrefined foods. These are foods in their whole form, such as dals with skin, brown rice, dalia, channa, lobhia and so on.

Nuts like walnuts, almonds and pine nuts and seeds like flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and watermelon seeds, are sources of good oils that are essential for the body.

Avoid the use of aerosols (used in cleaning cars, paints, etc) to reduce the load of toxins on the liver.

Herbs like Ashok (common decoction: ashokarisht), kumara asav, aloe vera, shatavri, tulsi, licorice, cardamom, guggulu, gotu kola and brahmi are used for hormonal disorders among women.