[Kim Jaeho's Life Story]<222> The Message of Sex Hormone Imbalance

People tend to think that the more they eat foods or nutrients known to be good for health, the better, but there are no foods or nutrients that are better the more you consume. Just as deficiencies cause problems, excesses also lead to many issues. It is important for hormones to be secreted accurately in the right amount at the right time, and when they exceed or fall short of the appropriate level, various problems arise; this phenomenon is called hormone imbalance.

Hormone imbalances often occur during specific periods of life, but they can also happen when the endocrine glands that produce hormones do not function normally. Causes of hormone imbalance include various diseases such as diabetes or cancers of the endocrine glands, severe stress, damage to endocrine glands, hormone imbalances in other endocrine glands, severe allergic reactions, and more. Additionally, poor lifestyle habits and environmental factors also have a significant impact.

Even a slight hormone imbalance can cause side effects throughout the body. Most hormone imbalances, including insulin that regulates blood sugar, growth hormone, steroid hormones produced by the adrenal glands, and adrenaline, show no difference between sexes. However, the endocrine glands that secrete sex hormones differ between men and women, so imbalances in sex hormones vary greatly between males and females.

Sex hormones such as estrogen and progesterone are known as female hormones, and testosterone is known as a male hormone. Estrogen and progesterone are more prevalent in women but also occur in men, while testosterone is more prevalent in men but also occurs in women.

It is important for both women and men to maintain a proper balance between male and female hormones, but many people around us suffer from the side effects of hormone imbalances. Generally, imbalances of estrogen and progesterone occur mostly in women, while testosterone imbalances occur mostly in men.

Hormone imbalances in women mainly occur during puberty and menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, and around menopause when menstruation ends. Some people experience symptoms persistently or at other times. Symptoms vary widely and include irregular menstruation, constipation and diarrhea, acne, uterine bleeding, infertility, weight gain, thinning, loss, or increase of body hair, cold sweats, darkening of the skin, osteoporosis, and more.

Hormone imbalances in men mainly appear during puberty and as they age. Symptoms caused by insufficient testosterone secretion include decreased libido, erectile dysfunction, depressed mood, reduced concentration and memory, fatigue, and decreased muscle strength. Symptoms caused by excessive estrogen secretion include infertility, gynecomastia, erectile dysfunction, and growth retardation.

Treatment for symptoms caused by hormone imbalance varies depending on the cause. If caused by another disease, the underlying disease is treated first. If a specific hormone is secreted too little, hormone therapy may be used as medication. However, since many hormone imbalances stem from poor lifestyle habits, such treatments often have limited effectiveness.

To fundamentally heal hormone imbalances and live a healthy life, it is necessary to listen to the messages hormone imbalances give us. Our bodies have a perfect system to produce the necessary hormones in the necessary amounts at the necessary times, but hormone imbalance occurs when our poor lifestyle habits interfere with this excellent master physician working properly.

Therefore, if you suffer from hormone imbalance, you should abandon the thought of relying on medication without consideration, realize that the cause of hormone imbalance lies in mistreatment of the body, identify and improve the poor lifestyle habits that prevent the master physician inside your body from working properly. The model for this is the New Start (refer to Life Story Part 6), which adds love to life foods (healthy foods), exercise, water, sunlight, temperance, air, rest, and trust.

By making a life-friendly lifestyle that turns on the life switch a habit and creating an environment where the master physician inside your body can work enthusiastically, you will be able to enjoy the joy of all hormone imbalances disappearing, not just sex hormone imbalances.

Jaeho Kim, Independent Researcher