High Cortisol

There is a chance that you have high cortisol levels.

It’s important to take care of it to restore your health and hormonal balance. Cortisol is a stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress you might be experiencing. Stress can be emotional, physical, spiritual and even chemical. For example, women who are highly toxic, experience digestive issues, poor liver health, or emotional trauma can also have high cortisol levels. As a steroid hormone, cortisol is highly potent and therefore gets your body through difficult times. However, when it’s chronically elevated, it will impair other hormones, like progesterone, estrogen and the thyroid. This is probably why you might be experiencing symptoms such as weight gain, feeling wired and tired, problems sleeping, unable to slow down and unwind and are quick to get angry. High cortisol levels can also be attributed to hair loss, infertility, thyroid problems, bone loss and that stubborn fat around your belly.

Is it possible to have high and low cortisol levels at the same time?

Yes! It’s not unusual in Stage II of adrenal fatigue to experience, for example, low cortisol levels in the morning (this is why you need 2 cups of coffee to get you going) and high cortisol at night which can interfere with your sleep as you may be feeling wired and tired.

What can you do?

To confirm if you do have elevated cortisol levels, it’s important to get a diagnosis from a qualified physician. Most traditional medical doctors do not recognize high cortisol (or adrenal fatigue Stage I, II or III) as a medical condition. It’s best to find a functional medicine doctor, a naturopath or an integrated practitioner to test for saliva 4-point cortisol levels. You can also order the tests yourself online by going to YourLabwork.

Low Cortisol

There is a chance that you have low cortisol levels.

It’s important to take care of it to restore your health and hormonal balance.

Cortisol is a stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress you might be experiencing. Stress can be emotional, physical, spiritual and even chemical. It’s likely that you have been experiencing high stress levels for a long time and your adrenals are too exhausted right now to produce sufficient amounts of the cortisol hormone.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone and it is called the “king of hormones” for good reasons as an imbalance of it can negatively impact your immune system, mood, digestion, thyroid health and other hormone-producing glands.

This is probably why are you experiencing symptoms such as fatigue, loss of stamina, feeling stressed most of the time, feeling overly emotional, falling sick with colds and flus, experiencing depression and/or lethargy, low blood pressure (you get light-headed when getting up), salt cravings and a difficulty in falling and staying asleep. It’s super important for you to get your adrenals and cortisol levels to healthy levels to starting feeling better!

What can you do?

To confirm if you do have low cortisol levels, it’s important to get a diagnosis from a qualified physician. Most traditional medical doctors do not recognize low cortisol (or adrenal fatigue Stage III) as a medical condition. It’s best to find a functional medicine doctor, a naturopath or an integrated practitioner to test for saliva 4-point cortisol levels. You can also order the tests yourself online by going to YourLabwork.

Is it possible to have high and low cortisol levels at the same time?

Yes! It’s not unusual in Stage II of adrenal fatigue to experience, for example, low cortisol levels in the morning (this is why you need 2 cups of coffee to get you going) and high cortisol at night which can interfere with your sleep as you may be feeling wired and tired.

Low Progesterone

It’s very likely that you have low progesterone levels.

Progesterone is another steroid hormone that works hand in hand with estrogen as its counterbalance partner. It’s important to balance out your progesterone levels. Progesterone’s role is to regulate the uterine lining (i.e., it keeps the lining from getting too thick), mood and sleep. Low progesterone levels often cause infertility, miscarriages, night sweats, sleeplessness, PMS and irregular menstrual cycles. It’s also common for women to experience painful and/or swollen breasts, heavy or painful periods, bloating, easily disrupted sleep, or itchy or restless legs. Healthy progesterone levels are needed to conceive and maintain a healthy pregnancy.

What can you do?

It’s best to first confirm the diagnosis by finding a doctor who can test your saliva for progesterone levels on day 19-21 of your cycle. Blood serum tests are often not accurate enough as they don’t show the unbound or bio-available amount of progesterone. You can also order the tests yourself online by going to YourLabwork.

There are natural ways of boosting your progesterone levels with nutrition. To learn more about prevention, I invite you to join thousands of women in the 6-week online Cooking for Balance program.

High Estrogen

It is very likely that you do have estrogen dominance.

Estrogen is another potent steroid hormone (or rather a group of hormones) that is responsible for keeping you joyful, juicy and feeling sexy. However, high estrogen levels can result in stubborn weight gain, particularly in the hips and butt, mood swings, PMS, depression or irritability, weepiness, sometimes over the most ridiculous things and ‘mini breakdowns’ or anxiety. Women with high estrogen levels can develop fibroids and endometriosis. Elevated estrogen levels have also been connected to be the leading cause of breast cancer in women.

What can you do?

Ask your doctor to test you, ideally in a saliva test where you measure estradiol and progesterone around day 19-21 of your cycle (or anytime if you are no longer cycling). It’s also worthwhile to get an estrogen metabolism test done – a poor ratio is connected to breast cancer.

You can also order the tests yourself online by going to YourLabwork.

There are natural, effective and safe ways of rebalancing your estrogen levels with nutrition. To learn more about prevention, I invite you to join thousands of women in the 6-week online Cooking for Balance program to learn how to do it.

Low Estrogen

There’s a good chance you are low in estrogen.

Estrogen is another potent steroid hormone (or rather a group of hormones) that is responsible for keeping you joyful, juicy and feeling sexy. Women with low estrogen levels often experience mood swings, low libido, dry vagina, achy joints, less mental focus and enthusiasm.

What can you do?

When you ask your doctor to measure your blood level, look for a level of 50 or higher for the normal range. If necessary, you can order a home test to check your estrogen (estradiol) and progesterone, as the balance is key. You can also order the tests yourself online by going to YourLabwork.

Functional medicine practitioners recommend trying black cohosh for hot flashes and organic, extra virgin coconut oil externally for dryness.

Can you have high and low estrogen at the same time?

Yes! It is pretty common that women who are estrogen dominant (high estrogen, or specifically estadiol) also have low estrogen. This can happen when you have too little protective forms of estrogens (especially the E3, or estriol) as opposed to estradiol and/or when your progesterone levels are too low to oppose estradiol.

There are great ways of rebalancing your hormones with food. To learn more about prevention, I invite you to join thousands of women in the 6-week online Cooking for Balance program.

High Androgens

You are probably high in androgens, which may affect women of all ages.

Androgens are sex hormones that include DHEA and testosterone. Excess androgens may result in unwanted facial hair growth, ovarian cysts, hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia and/or unstable blood sugar levels, irritability, aggression or episodes of depression and anxiety.

What can you do?

If you have already obtained a diagnosis of high androgens (like DHEA or testosterone) or PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), it’s important to also test for blood sugar levels (glucose, insulin and HA1C). The great news if you are overweight is: just a 5% drop in weight may normalize your blood sugar levels and reverse androgen dominance. If you are not overweight, it’s key to stick to a low-glycemic diet and restore your digestive tract. If you have not received a diagnosis yet, find a doctor who can test your saliva for testosterone and DHEA. Testing your blood sugar levels would be key too, including the fasting glucose, H1AC and insulin levels.

You can also order the tests yourself online by going to YourLabwork.

Low Thyroid

It’s likely you have a slow thyroid.

The thyroid is our metabolic pedal – when it’s slow we feel sluggish, constipated, depressed, foggy-brained, our metabolism slows down – it is therefore nearly impossible to lose weight. Thyroid conditions are among the most under- and misdiagnosed hormonal imbalances.

Heavy reliance on the TSH and T4 hormone test is not sufficient and you should ask for the Free T4, Free T3 tests as well as TPO and TGB antibodies. The latter will confirm Hashimoto’s disease – an autoimmune condition where the immune system attacks the thyroid.

What can you do?

Firstly, if you have not had the full thyroid panel done (see above), this should be your first to-do item. If you have confirmed Hashimoto’s Disease (your antibodies will be elevated), your first starting point will be restoring your digestive health by eliminating food intolerances, toxins and pathogens like parasites, bacteria and viruses.

I recommend reading the Thyroid Diet Starter Kit to find out more about some of the dietary and lifestyle changes to repair your digestive tract (this is key in dealing with an autoimmune condition) and optimize your liver health. I also had Hashimoto’s and managed to put it into remission and be symptoms-free today.