Herbs, Hormones & Stress

A dear friend of mine has been studying herbs for the last several months and on my long journey into alternative medicines, I've finally started taking some myself. I attended a seminar where a local ND specializing in medicinal herbs spoke about Maca - an adaptogen that is used to treat hormonal imbalances in men and women by modulating stress hormones. What really blew my mind was the concept that a plant that can withstand the extreme stresses of existence (whether it's wind, water, heat or cold) will have these survival properties in it's organic makeup, inabling us humans to receive this imprint of information and disease fighting agents in our bodies when we consume them. In a nutshell - they know how to deal with stress, so they can tell our bodies to.

What has been very interesting (and suprisingly obvious) is all the information I've been gathering on the endocrine system - your hormonal system. I'm beginning to realize the core of many women's problems with estrogen, progesterone and testosterone imbalances is an imbalance of the adrenals - cortisol and adrenaline. My ND explained to me that when you are stressed, your body will be forced to produced high amounts of cortisol so that you can adapt to the demands you are asking of your body. Over time you deplete your resources essentially and one of the best ways to treat this in a healthy, natural way is to supplement with vitamins (I take a B5B6) and also take herbs. There is a direct coorelation to adrenal imbalances and reproductive hormone imbalances.

And even better advice - calm down and make space in life. As my acupuncturist says, "Make room for your life, fall awake."