A variety of conditions and reasons can unbalance a women’s hormones. This disruption can lead to hormonal belly, which is nothing but excess weight gain around the stomach. This article will discuss the various types of hormonal bellies, their reasons and what can we do to overcome these. There are four main hormones which are the root cause of hormonal belly. Let us look at these one by one.
1. Testosterone
- This hormone is a male sex hormone which is produced in small quantity in women’s ovaries
- It combines with estrogen to help in growth, development and repair of the reproductive system
- The level of testosterone in the body should be between 20-75 for 17-18 years of age and between 8-60 for 19 plus years of age
- What are the symptoms of high testosterone
- Acne, hairfall
- Excess hair in unwanted areas
- Deeper voice
- Irregular periods
- Decrease in breast size
- PCOS / PCOD
- Medical treatment given generally includes contraceptive pills, metformin and steroids
- What does the natural treatment include :-
- Eat high fiber diet
- Keep a moderate fat diet
- Increase your activity levels
- Eliminate toxins from your body
- Reduce stress in life
- Totally remove any processed food from your diet
- Include organic soy in your diet, include tofu, less starchy vegetables, broccoli and other leafy vegetables in your diet
- Also try to include flax seeds, aliv seeds and more nuts in your diet
- Iclude ragi, amaranth and quinoa in your diet
2. Leptin
- Leptin is also known as the hunger hormone
- This hormone is released from fat cells, from energy resources and stores
- This hormone kind of decides how we spend our energy
- Leptin hormone changes in the body with major dietary changes
- Any low calorie or fad diets like yoyo diet etc will cause disruptions in the leptin quantity in the body
- Certain other reasons for disruption of leptin in the body are :-
- Inflammation
- Nutritional deficiency
- High estrogen level
- Toxicity
- Leaky gut and other digestive disorder
- What do you need to do ?
- Avoid any low carb diet
- Eat a balanced diet, avoid fasting for long hours
- Improve your digestion and add probiotics to your diet
- Avoid low carb diets
- Get sufficient sleep
- Include omega 3 in your diet
- Workout after you’ve had a snack
- Increase your acitivity levels
3. Cortisol Hormone
- This hormone is also known as the stress hormone
- Works on a defence mechanism, it stores fat around the vital organs to make a protective layer
- This hormone is the main cause of central obesity in male and female
- Symtoms :-
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Muscle weakness
- Mood swings
- Low BP
- Skin turning dark
- What do you need to do ?
- Reduce general stress in your life
- Meditate : it helps
- Consume a good, balanced diet
- Get sufficient sleep
- Learn to unwind
- Workout adequately
- Follow a routine, maintain a journal
- Motivate yourself to take care
- Including dark choclate, cinnamon, basil, dried apricots, leafy veggies, fruits, yogurt and probiotics will help
4. Thyroid Hormones
- These hormones stimulate our basal metabolic rate by increasing ATP production
- This hormone also plays a role in fat cell mobilisation
- There are of two types : T3 and T4
- T3 is roughly around 20 % and T4 is the primary one, T4 gets converted to T3 in the liver
- What do you need to do ?
- Include ashwaganda, gum guggal in your diet
- Include eggs and Apple Cider Vinegar in your diet
- Inculde zinc, probiotics and B complex vitamins in your diet
- Leading a healthy lifestyle goes a long way in making sure your thyroid hormones stay in check