After reading Trim Healthy Mama, I've been curious more about hormones (they have just one small chapter on them). There are so many in our body, and it seems that so many health issues can be traced back to hormones (either the lack of or excess levels). So, what's a girl to do? Get out some books from the library on them to learn more. Because the "has to know" geek in me just has to know more so that I can understand them better.
I read a couple books a few years ago, but they were more focused on anti-aging so didn't really apply to this stage in life for me. This book is more for women my age (but also useful for women menopause and older as well). I just happened upon this one on the library shelf called The Hormone Cure.
This is book is full of interesting information on the main hormones (cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, androgens, and thyroid) women need in their bodies and how they work (you can skip the how parts if you like). She also gives quizzes to help figure out which levels may be low or high depending on symptoms. Then she gives dietary and lifestyle things you can do to improve your levels, then move to supplements, then to bioidential hormones that can be used as a last resort if optimal levels are not reached by other methods.
She explains the cycle that so many women go through when they go to their doctor. How hormonal lab levels show to be in "normal" ranges, so the doctor dismisses the symptoms with a "have a nice day". She treats patients more on symptoms than on lab results and says that although most women will fall into normal levels on lab tests, they don't feel well unless they are at the high end of normal (even above). Getting a woman to feel well is much more important than saying they are normal due to lab results. Also having a doctor look into why levels aren't optimal is helpful.
She explains about hormone disruptors (xenoestrogens) and blames them for the earlier and earlier menarche in girls and tells how to reduce and eliminate them from your life. (pollution, plastics, parabens, phthalates, etc.)
All in all, a very well written book that I recommend.
