One mistake that many people with a hormonal imbalance make is not getting their insulin levels checked. It can be easy to dismiss this, since most people aren’t aware that there is a strong link between insulin production and hormone balance.
When you’re trying to bring your hormones back into balance, your insulin levels can either work to help you or they’ll work to thwart your attempts. That’s because if you do have problems with insulin resistance, your body has begun to make changes in the way the cells handle glucose.
When your insulin level is off, your cells aren’t able to process them properly – so then high levels of glucose remain in your bloodstream and that impacts your body’s ability to stabilize your hormones.
Most people aren’t aware that insulin is a hormone the pancreas makes to handle the glucose, which is simply the foods that you eat turned into fuel for your body. When the hormone insulin fails to work correctly, it causes a chain reaction in your other hormones and it can create a circle of imbalance.
For example, when your cortisol is too high, it stimulates more glucose and a body that’s already having problems with insulin balance isn’t able to handle. So the process just continues to worsen.
Your insulin is what controls the cell’s ability to use the glucose, so it doesn’t just stay in your blood. What’s supposed to happen is the insulin is supposed to control the ebb and flow of glucose.
When your body needs that fuel, insulin instructs the cells to release it. When your insulin hormone quits working properly and causes insulin resistance, this, like your other hormones, is part of a metabolic malfunction.
Your body can’t function in any capacity without insulin and your hormones can’t be stabilized without insulin balance, even if you have to take medication to balance your insulin production.
One of the reasons some women gain abdominal fat during menopause is because both estrogen and progesterone are necessary for proper insulin balance. When your estrogen and your progesterone levels are off, it causes problems with insulin use.
When insulin levels are off, it turns around and causes problems for the female hormones. All three need balance to be able to work together. High levels of insulin triggers a drop in certain hormones, but a spike in others – which can make it difficult to get your hormones in their proper balance. But by treating your insulin levels, you can fix your other hormones that may be out of balance.
