Weight problems that do not resolve?

A painful or heavy period and your doctor can only suggest the birth control pill as a solution?

Natural medicine can give you options to work on these common female issues.

Naturopathic medicine can be very effective in resolving functional female hormonal imbalances such as:

• Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) – water retention, mood swings, breast tenderness and fatigue prior to the menstrual period
• Irregular periods
• Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)  – a faulty sugar/insulin processing system of the ovary leading to cysts on the ovaries, weight issues, acne and irregular periods
• Ovarian and breast cysts
• Premenopausal and menopausal symptoms such as sleep disturbances, anxiety, hot flashes and skin/vaginal dryness
• Thyroid conditions – Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and Grave’s disease can be helped if diagnosed early enough, or when rising antibodies have been detected without them having affected thyroid function yet
• Infertility

These conditions are each treated differently although cyst issues and PMS are often linked to a need to detoxify the body by identifying food intolerances through the IgG test or sometimes doing a simple 3 week detoxifying diet and using liver supportive herbs can be tremendously helpful. For the support of the premenopausal woman, the treatment plan needs to focus on mineral balance in the body and the support of adrenal glands. Thyroid conditions, just like most auto-immune issues, is linked to digestive health and intestinal balance, although some psychotherapeutic work may be necessary – especially in Grave’s disease, which is often precipitated by times of acute stress and burnout.

More entrenched female hormonal issues where physical changes have started occurring – such as endometrial polyps, uterine polyps and endometriosis – are usually more difficult to tackle with naturopathic medicine. It is often recommended to opt for the proposed gynecological surgeries such as polyp/fibroid removal or laparoscopic interventions for endometriosis, followed by naturopathic treatment for prevention. Indeed, these types of issues tend to recur within a few years of the initial surgery if the detrimental hormonal imbalance does not change. Naturopathic treatments will involve dietary changes and supplements which work on hormonal detoxification in the liver and reversing situations of estrogen dominance, increasingly common in the developed world.