How Aromatherapy can help with hormonal imbalance? 

The word hormone comes from the Greek and it means “excite or stimulate”, owing to the stimulation of many body systems and organs. 

They originate in a gland and they travel through the blood system to specific part of the body.

 

This is the main characteristic of hormones, they influence body functions at a distance from the point of origin. For this reason, they are often referred to as “chemical messengers”

 

Secreted by glands => transported in the blood => to work somewhere in the body

 

The group of glands which secretes hormones is known as the Endocrine system, which has many roles and responsibilities:  

 

👉Growth

👉Development 

👉Metabolism 

👉Reproduction

👉Our response to stress

👉Level of vital nutrients in the bloodstream: like calcium

👉Regulation of the activities of the immune system

👉Homeostasis

 

And these jobs apply for all of us women, men, children!

 

The glands of the endocrine system operate together, they have a balanced relationship among them and they’re all regulated by one boss the Pituitary gland, which has the size and shape of a large pea, and yet it is the master gland.

However, it has a boss:  the Hypothalamus.  The hypothalamus is also part of the nervous system and the limbic system: the home of our memory and emotions. And as we shared in previous blogs, through the smell of aromas the hypothalamus can trigger a cascade of hormones to balance you up. 

 

In a very simplistic way: 

 

Sense of smell => Limbic system => Hypothalamus => Pituitary gland => Release of hormones that travel throughout the body striving for balance.

 

When comparing the nervous system to the endocrine system think of phoning a friend for a quick chat that’s the nervous system OR we’re going around for a leisurely dinner with a friend that’s the endocrine system.

 

Secreted by glands => transported in the blood => Targeting cells throughout the body that contain receptors to which the hormones bind. 

 

These receptors are very specific and will only bind to a specific hormone, much like two pieces of a puzzle slotting together. Once the hormones have bound to the receptors they act like switches that turn on chemical and metabolic processes within the cell, preforming a specific job.

 

The toxins mimic hormones, so the cells receptors catch toxins instead of hormones, and they seat there prohibiting the hormones to bind to the cell and do their job. 

 

That is why we put so much emphasis on toxin-reduction. 

 

And not like a big event where we do a massive detox programme, then come back to eating rubbish and then another big detox, the body does not understand what is happening. And we create a hormonal imbalance. Detox is good all year round, not a big word, is something we do every day as much as we can.  

 

We can diffuse cleansing essential oils like Lemon, Melaleuca, Also, Eucalyptus Staigeriana, Pine, clove to reduce toxins in the air. Lemon essential oil kills 90% of airborne bacteria after 3 hours of diffusing. 

 

We shared how to enhance our daily creams with essential oils like Frankincense instead of the use of synthetics. It is our largest organ and it is always absorbing contamination. Let’s not add more synthetics in our daily creams, and use essential oils to detox through the skin: Juniper Berry, grapefruit, Lemon, orange, Rosemary.  

https://www.clarisaayllon.com/how-to-enhance-your-creams/

https://www.clarisaayllon.com/the-skin-and-the-many-roles-it-has/

 

Cleaning with blends with essential oils instead of chemicals. 

 

A few examples to reduce toxins to allow hormones to do their job: 

 

Like most body imbalances, stress is the main cause of hormonal upset.

 

The Adrenal glands produce Adrenaline and cortisol as part of the ‘Fight or Flight’ response, this should be short term and they are vital for survival.

However, if cortisol is all the time up, it decreases immune system levels, interfere with memory and learning, interfere with bone density, it stores fat to fight a war. 

To produce cortisol, the adrenal glands need to steel progesterone (raw material) to keep producing cortisol, this increase the imbalance between Progesterone and oestrogen. The more stress we are the more hormonal imbalance we create. 

Let’s be real, is not about “don’t get stressed” it’s about “be aware of this imbalance” and introduce some routines to lower it as much as you can. 

We shared tools and techniques to reduce stress using our senses  https://www.clarisaayllon.com/stress-management/

 

Lack of sleep also puts the cortisol up: we shared techniques and essential oils to better our sleep routines https://www.clarisaayllon.com/ideas-tips-to-better-your-sleep-routine/

 

Serotonin (famous happy hormone) is 90% made in our guts. Gut sends more information to the brain than the other way around. 

Chronic inflammation in the gut => chronic inflammation in the brain. 

This means brain fog, lack of memory, autoimmune diseases, and much more.

What brings inflammation? 

Poor diets, increased toxins, exposure to chemicals, a lack in physical exercise, lack of sleep. These toxic threats cause our cells to react negatively, and that cellular reaction is inflammation.

Cellular inflammation is a silent killer! Linked to 100s of ailments, illness and diseases.

Try to incorporate an anti-inflammatory diet, reducing dairy, gluten, sugar and processed food as much as you can. 

On top of organic food, we know our soils are depleted and we need proper supplementation. When our grand grandparents ate 2 peaches we need now 54 peaches to have the same level of nutrition.  That’s how much our depleted soils are. 

We all need good and bioavailable supplementation that goes to cellular level. 

 

Pre-and-Probiotics to have a healthy gut: prebiotics are food for probiotics, Probiotics are good bacteria. They keep your digestive system healthy by controlling growth of harmful bacteria. 

 

The less inflamed we are => the more serotonin we can produce in our guts => the happier we are.

Over the past decades, there has been an increase in medications for Serotonin and Dopamine imbalances. Yet they have a long list of potential side effects, from dizziness to insomnia. Essential oils such as Bergamot, Lavender, Lemon, Jasmine or Neroli, are particularly therapeutic and by just using our sense of smell, they prompt our body to help release Serotonin and Dopamine. Roller balls on the go, diffusing at home and workspaces boost our Serotonin and Dopamine.

 

Sedentary lifestyle: the lack of exercise generates a hormonal imbalance. Pilates and Resistance training with specific duration and intensity, increases the hormones of bone formation. Yoga for mental and emotional health. The breathing techniques reduce the stress levels.  

Mixed approach to gym (less frantic exercise, less intense training). Over exercise => exhaustion => hormone imbalanced. 

Use your free apps and give yourself “me time” 

 

Many essential oils have excellent hormonal properties and influence the endocrine system acting as a trigger or balancer of hormone production: Rose, Clary sage, Geranium, Jasmine, Cypress, Fennel, Basil, Rosemary, Lavender, Peppermint and Melissa.

 

I trust you can see now how much we can positively influence our hormonal balance naturally by introducing baby-step changes to reduce toxins, inflammation, stress, lack of sleep and movement.