Why does stress upset my hormonal imbalance?

The cortico-steroid hormones are made from progesterone. Therefore, stress forces progesterone to be used in the body in a different way, taking the hormone down another steroid pathway (see the Hormonal Cascade diagram in Chapter 5), thus depriving the body of it’s usual supply of progesterone and cascading benefits.

High cortisol production which occurs with stress of any kind, including trauma, inflammation or inflammatory diseases, emotional and even chemical stress, can induce high levels of cortisol and this leads to significant reduction of progesterone, resulting in estrogen dominance. While there are high levels of cortisol, the cortisol is actually taking over the progesterone receptors, thereby competing with progesterone.

Over time, repeated triggering of stress hormones (cortico-steroid hormones) can deplete your body of energy and leave you less able to respond.

Stress can be a factor in the development of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer and many auto-immune disorders such as lupus and multiple sclerosis. Additionally, stress can contribute to irritable bowel syndrome, thyroid dysfunction, headaches, sleep disturbances and many skin conditions.

Chronic stress depletes many nutrients from the body, including most B vitamins, antioxidants, zinc and other minerals necessary for immune-system function.

Clearly, long term stress and constant output of cortisol causes nasty consequences to the body. We make mention to the importance of stress management in maintaining hormone balance throughout our book.

And in recognising extreme stress, be it high pain levels, chemical, illness, or emotional, always accommodate by slightly increasing your progesterone dose to cater for the body’s need for additional progesterone supplementation to assist in the manufacture of this stress hormone, and help compete for access to the progesterone receptors.