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<\/div>Spend more than 5 minutes on Instagram or TikTok \u2013 especially as a woman of a certain age \u2013 and you are likely to meet a fit, attractive person showing you what they ate today. It is usually a bowl of oats, flaxseeds and berries, or a plate of leafy greens with lean meats or other \u201cquality proteins\u201d, or a salad of raw carrots and little else, all enviably presented and accompanied by the claim that these foods balance excess oestrogen, lower the stress hormone cortisol, support adrenal function or even help you get rid of that \u201chormonal belly\u201d.<\/p>\n
So-called hormone-balancing diets aren\u2019t exactly new: self-help books positing hormonal balance as the way to wellness began appearing in the early 2000s, marrying scientific-sounding claims with weight-loss plans. But what does \u201chormone imbalance\u201d really mean?<\/p>\n
This article is part of a series on nutrition that delves into some of the hottest trends of the moment. Read more here<\/a>.<\/h6>\n<\/div>\nNot a lot, as it turns out. Hormones are the chemical messengers produced by endocrine glands located throughout the body, such as the thyroid, pituitary gland, ovaries and testes, that orchestrate many essential functions. \u201cHormones basically run the show, so to speak, in our bodies,\u201d says Amelia Sherry<\/a>, a registered dietician in New York. \u201cDifferent hormones regulate everything, including sleep, hunger and fullness, growth, sexual development and desire, pregnancy, energy metabolism, blood sugar and more.\u201d<\/p>\nSo the concept of \u201cbalance\u201d makes little sense in the perpetually changing endocrine system. \u201c\u2018Hormonal imbalance\u2019 is not a term endocrinologists\u2026 readily use because it suggests that something is wrong if hormones, when measured, are not always in the \u2018normal range\u2019,\u201d says \u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
So the concept of \u201cbalance\u201d makes little sense in the perpetually changing endocrine system. \u201c\u2018Hormonal imbalance\u2019 is not a term endocrinologists\u2026 readily use because it suggests that something is wrong if hormones, when measured, are not always in the \u2018normal range\u2019,\u201d says \u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n