As scientific researchers, practitioners and patients bear witness to the increasing evidence of hormone dysfunction in today’s society, Dr. Cobi Slater’s Ultimate Hormone Balancing Guidebook couldn’t come at a better time.
Her premise throughout this illuminating book is that the real cause behind the plethora of symptoms plaguing modern adults of all ages can be linked to imbalances within the hormonal cascade.
This is a book loaded with research-based evidence pointing to a surfeit of hormonal symptoms of imbalance particularly among modern women today. Her point that many women in North America experience endless stress, have poor dietary habits resulting in liver toxicity, and are exposed to more endocrine disruptors (chemicals with the potential to disrupt the hormone systems of humans and animals) may be obvious.
By the time the average woman has completed her morning routine, she has exposed her face, body & hair to over 126 chemicals from 12 different products. |
Less so is the revelation that, “By the time the average woman has completed her morning routine, she has exposed her face, body, and hair to over 126 chemicals from 12 different products.” Who knew it was that bad? Dr. Cobi reminds us that experts have been warning for decades that, unless the environmental load of synthetic hormone disruptors is abated and controlled, large-scale dysfunction at the population level is possible.
This is one of the main reasons she believes that we suffer from a level of hormonal dysfunction far exceeding other cultures. A telling example is that women in more indigenous cultures often have no word for hot flashes (or for that matter any other menopausal symptoms) in their language. These women when they cross into menopause take on the status of “wise women,” or spiritual leaders, and hold a place of power in their communities.
In stark contrast, western medicine has medicalized these stages and deemed them pathological in nature, writes Dr. Cobi. As a case in point she refers to menopause, “which is treated very much as a medical condition, rather than a natural phenomenon of a woman’s life.”
Slater concludes that exposing the many underlying causes of disparity within the hormonal systems of North American adults is the first step toward healing. To that end The Ultimate Hormone Balancing Guidebook provides abundant food for thought while every chapter is packed with traditional and natural solutions we can use on the path to hormone healing. Some highlights:
Endocrine Overview – is a discussion of how every biological process in the body relies upon the hormones produced within the eight endocrine glands (hypothalamus, pituitary, parathyroid, thyroid, adrenals, pancreas, ovaries, and testes), and the interconnecting feedback systems that control and regulate their function.
Epidemics Uncovered – identifies the connection between exogenous chemicals with estrogen-like effects and the high rate of hormone disorders in modern populations. A complete list of the endocrine disruptors in our midst, from DDT to the linings of canned foods and plasticizers in shower curtains is a real eye-opener!
Liver Toxicity – an inside look at the ‘great laboratory’ of the liver and its major role in proper metabolism of hormones; lists foods, herbs, and nutrients that help detoxify the liver to improve hormone metabolism
The Stress Effect – details the hormone disrupting properties of stress overload and gives a working list of herbal adaptogens to support and repair adrenal health
Nutritional Factors – gets into the nitty-gritty nutrients that negatively and positively influence hormone balance
Testing Procedures – describes best test methods for “real life” hormone evaluation in saliva, serum and/or urine
Biodentical Hormone Replacement Therapy vs. Synthetic HRT – makes the distinction between bioidentical and non-bioidentical forms of hormones, the benefits vs. the risks
Hormonal Conditions – handy, well-designed charts make it easy to determine symptoms, causes, which tests to run, and traditional and natural approaches to addressing hormone imbalances linked with:
Anxiety, depression, adrenal fatigue, thyroid imbalance, estrogen dominance, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), fibroids, endometriosis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), ovarian cysts, menopause, andropause, weight gain
Her book is an invaluable everyday guide offering safe approaches and working solutions to everyday symptoms. It is one you will relish reading but never quite finish, as you find yourself referencing it time and time again.
Dr. Cobi Slater grew up with a mother who was ceaselessly searching for natural remedies to heal herself from a life threatening disease. As a witness to her mother’s dedication to bring herself back to health through natural means, Dr. Cobi recognized that one’s health is not exclusive to the physical body; that there is far more within. Once you dig into this ultimate hormone guidebook you will find the same is true.
