Licensed Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner at Kun Health
Answered 2 years ago
Most health issues are considered imbalances of some kind in Chinese medicine. An endocrine disorder is no exception. This is why symptoms manifest in daily functions: sleep, energy, digestion, mental well-being, and menstruation. This is why we spend 60 minutes with a new patient to examine their symptoms in detail. Chinese medicine is one of the original, oldest holistic body system medicines. We always provide a 16-17-page individualized behavior plan so patients can optimize their health by incorporating best practices that work for them. After all, behaviors are what you can control and are critical in affecting your balance in life.
It's crucial that endocrine disorders be introduced to patients as the treatable illnesses they are. Conditions like PCOS are the result of an interplay between genetics and lifestyle, and so I like to focus on what's affectable. The biggest one is diet. Lowering caloric intake has been shown to alleviate or lessen all symptoms of endocrine disorders. That's because the less food you intake, the less strain you're putting on your endocrine systems. This is especially true for high-glycemic foods like processed carbohydrates and refined sugars. These increase insulin production, and high insulin levels are the main culprit making you feel fatigued and sickly when your hormones are out of balance. And, lowering your intake will reduce your BMI over time, lessening the inflammation that often accompanies endocrine issues. Eventually, your fat cells will normalize their hormonal production, leading to cascading improvements in health.
As a physical therapist, I have seen substantial improvements in patients with endoctine disorders through lifestyle changes. Exercise and nutrition are two key factors. For example, exercise helps regulate insulin levels in diabetics and can reduce medication needs. A balanced nutritious diet with lean proteins, high fiber, and healthy fats provides the building blocks for hormone production and helps achieve an optimal weight. Stress management is also important; techniques like meditation or yoga help balance cortisol levels. I worked with a patient who reduced his diabetes medication by over 50% in 6 months through diet and exercise alone. He lost 35 pounds by walking 30 minutes a day and following a plant-based diet. His A1C dropped from 9.1 to 6.4, cholesterol improved, and blood pressure normalized. Stories like this inspire my team and I to empower patients to take control of their health through lifestyle changes.
It is no secret that proper diet and exercise can have a major positive impact on many health issues, and this holds true for endocrine disorders. Most, when thinking of these two factors, concentrate on the effect they have on the various physical elements such as weight, but few factor in their emotional effect. Proper diet and exercise reduces stress, which in turn can inhibit the proper function of the adrenal glands causing hyper- and hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia, pheochromocytoma, and hyperadrenocorticism. By making lifestyle changes that include a healthier diet as well as exercise, you can alleviate stress levels and its negative effects on the endocrine system, leading to a healthier outcome for those with these types of disorders.
Lifestyle changes like eating right, staying active, reducing stress, and altering behaviors are key to managing endocrine disorders such as diabetes and obesity, you can boost patient outcomes by forming partnerships and crafting content that supports these healthy lifestyle adjustments.