Hormone health revolves around keeping hormones balanced to allow the body to function. An imbalance in hormones can cause issues with metabolism, mood, sleeping cycle and sex drive. Regulating hormones is currently a popular topic of discussion on TikTok. Despite the popularity on social media, physicians told The List that hormone disorders are uncommon and clients should avoid placing immediate blame on hormones.
Related: Women Choosing Menopause Vacations for Education & Support
Some of the main supplements identified by experts that are mentioned continuously within hormone health on TikTok are zinc, magnesium and vitamin B. Another form of treatment that has made a comeback in hormone health is hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
The use of HRT to treat menopause symptoms disappeared after the results of the 2002 Women's Health Initiative (WHI) showed an increased risk of breast cancer, heart attacks, stroke and blood clots in those who took a combination of estrogen and progestin. From 2002 to 2016, HRT for menopause decreased by around 80%.
In 2014, a follow-up study of the participants in the WHI study found that "menopausal hormone therapy has a complex pattern of risks and benefits, and that while it is appropriate for symptom management in some women, its use for chronic disease prevention is not supported by the WHI randomized trials.
Many health and wellness experts expressed concerns about treating hormone imbalance without any medical intervention. Dr. Benjamin Bikman told The Zoe Report that there is a higher potential for the spread of misinformation that might occur with the rise of hormone health discussions on TikTok.
Experts also indicate the significance of proper medical diagnosis for potential hormone imbalance, with Dr. Bikman suggesting that true hormone disorders are uncommon and clients should avoid the temptation to assign too much blame on hormones for not feeling well.
