Is the UAE wellness industry’s latest obsession with ‘hormone balancing’ helpful or harmful?

A quick search on Instashop and Google in the UAE provides dozens of results for “hormone balancing” products, from nutritional supplements and prebiotic, “gut-healthy” drinks to herbal teas and even protein powders. Globally, searches for “how to balance hormones” have soared in the past few years and, as the health and wellness industry rapidly evolves across the Emirates, there is a growing awareness of hormonal health. But how many of these expensive products and treatments on the market are going to help you heal? And how much is “hormone balancing” simply a catch-all marketing term capitalising on a trend? The National asks some experts to find out. One thing our experts agree on is that “hormone balancing” does not really mean anything. “It’s just a nice terminology,” says Dr Aagje Bais, a consultant gynaecologist at Mediclinic Arabian Ranches, who specialises in working with perimenopausal and menopausal women . She believes the term is used too freely when trying to explain symptoms that cannot always be explained, such as fatigue or stress that comes and goes, but our bodies and hormones are always changing. Hormones are chemicals that run through our bodies co-ordinating various functions by carrying messages to the organs, skin, muscles and other tissues. They are part of the endocrine system. Scientists have so far identified more than 50 hormones in the human body, and research is continuing, according to Cleveland Clinic. Hormones control processes including metabolism, growth and development, sexual function, mood, the sleep-wake cycle and homeostasis, the state of internal balance, regulating blood pressure, body temperature and blood sugar. Cortisol , insulin, melatonin, oestrogen, testosterone, dopamine, adrenaline – these are all hormones essential for our bodies to complete daily tasks. But they are constantly in flux, says Dr Bais. “If you measure something now and you measure it a couple of hours later, it’s going to be different, and that is normal, especially if you look at female hormones. You feel different before your period, during and after. You feel different when you’re perimenopausal and menopausal, and that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It means that you’re just a human being.” Medically speaking, a hormonal imbalance signifies that a certain hormone is very increased or decreased, Dr Bais explains. “It's not just one hormone. It's the whole picture. If one is a little bit higher or a bit lower compared to all the other ones, that is usually OK. But if it's extremely high or low, then you need to get to the bottom of it.” For example, someone can have high prolactin levels, which might indicate a prolactinoma, a tumour in the brain that can produce that type of hormones. The ovaries can also produce certain hormones that, if they are out of balance, could imply an ovarian issue. Menopausal women can expect fluctuating hormone levels and often there is no need to treat anything, but awareness of how it can affect you is important, says Dr Bais. Abu Dhabi resident Ann Marie McQueen, founder of Hotflash Inc, a platform that publishes evidence-based guidance on menopausal health, believes wellness retailers capitalising on the concept of hormonal imbalance are “predatory”. “You’re very vulnerable if you’re having trouble [with your health] and you think other people are offering the answer,” she tells The National . “But a lot of the problems are just us being out of balance. It’s a situation of modern life where we're not respecting basic things like our circadian rhythm, eating whole foods, moving our bodies.” The idea that you can heal any serious underlying health issues with a cup of tea does not “respect the incredible machine that your body is”, she adds. “You cannot buy hormonal balance.” In her forties, at a point when she was struggling with her health and perimenopause symptoms, McQueen bought into the idea that herbs and supplements were the answer. She was chronically stressed and later found out she had a gut health issue and her thyroid function was off. “I realised you can make things so much worse. Supplements are very powerful and certain foods are very powerful.” While Dr Bais does not believe there is anything wrong with homeopathic or herbal remedies to help with certain complaints, she agrees that too much of anything is never a good thing. “Don’t overdo it because that can backfire – and then you go to regular medicine to solve the problem, which is sometimes more harmful than it was in the beginning.” Bahrain-based herbalist Nadia Omar says too many people underestimate the power of herbs when self-prescribing natural remedies. “If you’re having a really tough time and it’s interfering with your life and your daily activities … you go to somebody who knows what they’re talking about.” Omar believes much of people’s willingness to turn to alternatives stems from an increasing lack of faith in the healthcare system and medical doctors. “A lot of people are finding themselves fed up with their GPs because they're not looking at the whole problem. They're asking questions about specifically that one thing you came in for when, actually, it's probably connected to a whole bunch of other things going on in your body and going on in your life. But a medical approach and herbalism can work together, it doesn’t need to be separate.” At the same time, many people cannot afford several visits to doctors, followed by tests and prescribed medications, says Omar, particularly in the UAE if their health insurance does not cover certain treatments. This is why more people than ever are turning to social media for medical advice , she says. “I don't think everybody necessarily wants to be doing this. It's just that they can't afford another option, or they don't have a specialist in their area. In particular, when we talk about women, there is also such a criminally negligible amount of research in this area.” But it's so important to employ critical thinking when researching various remedies, says Omar. “When you see a video on social media about something, is it sponsored? Is that person getting paid to tell me that this is great? Also, where is their information coming from? Who is this person who is telling me this?” Unbalanced cortisol levels are something Omar often sees wellness influencers talking about online, citing a range of symptoms from a puffy face to sleep disturbances and afternoon fatigue. “There's this demonisation of cortisol and wanting to decrease it, but cortisol is the thing that wakes you up in the morning. It's a necessary part of your daily experience,” she says. Cortisol is often talked about as a negative response to stress and perceived threats, but it plays several essential roles. It helps to regulate blood sugar levels, and to metabolise carbohydrates, fats and proteins, and influences how the body responds to insulin. It also increases blood glucose levels to create “fight or flight” energy. Exercise, which can release the “happy hormone” dopamine, can also spike cortisol levels, which is a natural and healthy response. Ultimately, many symptoms could be coming from different sources, and it is important to figure out the root cause before turning to a well-marketed wellness product. McQueen says if there is one takeaway, it is this: “Whether it's hormone therapy or ashwagandha, it doesn't work for everyone in the same way. But that nuance does not play well on social media.” Omar agrees. “People want a magic pill, but that magic pill is only going to take you so far, even if you magically find it … The bottom line is it’s complex and 'hormone balancing' means nothing without context.”

Is the UAE wellness industry’s latest obsession with ‘hormone balancing’ helpful or harmful?

The National asks experts to unpick a health concept that is gaining traction