Myth vs. Mechanism: Hormones Are the Root Cause

By Amy Putnam-Rector, FNTP, FBCS

Introduction

Hormones get blamed for everything. Weight gain? Hormones. Fatigue? Hormones. Mood swings? Hormones. The quick solution that often follows is: “You just need hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or bioidentical hormones.”

But here’s the truth: hormones are never the first root cause. They’re downstream messengers. When hormones are “off,” it’s almost always because something further upstream — in digestion, nutrient balance, liver clearance, adrenals, thyroid, or blood sugar regulation — is out of order.

If we stop at “hormones,” we miss the real drivers.

The Myth

“Your symptoms are caused by your hormones. Just replace them and you’ll feel better.”

The Mechanism

Hormones don’t act in a vacuum. They are influenced — and often disrupted — by other systems in the body. If these aren’t addressed first, hormone therapy is like patching a leaking roof without fixing the structural foundation.

Here are the first-things-first layers that drive hormone balance:

1. Digestion & Absorption

• Low stomach acid → poor breakdown of protein → fewer amino acids to make neurotransmitters and hormones.
• Poor bile flow → reduced fat digestion → insufficient essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) needed for hormone synthesis.
• Gut imbalances (yeast, SIBO, parasites) → inflammation and endotoxin load, which block hormone receptor function.

2. Vitamins, Minerals & Fatty Acids

• Magnesium, zinc, selenium, iodine, iron, B-vitamins, and vitamin C are all required cofactors for hormone synthesis and signaling.
• Fatty acid balance (omega-3 vs. omega-6) directly impacts inflammation and hormone receptor sensitivity.

3. Blood Sugar & Insulin

• Insulin is the bully on the playground.
• When insulin is chronically elevated, it disrupts sex hormones, thyroid function, and adrenal output.
• Blood sugar instability creates stress signals that push the entire endocrine system off balance.

4. Adrenal Function

• The adrenals are the foundation of the hormone pyramid.
• Chronic stress and cortisol dysregulation pull resources away from reproductive hormone production (“pregnenolone steal”).
• Low or erratic cortisol alters thyroid conversion, blood sugar, and ovulation cycles.

5. Liver Function

• The liver clears estrogen and metabolizes hormones through Phase I and II detoxification.
• If bile flow is sluggish or detox pathways are overloaded, hormones re-circulate instead of clearing.
• This often looks like estrogen dominance, even when the ovaries aren’t overproducing estrogen.

6. Thyroid & Pituitary

• Thyroid output controls metabolic rate, menstrual cycles, and hormone receptor sensitivity.
• Pituitary signaling regulates adrenal and thyroid communication — a higher-level “control panel” for the endocrine system.

Who This Helps Reframe

• Clients who have been told “it’s just your hormones” and offered HRT without a deeper workup.
• Women in perimenopause/menopause wondering why bioidenticals aren’t solving the whole picture.
• Men with low testosterone who haven’t addressed insulin resistance, nutrient status, or liver function.
• Anyone experiencing persistent fatigue, mood swings, weight gain, or cycle issues despite hormone therapy.

Who It Won’t Help to Stop at Hormones

• If you only “treat the hormone numbers,” you miss:
  Nutrient imbalances driving low production.
  Blood sugar and insulin blocking hormone function.
  Adrenal stress pulling precursors away from sex hormones.
  Liver clearance bottlenecks causing hormone recycling.
• Hormone therapy may mask symptoms short-term, but root imbalances remain unresolved.

Why Testing Matters

This is where investigative functional nutrition shines. Testing allows us to see what’s underneath the hormone imbalance:

• Digestive function: stool testing, stomach acid trials.
• Micronutrient status: blood chemistry, HTMA, intracellular markers.
• Blood sugar regulation: fasting glucose, insulin, HbA1c, continuous glucose monitoring.
• Adrenal rhythm: salivary or DUTCH cortisol mapping.
• Liver markers: blood chemistry, bile acids, detox pathways.

By layering this information, we can see whether hormones are simply “reporting” a deeper imbalance — and then correct it at the source.

The NutriSleuth Takeaway

• ✅ Hormones are important, but they’re messengers, not root causes.
• ❌ Jumping straight to HRT or bioidenticals without looking upstream ignores the “why.”
• 🧩 True root cause work means starting with digestion, nutrients, blood sugar, adrenals, and liver first.
• 🕵️ With testing and investigation, hormone imbalances can be corrected at their origin, often reducing or even eliminating the need for replacement.

Further Reading / References

1. Fasano A. Gut permeability, intestinal microbiota, and hormonal regulation. PMC
2. Kalra S. The insulin: cortisol connection. Indian J Endocrinol Metab. 2016. PMC
3. Schurgers LJ. Liver detox and hormone metabolism. Kidney Int. 2013. PubMed
4. Peiris AN, Stagner JI. Adrenal-thyroid interactions in metabolic regulation. Endocrinol Metab Clin. 2019. PubMed

Call to Action

If you’ve been told your symptoms are “just hormones,” it’s time to dig deeper.

With the NutriSleuth approach, we don’t stop at surface-level labs or quick fixes. We investigate the full picture — digestion, nutrients, liver function, blood sugar, adrenal and thyroid dynamics — to uncover the real drivers of hormone imbalance.

Because hormones are never the root cause. They’re the signal flares pointing us back to the systems that need support.