What Does TikTok Get Wrong About Hormone Imbalance?
Key Points
- Social media is, more often than not, a bad place to go for medical guidance.
- For example, TikTok's hormone imbalance advice videos are littered with myths and misconceptions.
- If you suspect there's anything wrong, the best and safest place to get answers will always be your doctor.
A recent trend in TikTok women's health misinformation is a focus on quick cures for hormone imbalances. Self-titled health gurus across the internet attribute almost any symptom gone awry to that issue, from weight gain to poor moods.
Are any of these TikTok hormonal imbalance videos accurate? Let's take a look.
What is a hormonal imbalance in women?
Hormones govern functions such as sleep, appetite, metabolism, stress and sexual processes, including menstruation and pregnancy. Hormone-balancing tags have garnered popularity on social media, amassing more than 1 billion views on TikTok.
There are coaches, teas, diets, detoxes, courses and endless purported natural remedies for hormonal imbalances in females.
Here's the thing. Hormones are vital to our health, but too many of TikTok's hormone hackers' reels tend to oversimplify hormone imbalance, and some can be just plain incorrect.
If you scroll the #hormonebalancing and #hormonehealth hashtags or any viral hormone content, look at the creator's credentials.
Hormone imbalance is defined as having too much or too little of a hormone. Hormone level imbalance can occur for a variety of reasons, such as stress, diet, health conditions, medications and changes in the body, said Hrishikesh Pai M.D., a gynecologist and the medical director of Bloom IVF Group with multiple locations in India.
The sex hormones progesterone and estrogen fluctuate naturally throughout menstrual cycles, perimenopause and pregnancy, which can make it difficult to test your hormones.
Symptoms that could indicate hormone problems in women include the following:
- Sleep disturbances
- Weight gain
- Acne
- Infertility
- Abnormal or painful periods
- Mood changes
- Hair loss or growth
- Fertility challenges
Other causes of hormone imbalance include aging, environmental toxins, thyroid disorders and other medical conditions, according to Himali Maniar, M.B.B.S., an OB-GYN at Nisha Women's Hospital and IVF Centre in Mumbai.
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- Experts React to and Correct Women's Health Misinformation on TikTok: Influencers dispensing unverified medical advice on social media can cause real harm.
- WTF is TikTok Teaching Teens About Sex?: The viral video platform has become a space to share sexual health info, for better or worse.
What's the strangest TikTok hormonal-imbalance advice?
Just when you think you've seen and heard it all, TikTok influencers develop new ways to explain hormonal imbalances. Everything from the morning news to eating raw carrot salad can affect your hormones—at least according to TikTok.
Don't watch the morning news
One TikTok video claims that watching the news first thing in the morning "fills your brain with negativity," calling it a recipe for hormone imbalance. While chronic stress can impact cortisol levels, the creator of the video is a health coach without medical credentials.
"Seeing a doctor is the best way to diagnose and treat hormonal imbalances. Non-M.D.s may provide useful information, but it should not take the place of medical advice," Maniar said.
Period symptoms? No, it's all in your hormones
The interest in hormone imbalance stems from people seeking to alleviate painful period symptoms, Pai said.
Experiencing some discomfort during your period is normal, but if you're experiencing severe pain or other unusual symptoms during your period, it's best to consult with your doctor, Pai said. Any period symptom is not necessarily a marker of poor hormone health. It could just be your normal cycle.
Perfume destroys your female hormones
Perfumes can irritate your skin, but a TikTok creator claims they disrupt your hormones, too.
"Certain fragrances can contain phthalates, which disrupt the endocrine system, but this does not necessarily mean they will lead to hormone imbalance," Maniar said.
Estrogen detox with a carrot cure
Not far down the rabbit hole of TikTok hormone-imbalance advice, you'll find endless squares of orange—claims that raw carrot salad is a cure for excess estrogen.
"Estrogen is not something that needs to be 'detoxed' from the body, as it is an important hormone that serves numerous functions in both men and women," Pai said.
The role of estrogen naturally shifts during your menstrual cycle to aid with menstruation.
Hormone balance diet trend
A number of videos mention how certain foods can cause hormonal imbalance in females and offer simple dietary changes to fix it. These videos often include advice to avoid certain foods for insulin resistance while villainizing sugars—even from fruit sources.
In one video, the content creator mentions that carbs cause aging before Abbey Sharp, B.Sc., a registered dietitian based in Toronto, corrects each hormone-related diet recommendation with evidence-based research and clarifies that there's no bad breakfast for your hormones. She explains how adding protein, fiber and fats to your diet can be useful and reminds TikTok users to stop the fear-mongering around food.
Go off birth control and use the rhythm method to rebalance your hormones
An abundance of videos encourage women to get off of hormonal birth control to balance their hormones. Many creators call for the rhythm method as opposed to hormonal birth control. The rhythm method has a 75 percent effective rate as a method of birth control. Compare that to birth control pills. Even when they are not used correctly (with a missed or forgotten dose), they are 93 percent effective, according to Cleveland Clinic.
Contrary to TikTok advice, your hormones take just a few weeks to regulate after stopping birth control.
Is there a difference between hormone balancing and just being healthy?
The concept of hormone balancing is more about consumerism than medicine, a 2022 report suggested. Researchers combed through self-help books that pushed hormone balance and were written by medical doctors between 2003 and 2021. They concluded that hormone balancing is an "imagined or fantasy biological state."
"The pathway to balanced hormones…involves intensive lifestyle changes and consumption practices that are unachievable except for the most privileged readers," the authors of the study wrote.
That summarizes TikTok hormone-balancing advice pretty well.
It's normal for hormone levels to shift throughout your life and menstrual cycle, and it's a natural part of menopause. The pathway to healthy hormones is mainly general lifestyle improvements, such as eating well, sleeping enough, managing stress, exercising and avoiding cigarettes.
How do you know if you've found good hormone-balancing advice?
It's safest for women attempting to distinguish hormone-balance myths from facts to check with their doctors.
Some of the hormone-balancing videos can provide false hope for quick fixes, said Tara Brandner, D.N.P., a fertility coach at Simply You Wellness in Ashley, North Dakota.
If you scroll the #hormonebalancing and #hormonehealth hashtags or any viral hormone content, look at the creator's credentials. Anyone can be a self-titled hormone coach or health coach without having attended medical school. That's probably not where you want to turn for health advice.
The bottom line
Think twice about the hormone-hacking advice you see online.
If you notice irregular or absent periods, hair loss, weight gain, fatigue, infertility or low libido, it's wise to make an appointment.
"If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it can be helpful to consult with a healthcare provider to review your diet and lifestyle choices and explore any other underlying causes," Pai said.
