When we talk about hormonal health, a lot of focus tends to be placed on what we can do to take back control. From hormone-balancing diets to menopause-friendly pilates routines, there’s plenty of practical advice out there for anyone looking to support their hormonal balance and alleviate uncomfortable symptoms.

However, that doesn’t mean your hormones are solely influenced by the lifestyle choices you make. 

While external influences such as diet and exercise can play a role, they’re not going to completely transform your hormonal profile. Our genes, however, hold significant sway over our body’s hormonal system. Here are four key facts you need to know.

“Our genes provide the codes for the building blocks or amino acids that regulate enzyme and protein production that enable the body to make hormones,” explains Dr Ghazala Aziz-Scott, a GP, functional medicine expert and women’s health specialist at the Marion Gluck Clinic.

“These proteins are involved in hormone synthesis and production, transport (because the hormones are bound to proteins in the blood), sensitivity and detoxification.”

Several of our genes are involved in the hormonal response process – ie when hormones rise or fall in response to certain stimuli – so variations in these genes can also contribute to our overall hormonal balance. 

According to Dr Aziz-Scott, a key example of this process is seen within the creation of the enzyme aromatase, which converts testosterone into oestrogen. If the gene responsible for creating this enzyme is upregulated – a term which simply means the gene is more active – more of the enzyme will be created and released, consequently leading to an increase in oestrogen levels.

Other genetic variations can also lead to an imbalance in oestrogen – or at least the symptoms that come with it. For example, if the genes that create your oestrogen receptors – the parts of your body which control your hormone sensitivity – have a certain variation, your body may become more sensitive to oestrogen.

“Oestrogen is also cleared from the body by a process called methylation, so if the genes involved in this are less efficient, oestrogen clearance can be affected and levels can rise,” Dr Aziz-Scott continues. “The expression of these genes can also be affected by environmental factors or epigenetics such as diet, lifestyle, ageing, stress, sleep, immune function and environmental toxins.”

This is one of the reasons why lifestyle changes can have a knock-on effect on your hormones; by influencing the genes which create the proteins that go on to become hormones, the whole system is affected. 

Hormonal conditions such as PCOS can also be fuelled by certain genetic variations, Dr Aziz-Scott adds. This is on top of the environmental factors – such as diet and gut health – that have also been found to play a potential role. “PCOS runs in families,” she says.

The genetic variations associated with PCOS affect several different areas, including the body’s androgen receptors – a type of hormone which is typically elevated in people with PCOS. The receptors associated with the menstrual hormones (luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone) are also affected, as is the receptor for leptin – the hormone which controls appetite and affects blood sugar control. 

But the relationship between our genes and hormones doesn’t end here. Indeed, Dr Aziz-Scott highlights, your hormones can also have a knock-on effect on how your genes are expressed.

“Steroid hormones such as cortisol, oestradiol, progesterone and testosterone can bind to the intracellular receptors that affect gene expression,” she explains. “For example, cortisol receptors are present within many different cells throughout the body, so when cortisol levels rise, it changes the expression of thousands of genes that affect immune responses, metabolism, growth and many more processes.”

Hormonal health is clearly a lot more complex than adding a few new foods to your diet, so don’t get bogged down by content that makes it seem like you should have everything under control.

Educating yourself on the exact problems you’re facing – either by visiting a GP or hormonal health professional – is the best place to start if you’re experiencing uncomfortable symptoms, as they might be able to suggest specific lifestyle changes which could make a difference. Eating well, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep will also help to keep things ticking along – all of which will offer benefits outside the realm of your hormones.  

Images: Getty