fbpx

How genetics and cultural beliefs play a role in hormonal problems and diseases

[additional-authors]
January 25, 2016

Whether you like to believe it or not, your ethnicity, race, and even country of origin plays a part in the emergence of hormonal issues and conditions. Apart from these, a person’s socioeconomic status, their environment or neighborhood, their cultural beliefs, and even the level of education, also play a part in what hormonal diseases and conditions they are more likely to get.

Ethnicity and Predisposition to Health Issues

Certain minorities are known to develop certain diseases more than others, with some of these ailments seemingly hitting very specific races and ethnicities more than others. For instance, according to Hormone Health Network, there have been findings that point out women who are of Jewish descent stand a higher chance of contracting thyroid diseases borne by an immune system that is overactive. It has also been noted in the JGDC, or Jewish Genetic Disease Consortium, that specific ethnicities, like Persian Jews for instance, are prone to getting what is called Polyglandular syndrome.

What happens when a person has polyglandular syndrome? They essentially have an immune system that attacks itself due to mutations in the person’s auto-immune regulator gene. This leads to the damage of glands that then lead to the inability to produce hormones the right way. The usual treatment for this particular ailment is hormone replacement therapy.

Hormonal Imbalance in Jews

Apart from more serious ailments, some ethnicities are also more prone to specific hormonal issues that can cause skin, weight, and fertility problems. This is said to be due not only to a person’s heritage, but also to their habits, behavior, and customs. There is even a study that points out how circumcision, which is performed 8 days after a child’s birth, can actually trigger hormonal imbalance early on. According to controversial writer and professor Roger Domerque in this article written by Henry Makow, this imbalance is then said to create issues in the child as they grow up, creating unhealthy fixations on one thing or another.

This hormonal imbalance can also stem from the food that you eat, the habits you develop, and everything else you do in life. This is not exclusive to one race, but if you belong to a group of people who follow very specific norms that can cause hormonal imbalance, then you will find yourself more prone to such a problem. This is where your ethnicity and race comes into play.

These hormonal issues can bring about skin problems, weight problems, and many more. In order for you to get rid of these, or to simply prevent these from happening, steering clear of what is the norm for your culture is probably not what you should do. Instead, you should try to find ways to balance out your hormonal problems with healthy habits.

How to Address Hormonal Issues

If you are looking to lose weight, to clear skin problems, and to generally get rid of problems that are caused by your hormones, you need to go the healthy way. In an article written by Sima Cohen, she advises that you get enough sleep, stop smoking and drinking to excess, exercise, get some sunlight, and eat healthy. Other solutions include reducing stress, avoiding caffeine, changing your eating habits by eating smaller more frequent portions, and drinking more water.

Of course, some of your traditions and family customs may get in the way of some of these. Sometimes, it is not just difficult to change everything to improve your health, but it is also seen as almost impossible. Sometimes, even when you do change a lot of your habits, you still find yourself with hormonal problems that should have already been addressed by these changes. When these happen, your best solution would be to undergo hormone replacement therapy. Such a therapy can help address hormonal issues like cortisol imbalance, estrogen imbalance, low testosterone levels, and other deficiencies brought about by hormones.


Joyce Paul is a marketing professional from Genemedics Health Institute whose interests lie in health and nutrition. She writes about these topics and contributes to different health and wellness blogs in her free time.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.