Hormonal Balance Can Help

Dr. Michele Neil is committed to healing patients and empowering them with the tools and resources to enjoy good health.

Michele Neil, D.O., founding physician of Functional Medical Institute.

Ask yourself these questions: Are you overweight and putting on more pounds? If you are a woman, do you have premenstrual syndrome, painful or heavy periods, and or a low sex drive? Are you depressed? Do you sleep poorly? Do you feel tired, but wired? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, one or more of your hormones may be out of balance.  

Dr. Michele Neil, board certified internist and sports medicine physician and founding physician of the Functional Medical Institute in Tulsa, offers a brief explanation of the role that hormones play in our bodies.  

According to Dr. Neil, endocrine glands are responsible for producing hormones. We hear a lot about male and female sex hormones – estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone – but there are also many other hormones that play critical roles in the function of metabolism and energy production. These hormones are produced by the pituitary, thyroid, adrenal and pancreas. The work that hormones do is very important when it comes to balance and the general sense of wellbeing. When they fall out of balance, the effect on one’s health may be life destroying.  
Dr. Neil works with patients with all types of hormone imbalance, but one that she particularly wants to emphasize is insulin imbalance. A metabolic syndrome is a condition of insulin dysregulation leading to morbid obesity and eventually Type 2 diabetes. She speaks of her success with metabolic syndrome as “Taming the Insulin Animal.”  

“This one hormone has affected our whole society with forms of cellular resistance and metabolic disease,” she says emphatically, noting that Oklahoma ranks top in the nation for obesity. “When we look at the sum total of hormone balance, insulin plays a primary role in the balance and circadian rhythms of the rest of the endocrine glands.” It literally serves as one of the keys in maintaining metabolic function and good long term health.  

All chronic conditions begin with inflammation, she explains. When insulin resistance is part of the metabolic condition, chronic disease is set in motion. Insulin resistance is an inflammatory process. When we become insulin resistant our cells become deaf to the voice of sugar metabolism. Our cells cannot hear the signal to make energy from sugar. The locks and keys are rusty (in other words, our body is resistant to insulin and in turn blood sugar rises). Brain fogginess and inability to focus, intestinal bloating, sleepiness, especially after meals, and increased hunger are all signs that one’s metabolic status may need medical attention.  

Left unchecked, this could develop into Type 2 diabetes. The typical SAD – Standard American Diet, loaded with sugar, processed, packaged junk, trans and fake fats, is taking a huge toll on our health. And it is occurring at earlier ages than ever before. Once a disease thought to onset in the older years, Type 2 diabetes is showing up in our young people. “When we learn to tame the insulin animal, we can control not only diabetes, but other metabolic diseases and syndrome of chronic inflammation.”  

True to her commitment to healing patients from the root cause of their ailment and empowering them with the resources to maintain the best possible health, Dr. Neil incorporates a program called “Physicians Prescription for Nutrition.” This consists of a 12-week lifestyle education series that is individualized for each patient. The goal is to teach them to make the best choices regarding nutrition, exercise, stress and hormone balance. She teaches an ongoing nutrition clinic series of comprehensive health and wellness topics. “Nutrition is 85% of our long term outcome,” she adds. Yes, we really are what we eat.     

The sooner insulin imbalance – or any type of hormone imbalance – is discovered and treated, the better health one can expect in the future. Dr. Neil is accepting new patients who want to get well and stay well with her help at the Functional Medical Institute.  

For more information, contact

Dr. Michele NeilFunctional Medical Institute

www.fmidr.com

About Author Deanna Rebro

Deanna Rebro has worked in the publishing industry 30+ years, including eight years writing for Value News. She has also worked in real estate for the past six years. Deanna graduated from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio with a B.A. in Journalism. Outside of work, she serves as Vice President on the Board of Directors for Pet Adoption League. “Every story I write is a learning experience,” she said.