The Hormone Balancing Hoax: How Influencers Exploit Hormone Health for Profit

Do you need to make some extra money? Do you have tons of unearned confidence, pseudo-qualifications, and zero shame? Great news - "Hormone wellness" is one of the most profitable "boss-babe niches" for wellness influencers who call themselves "hormone specialists" and "coaches." Okay, actually maybe we should pass on that. Hormone imbalances aren’t really a thing (at least, not in the way they've led you to believe), “carrot salad” won’t fix your “estrogen dominance,” and you don’t need to pay $3000 for a course. Today, we're exposing the lies and manipulation used by everyone from the influencer next door to Gwyneth Paltrow & her Goop-y website. Learn the truth about your hormone health and avoid falling victim to the deceptive practices of these self-proclaimed experts.

00:00 Intro
00:38 "Boss Babe" Hormone Niche
1:34 Cycle Syncing
4:00 WTF is a "Hormone Specialist"?
5:04 Hormonal "Imbalance"
8:45 Estrogen Dominance
11:00 $3000 Infertility/Miscarriage Course
14:47 Progesterone/Estrogen Ratio
17:25 The Dunning-Kruger Effect
17:57 "One Magical Thing"

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** The information in this video is intended to serve as educational information and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/advanced practice provider. **

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#hormonebalance #estrogendominance #hormoneimbalance

[emilyoquin]

Them calling themselves "hormone specialists" has the same energy as my aunt saying she "basically has a degree in nutrition" after taking classes for her job as "health coach" for an MLM 😂

[ghillieslife]

I was watching this video, and my husband (not a scientist, a lawyer-accountant) was doing something else in the room, and somewhat listening. When they said the estrogen dominance thing, even before MDJ said it, he asks me, "But don't your progesterone and estrogen change throughout your menstrual cycle so you can like... get pregnant and stuff?"

I'm a medical researcher (PhD in medicine, not an MD), and after 5 years of marriage, I'm so proud of where he's at with his understanding of female physiology and anatomy.

[arisily]

Yeah, this type of grift infuritates me, tbh. And that $3000 course on miscarriage horrifies me. I cannot imagine how low I'd have to stoop in terms of ethics and respect for my fellow human beings to market myself this way and try to siphon away extremely vulnerable people's money.

[elyse]

The reason people are vulnerable to these scams is that nearly everyone has had bad experiences with doctors where they were obviously dismissed and ignored no matter how obviously real their symptoms were. Not all doctors but a very high amount. It’s unfortunate.

[aliceallgrown]

I've had hormone related issues my whole life, finally got my doctor to refer me to a specialist, went in to a lab for one test and the specialist basically wrote it off and said it's in a normal range, you're fine, I refuse to do anything for you, end of discussion, never see me again. Or that's how it felt anyway, with how dismissively she wrote me off and refused to discuss any of my symptoms with me. With that kind of response, it's no wonder some women will believe anyone who claims to know how to fix the issue.

[alashabibti]

She's a pharmacist?? It should be illegal to be so predatory!

[hannahbradshaw]

The chiro one is so horrific because it's basically suggesting that miscarriage is the person's fault and they can fix that with vitamins! That'd make an already vulnerable and grieving person feel even more guilty and heartbroken 😡

[joygernautm]

Thankyou!!! I’m a nurse in a level one trauma center. I actually had a patient that came in several times with DKA, 100% convinced by her “holistic medicine practitioner” that she can control her diabetes with garlic oil. She died believing that😑. That is why your video is so important. These people nurture the fear and frustration people have with conventional medicine in order to profit themselves. And people die

[marymac]

A lot of this feels like a result of how expensive, inaccessible, and frankly biased proper medical care is in the US. I can't tell you how often in women's spaces online I see other women and AFAB people complaining about being ignored by their doctors or brushed off because their symptoms are "normal" when they very much are not. My irregular periods with extreme pain were brushed off as totally normal until I was trying to conceive, at which point they were suddenly not normal and needed medical intervention. Before that it was "take birth control and hope for the best".

[connormalloy]

As a disenfranchised patient...thank you for saying all of this, calling out influencers who are exploiting people and being a responsible member of the medical community. If you are willing, a video on those of us who are disenfranchised would be helpful. Thank you again for your contributions and responsible information.

[binglemarie]

The chiropractor selling a course for people who are struggling with infertility or miscarriage is one of the scummiest things I've heard. I'm a massage therapist who got my training at a place that mostly trains chiropractors, so I really do value ethical chiropractors. But ones like this are so scuzzy. 🤮

[marandaperez]

"Detox extra estrogen" might be the wildest thing I've heard today

[gymnasticsgirlie]

The 1700s: We need to balance your humors.

Modern times: We need to balance your hormones.

Some things never change.

[Lady.Fern.]

I was struggling soooo bad with undiagnosed endometriosis (many years and doctors could not figure it out) causing estrogen dominance symptoms and then some and this industry really got a hold on me. I was eating two large raw carrots a day soaked in apple cider vinegar trying to poop out estrogen 😂 little did I know I had lesions and nodules covering my insides making their own estrogen and no amount of raw carrots was going to help me. I was also told my hips and legs were so tight because I had trauma I needed to let go of, no my ovaries were attached to my pelvic wall and other pelvic organs were stuck together yanking on each other causing tension, not trauma.😅

[BanjoBitty]

As a person with severe mental illness, I see this predatory behavior all the time in my communities. Of course lifestyle changes can be important for improving your overall wellness and helping with the management of an illness. But if diet and exercise alone were enough to cure me, I'd be cured by now! I've spent so many years blaming myself for being ill because of BS wellness "experts." The reality is that my illness is complicated, and very real.

[DemonPlayDemonOut]

I feel like this unfortunately started with the fact that, historically, medicine tended to view women as "men plus weird hormones, " and that to this day, a lot of doctors will opt for hormonal birth control as the first attempt at trying to relive hundreds of different symptoms. Birth control is definitely an important drug---not saying it isn't---just that it's kind of become the default option in a lot of women's health.

I think these ideas have led women to believe that their hormones are the cause of 90% of their health problems, and if their hormones could only be "corrected, " they will be cured of all their random ailments.

Unfortunately, women actually contain other things besides estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

[Genin]

My grandfather hated chiropractors, because as an Orthopedic surgeon, he had to treat the injuries that chiropractors caused.

[NyssaThomassen]

The hilarious thing is, I do have a hormonal issue that is causing several of those things. Mine is diagnosed and I have to see endocrinologists regularly. I have to get actual blood tests regularly to make sure that my lack of a thyroid isn't slowly killing me (it definitely is right now).

[may]

Thanks for helping to educate me! I was raised in a high demand religious cult and they train you to think a certain way. I have consistently fallen for pretty absurd claims throughout my life even after leaving the cult. Although I am improving, I still struggle. Thanks for your work in combatting misinformation and helping to empower women around the world!

[Comrade_mommy]

Omg yes! I have a whole actual thesis on why women especially go down the wellness rabbit hole bc of being ignored by medicine. I almost got sucked down it bc I was ill and being told it was in my head; only the fact I’m highly skeptical saved me. I noticed that often the fix given in these circles just so happened to be a supplement that they were selling. Unfortunately a lot of ppl I love have gotten sucked in to varying degrees.
You can’t underestimate how having something actually wrong with you, but being told you’re fine or it’s in your head, can send you fleeing from Drs. Imagine you’ve got life ruining symptoms, you pour your heart out to your Dr, only to be asked if you’d considered a psychiatrist. It’s crushing. Unfortunately illness that primarily or only effect women haven’t historically been studied, but that’s changing. I remember the first time a dr confirmed the diagnosis i suspected I had, I felt so much better, even if they didn’t have a treatment plan.