We all experience odd symptoms from time to time—feeling bloated after a meal, feeling cold in a warm room, or struggling to focus. Often, we dismiss these as “normal” parts of life. But what if they’re not? What if these small signs are your body’s way of hinting at a deeper imbalance?
Many people suffer from chronic symptoms that they think are just a normal part of aging, stress, or lifestyle. But in reality, these could be clues to underlying health issues such as thyroid or adrenal imbalances, digestive dysfunction, blood sugar problems, or hormone fluctuations. These types of imbalances can have far-reaching effects, impacting your energy levels, sleep, mood, and even your long-term health.
As a Doctor of Clinical Nutrition, I’ve worked with countless clients to uncover and address the root causes of their symptoms. Today, we’ll explore four surprising signs that may point to a deeper issue—and how you can start to identify potential imbalances. We’ll also discuss what we do about these symptoms at The Lyons’ Share Wellness to help you regain balance and feel your best.
If you want to discover whether your symptoms are normal, I highly recommend our “Is This Normal?” quiz – it’s a great place to start. It helps you identify whether your symptoms might be connected to thyroid/adrenal issues, metabolic health, digestion, or hormonal imbalances. Of course, the quiz doesn’t provide medical advice or personalized guidance, but it may clue you in to some next steps!
For now, let’s discuss 4 symptoms that patients often present to me, often accompanied by the question … “Is this normal?”
- Face Looking Puffy
What It Could Mean: If your face seems swollen or puffier than usual, especially around the eyes or cheeks, this could be a sign of adrenal dysregulation. The adrenal glands are responsible for producing cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone. When cortisol levels are consistently too high or too low, it can lead to fluid retention and puffiness in areas like the face. In particular, elevated cortisol—often caused by chronic stress—can result in your body holding onto excess sodium and water, leading to swelling.
Before we move on, let’s do a gut check – a puffy face gets a LOT of attention on social media, and it’s almost ALWAYS linked to cortisol. This is based on a condition called Cushing’s syndrome, which results from excessive cortisol production, and often causes facial swelling (known as “moon face”). But even low cortisol levels, as seen in adrenal insufficiency or Addison’s disease, can lead to this same issue. Both imbalances are linked to difficulty regulating sodium and fluid levels.
However, the vast, vast (vast!) majority of people we see do not have Cushing’s syndrome or Addison’s disease. So is it possible that our faces are puffy in the absence of those conditions? The short answer is yes, but it may be a confluence of factors. For example, when we’re stressed, we likely get poor quality (and quantity) of sleep, leading to less opportunity to cause inflammation. We might eat higher sodium or inflammatory foods, both of which cause water retention that can lead to facial puffiness. There are many other factors that could explain this. But if you (like me!) notice that your face is puffier when you are more stressed, stress management and cortisol management practices may be something to consider.
What We Do About It: At The Lyons’ Share Wellness, we help clients address adrenal imbalances by focusing on the root causes of chronic stress—whether emotional, environmental, or nutritional—and supporting the adrenal glands with specific nutrients, adaptogens, and stress-management techniques. This approach helps bring the body back to a more balanced state.
- Feeling Hungry an Hour After Eating
What It Could Mean: If you’re feeling hungry again shortly after eating, this may be a sign that your body is struggling with blood sugar regulation, a key element of metabolic health. When blood sugar levels spike rapidly after a meal (especially meals high in refined carbohydrates), the body releases a large amount of insulin to bring blood sugar levels back down. This quick drop in blood sugar can leave you feeling tired, irritable, and hungry again within a short period of time.
This is especially common for those who eat a lot of processed foods, sugars, or simple carbs that don’t provide the staying power of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and protein. Without balancing these macronutrients properly, and without intaking enough protein, fiber, and healthy fat, your body experiences a “crash” after the initial sugar spike, leading to cravings for more food.
What We Do About It: We focus on balancing blood sugar levels through strategic meal planning—emphasizing whole foods, complex carbs, healthy fats, and high-quality protein sources. We also work to address insulin resistance and other factors that may contribute to chronic hunger. Our goal is to stabilize blood sugar levels and reduce cravings to help clients feel fuller, more energized, and better equipped to manage their weight.
- Undigested Food in the Toilet
What It Could Mean: Finding pieces of undigested food in your stool can be concerning, especially if it happens regularly. This is often a sign of digestive dysfunction, particularly low stomach acid or insufficient digestive enzymes. Your stomach requires adequate levels of hydrochloric acid (HCl) to break down food, especially protein, and begin the process of nutrient absorption. If stomach acid levels are too low, your body can’t break down food properly, leading to undigested particles in your stool.
Additionally, if you notice undigested food that is fibrous (like leafy greens or vegetables), this could indicate a deficiency in pancreatic enzymes, which are essential for breaking down carbs, fats, and proteins.
What We Do About It: To address digestive concerns, we begin with a thorough evaluation of your gut health. We may recommend digestive enzymes, herbal remedies, or dietary adjustments to help optimize digestion and nutrient absorption. Improving gut health not only helps prevent undigested food in the stool, but it also improves overall digestion, energy levels, and immune function.
- Menstrual Cycles Longer Than 35 Days or Shorter Than 21 Days
What It Could Mean: Irregular menstrual cycles—whether longer than 35 days or shorter than 21—are often signs of hormonal imbalance. For example, a cycle longer than 35 days may indicate that ovulation is not occurring regularly, which could be linked to conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). On the other hand, cycles shorter than 21 days may point to low progesterone levels, which can cause an imbalance in estrogen and progesterone, two key hormones involved in the menstrual cycle.
What We Do About It: Hormonal imbalances require a holistic, integrative approach to restore balance. We evaluate factors like stress, nutrition, sleep, and environmental toxin exposure, as all of these can influence hormone levels. Often, we may recommend hormone testing if your symptoms are not enough to uncover what is going on. Then, our team may recommend specific foods, herbal remedies, supplements, and lifestyle changes to address these imbalances, aiming to restore regular, healthy cycles and improve overall hormone health.
The Bigger Picture
While these four examples may seem isolated, they are often connected to broader patterns of dysfunction. The body is a complex system, and symptoms that seem unrelated on the surface can point to a deeper issue. Whether you’re experiencing fatigue, irritability, digestive upset, or hormone fluctuations, it’s important to pay attention to these signals rather than brushing them off as “normal.”
By uncovering the underlying causes of these symptoms, we can help you regain balance and start feeling like yourself again. The good news is that functional nutrition can play a pivotal role in optimizing health.
Take the Next Step
If you’ve experienced any of these symptoms and want to get to the root cause, I am SO excited to invite you to take our “Is This Normal?” quiz. This quiz will help you identify whether your symptoms may be related to thyroid/adrenal issues, metabolic health, digestion, or hormone imbalances. It’s a great first step toward understanding what your body might be telling you.
Ready to decode your symptoms and get a step closer to feeling your best? Click here to take the quiz. It could be the first step toward uncovering what’s really going on with your health!
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️ Want to hear about this topic in audio format? → Check out the podcast episode here!
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