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Posts tagged ‘Hormone’

Stressed Out?

Diagram of physiologic negative feedback loop ...

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Hi everyone! A lot of things have happened since I last wrote. Globally, locally, as well as personally. With all the events that are going on around us, one wonders “how can I be safe, stay healthy and vibrant?” I don’t have all the answers but for starters, I would suggest not to worry. Indeed, the popular song, “Dont’ worry, be happy” is so appropriate for our times. Anyway, worry, anxiety or “stress” could affect our delicate systems especially our endocrine or hormonal system. In fact, stress is a major cause of chronic ailments or physical/mental health disorders. How does our body cope with stress? It’s does so primarily through our adrenal glands, a pair of endocrine glands that sit on top of the kidneys. Each adrenal gland is divided into two functionally distinct zones, namely the adrenal cortex (which produces corticosteroids and further classified into mineralocorticoids, glucocorticoids and androgens) and the adrenal medulla (produces the catecholamines). For today’s discussion, let’s focus on the glucocorticoids (also known as cortisol). Cortisol is normally secreted in a circadian rhythm. Secretion is highest in the morning around 8 am and , followed by a gradual tapering off through the rest of the day, the lowest level being around midnight. Chronic stress typically causes elevation of cortisol initially  until the adrenals get “depleted”, at which point, cortisol levels start declining. Again, it’s all about hormonal balance. Too much or too little of a hormone (or a nutrient or a neurotransmitter, for that matter), could lead to ill health. Therefore, it’s important to keep everything in balance or homeostasis. In Chinese medicine terms, it’s about yin and yang. In future blog entries, I’ll discuss better ways to manage stress.

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Bad Hair Day Because of Hormones?

Alopecia

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Yes, it’s possible. Hair loss could be due to hormonal imbalance. The sooner this imbalance is corrected, the better. Hair loss could cease or better yet, hair could grow back. One of the most common hormonal causes of hair loss is a poor thyroid condition. Of course, a lot of thyroid issues unfortunately, still goes undiagnosed. It’s not enough to do a blood test alone. Sometimes, clinical signs and symptoms such as low basal body temperature, slow reflexes, or loss of outer third of a person’s eyebrows, have to be taken into consideration. When a person has blood work for thyroid, it’s important to check for free T3, the metabolically active form of thyroid hormone. In some cases, tests such as reverse T3 and thyroid antibodies could yield very helpful information. The pattern of hair loss is also important by the way. A more diffuse type of hair loss points to a thyroid condition while “male-pattern” hair loss is due to testosterone decline in men (or elevated DHT in both men and women). Ever wonder why younger men have full heads of hair and once they get older, they lose their scalp hair? This is not generally true any more. Unfortunately, we’re seeing young men in their teens and 20’s starting to lose hair. This is due to poor nutrition as well as environmental influences. We’re getting more chemicals from our environment that mimic estrogen in our bodies (xenoestrogens) which are causing a hormonal imbalance. One of the consequences of hormonal imbalance is hair loss. Fortunately, this and other health challenges can be addressed through the use of bioidentical hormones. Addressing the problems associated with aging using a holistic approach always yields better results.

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Work It! Work Out!

Yoga Class at a Gym Category:Gyms_and_Health_Clubs

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Ever wonder why some people go to the gym regularly but don’t get results whatsoever or worse, they just get injuries? Well, let’s see the possible reasons why this is so. A lot of times, people aren’t able to accomplish their goals because they don’t have the nutritional support for their bodies (to create muscle tissue or lose body fat). There is a greater need for protein during the anabolic process. And this doesn’t mean just any protein. A high-quality protein source is needed by the body during this time, whether it’s from an animal or plant source (depending on a person’s individual needs). For those with busy lifestyles, using a protein meal replacement would work (whey, rice, pea). And it’s not enough to eat a diet that’s high in protein, however. Are you actually digesting and assimilating the nutrients from your food? Beginning in our 30’s, we actually produce less digestive enzymes (HCl, pepsin, pancreatic enzymes, bile). People usually manifest this lack of enzymes with symptoms such as heartburn, burping, indigestion, bloating and gas. So, it would be beneficial to take some digestive enzymes especially with high-protein meals or meals that are primarily cooked. If a person’s nutritional needs are already met but they still have a hard time reaching their goals, then it might be a good idea to have their hormones checked. Hormonal imbalance could lead to issues such as muscle and bone loss as well as fat accumulation. Deficient or even “low normal” levels of the androgens in men (DHEA and testosterone), estrogen/progesterone imbalance in women, imbalance in thyroid and adrenal hormones, and deficient or “low normal” levels of anabolic hormones such as growth hormone can all lead to futile work-out efforts. It would be really helpful to work with a anti-aging practitioner when someone is trying to optimize their hormone levels. One thing to remember by the way, is the difference in sexes when it comes to trying to achieve a certain body fat percentage. For men, the normal is between 10-15%, while in women, it’s 20-25% (since women are genetically programmed to have a higher body fat percentage). If the hormones are still out of balance in spite of efforts to optimize them , then it may be important to look at the role that toxins play in this scenario. Heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides and other environmental toxins could create hormonal imbalances. Therefore, it’s also important to rule them out if one is intent on achieving their health/fitness goals. More on this later.

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Tired And Sick Of Being Tired and Sick?

A child sleeping.

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Fatigue is a very common complaint we see daily. It’s not something that should be taken lightly, however. Often, we’re told that it’s a normal part of the aging process. Not if you’re thinking that aging is a gradual and progressive degradation of parts and function. We do have a choice. We can age gracefully or we can age “badly,” for lack of a better word. If a person would like to age well, then they better take care of the basics such as good nutrition, adequate water intake, breathing properly, restful sleep, sensible exercise, stress reduction, detoxification, nutritional supplement intake (individualized) and hormone balancing (through diet and perhaps, the use of bioidentical hormones).
Anyway, back to the subject of fatigue. Fatigue (tiredness) is a vague, subjective symptom. It’s normal to get tired or fatigued at times. But, if it’s chronic and unrelenting, then it need to be addressed further. There are a lot of possible causes of chronic, persistent fatigue. I can enumerate a few here. These include nutritional deficiencies (lack of B vitamins, Coenzyme Q10, etc), heavy metal toxicity (lead, mercury, arsenic), hormonal imbalance (low thyroid, adrenals, growth hormone, low testosterone in men, estrogen/progesterone imbalance in women), poor detoxification mechanisms, anemia, heart/lung problems, pathogens (Lyme’s disease, chronic candidiasis), etc. It’s best to find out the cause/causes of fatigue rather than masking it with excessive caffeine intake (coffee) or using energy drinks (high in sugar).
Once pathologic causes of fatigue are ruled out, then someone may consider incorporating the following nutrients to improve energy levels. Coenzyme Q10 (or better yet, Ubiquinol), L-carnitine, B vitamins and D-ribose. Consult with your holistic healthcare practitioner however, before incorporating any of these into your health program.

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Sex and the City

Cover of "Sex and the City: The Movie - E...

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You got it right! It’s the opening weekend of one of the more anticipated movies in 2010. The first movie (shown back in 2007), for those of you not in the know, is about 4 women who are now in their perimenopausal years . It’s nice to see these fictitious women go through this stage with flying colors, practically free from distressing symptoms. In real life however, we’re seeing a lot of symptoms associated with the hormonal changes that accompany perimenopause/menopause. These include anxiety, depression, hot flashes, night sweats, menstrual changes, vaginal dryness, low libido and more. Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to relieve these symptoms. Medical aromatherapy, herbal and homeopathic medicines, acupuncture and other modalities have been used by holistic practitioners all over the world. In my practice, we use bioidentical hormones to help women (and men) age well. Bioidentical hormones are hormones that have the exact same structure as what our bodies produce. There are commercial and compounded preparations available by prescription. The goal is to bring about balance in hormones to help us age well.

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Sleeping Beauty

Main pathway in growth regulation by the endoc...

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Funny title, huh? Sleep is something we often take for granted until we lose it. A few times in the past (esp. during internship and residency), I’ve had poor quality sleep and boy, it really affected me. I was useless the following day and oftentimes, I became bitchy towards others. Yep, blame it on lack of sleep! Anyway, sleep’s main goal is to help us regenerate. That’s a time when anabolic and healing hormones are secreted by our endocrine glands. These hormones include melatonin, prolactin and growth hormone. If you wanna age better than your counterparts, get some sleep or else……

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