Natural Anti Aging

If you haven’t been feeling like making love with your honey lately and you’d rather wash your hair, it is probably because your body is low in the hormone testosterone. Testosterone levels in both men and women decline as the years go by, but it is possible to supplement with testosterone to bring back those feelings of lust and desire, so important for human beings of all ages.

Testosterone levels can be checked with either a blood or saliva test. If your levels are normal, then you will have to look deeper into why you are not feeling a little lusty for your partner. It could be overwork, stress or a variety of other relationship issues which will lower the testosterone in your body. Talk to your medical practitioner. But today, we are going to talk about testosterone supplementation in this posting.

Only recently has testosterone and its effects in both men and women become understood. Often referred to as the “hormone of desire”, it plays a major role in libido levels for women and men. Not only do the levels of testosterone in the system affect libido, it has many other overall health benefits. It builds strong bones, muscles and ligaments, improves energy levels and contributes to combating depression. Where low levels of testosterone are found, it has been known to actually cause aches and pains in the joints, thin, dry skin, loss of muscle mass, osteoporosis, fatigue and depression.

Overdosing on testosterone is not a good thing because we want our hormones to be balanced. Too much testosterone can possibly lead to high cholesterol levels, liver and heart disease.

Balancing your hormones not only includes supplementing with estrogen and progesterone, but also with testosterone. Testosterone is less effective when taken orally and is best used as a cream, topical gel, inserted pellets or sublingual tablets. For women, to increase sensitivity to the genitals, it is applied to the inner labia and clitoris. Testosterone should be prescribed in the correct dosage and frequency for women to avoid the unwanted side effects of deepening voice, unwanted facial hair, oily skin, acne and unwanted weight gain.

Check with your doctor who specializes in bioidentical hormone supplementation for further information on whether you should supplement your testosterone levels.

A Horrific Prescription for Menopause

A friend of mine believing she had finally reached menopause because of frequently occurring hot flashes that were driving her nuts, made an appointment at her doctor. The doctor set her up to have a hormone panel done. With the positive results of the tests, her suspicions were confirmed, she had indeed reached menopause.

Before we go any further in this article, let me tell you a little about my friend. She is a very joyful woman, is very happily married, has two wonderful kids and a great attitude towards life. Enough about my friend.

Let me tell you her horror story.

So she went to her doctor to discuss her hormone panel results and, after enough reading the research, she decided she wanted to get bioidentical hormones. Her doctor refused and told her they don’t work. What her doctor prescribed for her was a rather horrific solution for menopause. Her doctor prescribed Premarin (pregnant horse’s urine), a D&C and anti-depressants.

Horrified, my friend left the doctor’s office.

We are asking, why would a doctor prescribe anti-depressants to a happy woman? Anti-depressants cause among other side effects: suicidal thoughts, dry eyes and dry vagina. My happy girlfriend said the last thing she wanted was a dry vagina and suicidal thoughts.

We ask also, why would a doctor prescribe a D&C?

The problem overall is that very few doctors understand menopause. Not many doctors stay up to date with the latest findings on menopause and other research. Many ordinary people believe that most doctors finish their Med school and that’s it. This particular doctor is in her late 50s, so this doctor would have completed her training about 20 to 25 years ago.

A further problem is that there is not the money to do more research into bioidentical hormones. A further problem is that the all-powerful pharmaceutical companies have seen their profits decline because of the latest negative research on traditional HRT (chemical hormone replacement theory) and would not profit from BHRT because its mixtures cannot be patented. One pharmaceutical giant has even launched legal action against the makers of compounded bioidentical hormones.

So, millions of women in North America and Europe do their own research, find a compounding pharmacy and find a doctor capable of prescribing and monitoring their hormones with BHRT to treat their symptoms of menopause. It’s time that governments do the official research. Women are rebelling.

Estrogen is actually made up of three different hormones: estriol, estrone and estradiol. It is produced in the adrenal glands, fat cells, ovaries and, during pregnancy, in the placenta. Women’s levels of estrogen are higher than men’s and, yes, men also have low levels of the hormone estrogen.

It is the hormone which gives women their female characteristics of breasts, body hair and fat distribution. Estrogen regulates menstruation, fertility and menopause. It is responsible for the development of female reproductive tissues and it keeps the breasts, urinary tract, uterus and blood vessels toned and flexible.

From the late 30s to 40 years of age, hormone levels begin to fluctuate and decline. This can be alleviated by replacing diminishing hormones to restore balance with bioidentical hormones, reducing one’s exposure to xenoestrogens, a good diet and exercise. Women can either have too little estrogen or suffer from too much estrogen, a condition known as estrogen dominance.

Symptoms of estrogen dominance can include: depression, weight gain, anxiety, breast tenderness, headaches, migraines, digestive issues, fuzzy thinking, and irregular periods. However, the same symptoms can also indicate low estrogen. The problem during perimenopause (the time before menopause) is also related to declining levels of progesterone. This situation can be caused by exposure to xenoestrogen – toxins in our environment which then lead to estrogen dominance.

If you are experiencing estrogen dominance symptoms, you will feel overly emotional, bloated and depressed. Estrogen dominance can lead to serious health problems because too much estrogen will lead to the development of cancerous cell growth.

Low estrogen levels can also lead to health problems and leave you feeling mentally slow and depressed. It also leads to weight gain around the waist as the body struggles to hang onto estrogen by generating it in the fat cells. Balancing your hormones in perimenopause and menopause is vital to your health and wellbeing both as a man or a woman. Working closely with a doctor who has the knowledge and can prescribe bioidentical hormones will help you to achieve this balance. Click here to find doctors in Canada. Click here to find a doctor in the U.S. Based on the way you feel physically and mentally and blood or saliva tests to measure hormone levels in your body is the way this is achieved. Estrogen supplementation must be accompanied by bioidentical progesterone supplementation. A compounding pharmacy will make up the correct prescriptions for you. To find a compounding pharmacy, go to our page for compounding pharmacies.

Problems associated with estrogen dominance include:

• Acceleration of the rate of aging
• Allergies: including asthma, hives, rashes, congestion
• Autoimmune disorders: lupus erythematosis, thyroiditis
• Breast cancer
• Breast tenderness: fibrocystic breasts
• Cervical dysplasia
• Cold hands & feet
• Copper excess
• Low sex drive
• Depression, anxiety, mood swings
• Dry eyes
• Early menstruation
• Endometrial cancer
• Fat gain especially around the stomach & waist
• Fatigue
• Foggy thinking
• Gallbladder disease
• Hair loss
• Headaches
• Hypoglycemia
• Increased blood clotting leading to higher risk of strokes
• Infertility
• Irregular menstrual periods
• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Magnesium deficiency
• Memory loss
• Osteoporosis
• PMS
• Polycystic ovaries
• Premenopausal bone loss
• Prostate cancer
• Slow metabolism
• Thyroid dysfunction leading to hypothyroidism
• Uterine cancer
• Uterine fibroids
• Water retention, bloating
• Zinc deficiency

Excess estrogen causes B vitamins, zinc and magnesium deficiencies , supplements that are necessary for hormonal balance.  To achieve hormonal balance, eating a nutritious diet, exercises, reducing stress levels and bioidentical hormones are the way to go.