How Hormones Affect Your New Year’s Resolutions

What have you resolved for the New Year? To eat better and lose weight?  To exercise more? To have less stress?  To be happier and more upbeat? To be nicer to those around you? 

All of these resolutions are affected by hormones. Hormones run the world of your body, and without hormones in balance and fully functional, a happy life and a healthy body just don’t happen.

Hormones make your body hum along, so that you don’t crave sugar and salty foods as much, so you are less stressed, have the energy to exercise more, and have the stability to handle the ups and downs of life and manage your personal and business relationships positively.

Getting hormones in balance is easy with the right natural medicine. But first you have to know what is out of balance. Blood work, Saliva Testing and Muscle Testing can all reveal where your hormones need help. I like to do Total Hormone Balancing, which means that every part of your endocrine system is working optimally, no matter your age, from puberty to old age. 

The chemicals in our environment and food additives can interrupt hormones. Birth control pills, medication and pesticides can all affect us hormonally. You can take your hormones back, and regain some control over your body and your life.

So, if you are having any difficulty making your New Year’s Resolutions stick, you might blame your hormones. Make this your best year ever! Balanced hormones will help, and we can help you get there.

Do All Men Develop Prostate Problems?

According to WebMD, half of all men develop problems of enlarged prostate after fifty and 8 out of 10 after age eighty. http://www.webmd.com/men/guide/prostate-problems   Fortunately, most of these problems are Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, which does not lead to cancer, but will cause frequent urination and reduced stream.

There are several reasons why the prostate may enlarge that can be addressed with diet and natural medicine. Many of us are eating foods that contain “phytoestrogens”. These are plant-based estrogens that can create estrogen-dominance in women. In men these estrogens can compete with hormonal receptor sites for testosterone, so that men are getting more female than male influence. As testosterone rates decline with age, this can create a kind of estrogen-dominance in men, also. Estrogen is a growth hormone, so it can cause the prostate to enlarge.

Soy is the worst food for excess phytoestrogen, and should be avoided by men completely, except when fermented like tempeh. Soy is highly allergenic, and can cause severe muscle pain, especially in the neck. Some foods will inhibit estrogen. For a list see here. http://www.holisticonline.com/Remedies/hrt/hrt_food_and_estrogen.htm

Cow’s milk and gluten in wheat are also estrogenic. Prostate improvement may be obtained by switching to goat and sheep dairy, and using gluten-free grains. Avoiding grains will also help with weight management and reduction of belly fat.

Fat cells also produce estrogen, so belly fat will contribute to too much circulating estrogen. Man-boobs in obese men are not just fat deposits-they are the result of excess estrogen.

Xenoestrogens are chemicals that have estrogenic actions in the body. They are toxins that bind with cell receptors for sex hormones. This is one reason for low testosterone in men. Even the chemicals in your shampoo may be causing low testosterone and too much estrogen. http://military-fitness.military.com/2012/01/cause-of-low-t-xenoestrogens.html

Your best defense is to eat organic food, and shop at health food stores for your personal care products. We are all over-exposed to environmental chemicals that we cannot avoid, so when you have a choice, pick organic and natural ingredients in the products you buy for home, pets and personal use. Do a cleanse and get checked for chemical and metal toxicity. This will also help to protect your from cancer.

Mineral deficiencies are also found in men with prostate problems. Zinc, iodine and calcium are needed for healthy prostates. Healthy oils will help maintain the correct calcium balance between bones, blood and tissue, so it is not enough to eat enough calcium in the diet. Good fats like fish oil must be included. Saw-palmetto is a plant nutrient that can be effective.

For older men, I like to use DIM, an extract from vegetables that helps the liver metabolize excess estrogen. Eating vegetables like kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage will also help the liver.

Most men who have prostate issues will ignore them and live with them, according to studies. But you can be pro-active and the changes you make at home will only enhance your health and well-being in general.

Don’t forget we still have our June special. $200 for Saliva Hormone Testing and full consultation for male patients. The Saliva Testing checks Testosterone, and  other Adrenal hormones like DHEA and Cortisol (your stress hormone).

Wishing Good Health and Happy Father’s Day to all the Fathers in our lives!

Keeping Men Strong- June Special

I can’t tell you how many times I hear a female patient tell me that she is worried about her man’s health, but she can’t get him to take care of himself.

Of course, there are exceptions.  Some men are working out and eating a healthy diet. But many are over-weight, stressed from work, and counting on the thing that has always worked before- their strength and ability to just push through.

When that doesn’t work, the first urge may be to push through harder. If that fails there may be some mood issues, like irritability or depression. Hormones rule the body, and the adrenals are where testosterone, adrenaline and cortisol are made.

Just pushing through is a bit like driving your car with a punctured tire. You don't know how long before it shreds or blows, and it won't fix itself.

Testosterone determines the sexual characteristics and gives muscle mass and strength. Adrenaline kicks in with excitement or fear. Cortisol is the hormone that gets us up and out the door in the morning, when levels should be highest. High cortisol at night keeps the body awake. When cortisol is released during a period of stress (freeway driving, for example) but is not used up by physical activity (sitting in your car, then sitting at a desk all day) then cortisol may cause more fat deposits around the belly.

All of these hormones can be disrupted by: 1) andropause/aging 2) weight gain because fat cells produce more estrogen 3) high stress, which depletes cortisol 4) environmental toxins such as plastics and soy products, which are estrogenic 5) high carb and sugar diet, which causes yo-yo blood sugar. When there is too much sugar in the blood, the body signals the release of insulin from the pancreas. The job of insulin is to carry the sugar into the cells or send it to the liver. Continuous release of insulin makes the cells begin to resist the influence of insulin. This is the beginning of Type II Diabetes. The low fat, high carb and sugar diet of the past few decades have given us an epidemic of Diabetes.

The new epidemic caused by low fat, high carb and sugar diet is Alzheimer’s, which is now being called Diabetes Type III. High carbs and sugar also produce inflammation, which is turning out to be the highest risk factor for heart attacks.

The good news is that men have a great advantage over women in addressing these issues. Due to their greater muscle mass, which gives men a faster metabolism, just cutting down on the carbs, snacks and sugar often gives a dramatic result in a short amount of time.

The trick then becomes adopting a healthy long-term lift style so that bad habits don’t creep back in. Eating more healthy fats can reduce the urge to snack in the evening. A protein shake with fruit and coconut oil after dinner works for many guys. With long summer days, going for a walk in the evening can get you out of the house and away from the refrigerator and bags of chips.

Prostate problems, belly fat, heart disease, low libido, high blood pressure, Diabetes, GERD and other “diseases of modern civilization” are not normal or inevitable. They are all preventable or reversible with the right natural approach. This is a case when wisdom becomes power and knowing how to manage a body takes wisdom, when powering through no longer works.

To celebrate Father’s Day, we are offering hormone testing, plus body and nutritional analysis, for men. Find out your testosterone, estrogen and cortisol levels. If your hormones are out of balance, natural medicine and herbal medicine can restore them to normal levels, boost metabolism, and give guys back their stronger selves.  

The June Special is Male Saliva Hormone testing plus consultation for $200, 30% off the regular price. Saliva testing tells us what hormones are left, after they have interacted at a cellular level. Blood tests tell us about the presence of hormones in the blood. But hormones must lock onto the cells, in order to carry their message.

Also in June, a new male patient consultation, without Saliva Testing, is $100, $35 off the regular price. If you have been thinking about getting on top of your health, June is a great time to do that!

Adrenals can be repaired, testosterone can be boosted, excess estrogen can be cleared out, and blood sugar can be stabilized, all without drugs. GERD is easily remedied and stress levels can be dramatically improved with herbs like Kava. Adrenals respond beautifully to nutritional medicine, weight drops off with dietary changes and detoxification and blood sugar can stabilize. We can use herbal preparations like Tribulus, which boosts testosterone in men, or we can use topical creams for Testosterone or DHEA. DHEA is another adrenal hormone that peaks at 18 and declines with age.

Men of any age can be strong, and healthy, with the right game plan.

Saliva Hormone Testing-Mother's Day Special

Hormone Saliva Testing Vs. Blood Testing

Although blood testing can give some information about the status of your hormones, saliva testing may tell more.

When you test saliva, you are testing an “end product”, what hormones are left over after being active. Hormones that are circulating in the blood don’t tell us how well the cells are accepting hormonal influence. Each hormone in the body, including the female and male sex hormones, influence and lock on to individual cells all over the body.

How well those cells receive the hormones is an important part of the picture. Holistic doctors take this into consideration and know that the cells can be tweaked to be more responsive to hormones, without forcing the issue with drugs or synthetic hormones.

There are also vital nutrients needed for full function of the glands that produce the hormones. Iodine is a good example. I have seen iodine improve depression so dramatically that one patient told me she was thinking about suicide, but was afraid to tell anyone, until I put her on iodine supplementation.  Years later she told me that the iodine had saved her life.

Hormones are wrapped in protein envelopes so they can hitch a ride in the blood stream. The unbound proteins are more active, and this is what is measured in saliva.[i]

Saliva testing is easy, convenient, pain-less and less expensive. You do it yourself at home, first thing in the morning, and mail the saliva sample to the lab in a pre-paid envelope.  A basic test panel includes estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and cortisol levels. Cortisol levels tell us much about weight, sleep and and stress issues.

Although I do use bio-identical hormone creams for some women, I always want to get the glands working optimally, even after menopause. Then any hormones added will only enhance a system that is already as balanced as possible.

The difference in mood, menopause symptoms, sleep, weight and general feeling of well-being can be quite dramatic. PMS, menopause and PCOS symptoms may be common, but they can be corrected.  The body was made to work correctly and women do not have to suffer.

I have also helped many couples achieve a healthy pregnancy, without resorting to costly and harsh drug and hormone treatments by balancing hormones.

Hormones rule the body. If you need help in understanding and balancing your hormones, we are happy to help. Take advantage of our Mother’s Day Special and come in for a full body analysis and Saliva Testing. The special price is $200, half off the usual price for Saliva testing and analysis/consultation. Call us if you have questions or would like to book. 818-562-1400.

[i] What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause, John R.Lee, M.D., Warner Books, 1966.