Hormonal Balance

Welcome to iHormones Lite.  My name is Robert Kress, I am a registered pharmacist and a board certified clinical nutritionist.  This is your lite version of WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HORMONES; to help you cut through the confusion, empower yourself, and make the right decisions for your health, happiness and wellbeing.

The Full Version of iHormones will additionally provide you with:

  • All the Functions, Benefits, Signs and Symptoms of each individual hormone.
  • What testing is needed, the difference between blood testing and saliva testing.
  • How all the hormones work and 'communicate' together for proper hormonal and nutritional balance, health, and wellbeing.
  • A full Nutritional Database of what vitamins and nutrients work to support your hormonal status...for men and women.
  • Food Charts- Find out what foods have the most and the least pesticides, what fish has the most and the least mercury, what foods will alkalanize and acidify your body, the glycemic index and amounts of sugar in the foods you eat, a shopping chart, how to figure out if what you are buying is genetically modified, organic, or standard...all important for your hormonal balance.
  • Hormone Myth's- There has been a lot of confusion about hormones and its not fair to the patients, so I outline many of the popular hormone myths that might be preventing you and your loved ones from getting the best care they can get.
  • A Complete Reference Section- The facts are, natural hormonal balance is back by science, orignating from nature.  Here I provide you with many of the reference sources that I have used to gain all of this information.
  • Resources- Want to know what to do or where to go next?  I provide you with the leading resources in the world of natural hormonal and nutritional therapy; from testing companies, to books to practitioners to educational institutions.
  • More Hormones as well!

 I have owned my own "Longevity Pharmacy" where we concentrated on customized medications,  nutritional and anti-aging therapies.  And one of the reasons I do what I do, and what I find to be one of the most understood areas of our health care system is hormones.

Personally, I learned very little about functional medicine as well as the in's and out's to nutritional and bio-identical hormone therapy in pharmacy school.  This is a consistency which I find true in other professions; such as medical doctors and nursing students.

To step into the realm of functional medicine, one must posess the quality of being a consumate learner, stepping out on ones own to expand ones knowledge in these areas.  In the resource section you will find some of the most advanced teaching institutions in the realm of functional medicine, hormonal and nutritional balance.

Hormone History

Pharmaceutical companies have been creating “hormone” medications under the ability to patent unique chemicals.  This is why only until recently the study and practice of our bodies natural hormonal balance has really begun to take off.  The artifical hormone  chemicals that are created by drug companies are similar enough to exert a an effect on the hormonal receptor, but different enough to not provide the full benefits of natural hormones as well as come with their own bag of side-effects.  This is where we find the true benefit of bio-identical hormones with nutritional support; why not work with what we have been given?

...And hormones are a big deal.  We all have them, we all have to deal with them.  Why not use them to our benefit?

It has been said that it is impossible to achieve optimum health without hormonal balance; and I agree, and would like to add to that being nutritional sound is as important as well.

I have worked with countless individuals who thought how they were feeling was "normal", or were told that it was "all in their head."  The fact is, people have forgotten how it feels to feel really good, or even normal for that matter.

The problem is that due to many issues of today; ever increasing stress, increasing toxins in our environment, and food sources that are drastically lacking nutritional relevancy soaked in pesticides and artificial hormones, and on top of that being genetically modified - our hormonal systems are going through hormonal exhaustion while at the same time being confused by medications and environmental toxins mimicking but not matching what our hormones should be doing-  at times its a hormonal hell for people.

Well, it doesn’t have to be that way, and there are many things we can do to feel great and be healthier.

Fortunately more and more practitioners are taking the steps to understand the importance of proper hormone balance; doctors, pharmacists, physicians assistants, nurses, and the lay public realizes that it is important to take back their health, and to learn what is needed to gain back control of their own health.

Pharmacies are specializing in the original art and science of pharmacy compounding, where customized medications is all that they do; shunning the one size fits all approach and providing prescribers and patients alike custom solutions to fit their needs.

And it's still common to hear a practitioner new to functional medicine and natural hormonal balance ask "where's the research?"  Every day we are learning more and more about the benefits of natural hormonal balance as well as the dangers of the synthetics, and this is why I have added both a recent news and clinical reference section to this application.  Everything I share with you is backed by clinical medical science...stemming from the roots of what nature has given us.

Hormones are our body’s biological communicators.  Everyday more men and women are entering what is called Menopause for Women and Andropause for Men.  In both cases there are physical and emotional issues related to a decline in the production of one’s hormones.

Over the last decade or so that we have realized, hormonal balance is not a one-size fits all approach and what works for one person might not work for another.

Fortunately we are now at a time where we are being more pro-active with our health.  We are not just treating symptoms anymore.  All a symptom is, is a call from our body telling us, “Hey, something’s going wrong, time to fix it before things get really bad.”

In fact, you will learn how even the food choices you make can affect your hormone health; from pesticides that can mimic, but not duplicate hormones in your system, to heavy metals that can block your detoxification pathways.  For this I have added in the Food Chart section to aid you in making the best choices for your dinner table. 

We are now realizing the down falls to synthetic hormonal therapy.

Much of this has come as a result of a major on-going study known as the Womens Health Initiative study.

In 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative Study halted on estrogen and progestin (a synthetic form or progesterone).  This combination can be found in the drug Prempro(R)

This was halted three years early due to an increased risk of breast cancer in women on these hormones.

Some other findings of this study included:

  • Women taking Prempro had a 41% stroke rate.
  • Women taking Prempro had double the rate of blood clots.
  • There was a 26% increased risk of breast cancer for those taking Prempro.
  • There was a 22% increased in heart disease for those taking Prempro.

So the reaction from a lot of practitioners was to suddenly take their patients off of these hormonal preparations, with much of the result being women with symptoms of hormonal imbalance being just as bad as they began.

The result of the Women’s Health Initiative Study changed the way we look and treat with hormones.  We have gone from just treating ones symptoms, not realizing the side-effects involved, now looking at it as hormonal restoration therapy, a customized natural approach with the goal to increase ones overall health and quality of life.

Aside from the estrogens and progesterone, for many years the common form of testosterone that has been given to both men and women is a synthetic form known as methyltestosterone, and word of caution: this has been suggested to be carcinogenic to your liver.

This application has been created as a point and shoot reference for you; highlighting what each hormone does, what are the signs and symptoms of too much and too little, what can cause too much or too little of these hormones, provide you with resources and references as well.

Before we continue, I will be using the terms synthetic hormones and bio-identical or natural hormones.  Bio-identical or natural hormones are hormones that are identical to the hormones that the natural body creates.  Synthetic will refer to non-bio-identical hormones, designed and created in a lab, as well as horse derived hormones used in a drug called Premarin.(R) (I wanted to make this point clear, because where the estrogen in Premarin is not bio-identical to a human, it can be called bio-identical to a horse.)

Lastly, this application should in no way, nor is it intended to act as medical advice.  Any questions or concerns that you have in regards to all measures of your health and hormone balance and therapy should be directed towards your primary health care practitioner.

 

SYMPTOMS OF HORMONAL IMBALANCE

Hormonal imbalance can mean different things for different people.  And where men and women both experience hormonal changes and often suffer imbalances, the experience can be different for each and everyone.

Many times people may not even realize that the symptoms they are experiencing are even hormonally related, or even that an illness they are suffering from  has its hormonal roots.

Where below I offer symptoms related to what is known as menopause (for women) and andropause (for men), that does not mean that you have to be ‘at that time in life’ to experience such symptoms.

Remember, decreasing hormones is a natural part of aging, its the progressive exhaustion of the hormones we seek to balance for our health, happiness and overall well being.

Where the definition of menopause is when there is no menstrual cycle for 12 consecutive months, there are many symptoms involved related to the time of peri-menopause and menopause.  Here are a few of them, where the more symptoms you are positive for, the greater the potential for hormonal imbalances and exhaustion.

  • Hot flashes
  • Night sweats
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Mood swings
  • Irritabillity
  • Insomnia
  • Depression
  • Loss of sexual Interest
  • Panic attacks
  • Painful intercourse
  • Osteoporosis
  • Aching ankles, knees, wrists, shoulders, heels
  • Weight loss
  • Palpitations
  • Varicose veins
  • Urinary leakage
  • Memory lapses
  • Frequent urination

Where Andropause is not as concrete to diagnose as Menopause (no menstrual cycle for 12 consecutive months), there are many symptoms that follow along with the deline of male hormones such as:

  • Decreased energy
  • Decreased mental quickness
  • Decreased desire for physical activity
  • Decreased or loss of sexual interest
  • Decreased muscle tone
  • Increase in body fat especially in the mid section
  • Night sweats
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Irritability
  • Panic attacks
  • Depression
  • Loss of eagerness and enthusiasm for life

Estrogens

One of the biggest points of confusion and misconceptions in medicine is the fact that there is not just one estrogen.  There are actually 3 main estrogen’s, each with different activities, working on different receptors.  Estrogen works together with all the other hormones, although one big area we look at is estrogen’s’ relationship with progesterone.

To simplify it, estrogen makes tissue grow, and progesterone steps in and tells the tissue to grow healthy as well as to die healthy.  This is why estrogen cream is often used topically to increase vaginal wall thickness, it promotes the tissues growth and thickness.

Now the counter side to the growth is if it is done in an imbalanced fashion.  For instance, if someone had too high of estrogen levels, especially in comparison to progesterone levels, leaving the ratio to be what is known as estrogen dominant, than tissue growth could be hyper-stimulated, thus leading to fears that estrogen can influence tumor growth.

THE 3 MAIN ESTROGENS

There are 3 main estrogens; estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3).  The body looks to have a balance between the three of these.  Each of these estrogens act on different receptor sites in the body, thus when the amount of individual estrogens are out of balance, the body can react in an unnatural response.

Estrone (E1)

Estrone is the main estrogen that your body makes when it is in menopause. For this reason, practitioners often do not find a necessity to add it to hormone replacement therapy regimens.

High levels of estrone can stimulate breast and uterine tissue and many believe it can lead to an increased risk of breast and uterine cancer.

Before a woman enters menopause estrone is primarily made by the ovaries, liver and the adrenal glands. Later in life estrone is made in ones fat cells and to a lesser degree in the liver and adrenal glands; thus the more body fat one has, the more estrone is produced.

Estrone has the ability to convert back and forth with estradiol, and it is found that in obese women, they have an increased estrone to estradiol ratio.

Routine alcohol consumption can increase the production of estrone in the body as well.

Estradiol (E2)

Estradiol is the strongest estrogen that your body produces. It is estimated to be 12 stronger than estrone and 80 times stronger than estriol. Before menopause it is the main estrogen that the body produces, and after menopause experiences the biggest decline.

Where estrone is often made in fat tissue, most estradiol is made in the ovaries. Even though as ovarian function decreases either due to natural menopause or surgical menopause, most women over the age of 80 still make some estradiol.

High levels of estradiol are associated with an increased risk of breast and uterine cancer.

Estriol (E3) 

Estriol has a much weaker stimulating effect on the breast and the uterine lining than estrone or estradiol.

Remember when I said that estrogens make tissue grow and that’s why a physician will prescribe it topically to increase the thickness of the uterine lining? Well, often estriol is chosen as a compounded prescription because it gives the desired effects with less risk of over stimulation.

Another very interesting fact is that estriol has been show not to promote breast cancer and there exists mounting evidence to show that it protects against it.

Even though the less stimulating effects of estriol seem to offer many great benefits, estriol does not have the bone, heart, or brain protection of estradiol, and this is why a combination of estradiol and estriol is often prescribed.

For more information on the Functions, Benefits, Signs and Symptoms...as well as learn about estrogen metabolites which can have a big affect on your health, as well as the vital importance of the estrogen to progesterone ratio check out the FULL VERSION of iHormones.

Progesterone

Progesterone is a hormone that is primarily made by the ovaries before menopause, and then after menopause, the body begins to rely on the adrenal glands to help produce it.

There is a common misconception that if someone was to have a hysterectomy, that there is no need for progesterone anymore, this is actually a gross misunderstanding.

Almost every cell in the body has receptors for the progesterone molecular, and just because a surgical intervention was made that lead to a sudden decrease in the production is no reason to think the body does not need it anymore.

It would be like removing a pancreas. We know the pancreas is responsible for producing insulin, although if you removed it or if it began to dysfunction, you would surely give someone insulin.

When the need for progesterone supplementation arises, it can be given in the form of a pill or a capsule or topically through the skin in the form of a cream.

Taking progesterone orally will give a lower level of absorption, although will create a metabolite that acts on GABA receptors in the brain. This produces a calming effect and allows you to sleep better.

In either case, the dose should be customized to the patients needs, allowing a compounding pharmacist to create the exact dose that a patient needs.

Bio-identical progesterone does come commercially in the form of Prometrium in capsule dosages of either 100 mg or 200 mg. The down side might be the individual needs a different dosage; the fact that these preparations contain peanut oil which many people are allergic to; or someone might do better on a sustained release for which would need to be compounded, opposed to the immediate release of Prometrium.

Other commercial preparations contain what are called progestins, which is a synthetic form of progesterone. A progestin does not have the same structure as progesterone, thus will act differently at the receptor site, thus leading to different results in the body.

We will speak more of the effects of stress when we get to the section on cortisol, although it is important to mention that when adrenaline surges, in the case of stress, these surges can actually block the progesterone receptors, thus not allowing for the benefits to occur.

For more information such as Functions, Benefits, Signs and Symptoms as well as the importance of the estrogen to progesterone ration check out the FULL VERSION of iHormone in the app store.

Cortisol

Where all of your hormones are vitally important, it is almost impossible to get everything properly balanced if cortisol is out of control.

Impaired adrenal function, or coritisol production, I believe is one of the most under diagnosed and treated conditions of health.

Cortisol is primarily created in the adrenal glands, like DHEA. For women after menopause they share the adrenal glands with the other sex hormones after ovarian function declines.

Cortisol is a direct representation to stress.  We have been created to deal with stress in a fight or flight response, so that when danger or stress presents itself, our bodies automatically increase cortisol production to help us to fight or flight.

In our culture and others around the world, stress is more of a consistency than we have been meant to deal with.  The result is that our adrenal glands get exhausted earlier pulling down other hormones with them.

But before the exhaustion, cortisol levels can fluctuate wildly throughout the day contributing to many unwanted issues of health.

A recent study just highlighted how elevated cortisol levels can be a predictor of subclinical coronary arteriosclerosis, which is a predictor of future coronary heart disease.

For more information such as Functions, Benefits, Signs, Symptoms and levels check out the FULL VERSION of iHormone in the app store.

DHEA

DHEA (dehydroepindrosterone) and testosterone are both considered to be androgen’s, or ‘male hormones’, although they are of vital importance to both men and women.

Where testosterone is made in the ovaries in females and the gonads in men, most DHEA is made in the adrenal glands, along with cortisol, with small amounts in the skin and the brain.

All of the sex hormones share a similar structure, which means one hormone can be used for material to create another.  DHEA place a part in making the other sex hormones, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

Men and women are different in their needs for DHEA.  It is much easier for a woman to overdose on DHEA than a man and measurement is the best way to find out ones levels and needed dosages.  Women also have a greater potential to convert DHEA to testosterone. 

For more information on Benefits, Functions, Signs and Symptoms pick up the FULL VERSION of iHormone in the app store.

Testosterone

Testosterone, a hormone of a family of hormones called the androgens along with DHEA and androsteindione, is often acknowledged as ‘the male hormone.’

And where it is in higher amounts in men, it is still of great importance for the health and well being of women.

Like all of the other hormones, Testosterone works in concert with the other hormones, and an important relationship is how it works with estradiol (E2).  Without proper levels of estradiol, testosterone cannot attach to brain receptors as it should.

It has been proven that if testosterone is given with estradiol, it lowers ones cardiac risk.  If given without estradiol, testosterone and DHEA increase plaque formation in heart vessels with increases ones risk for a heart attack.  If testosterone is given with DHEA, they have a beneficial effect on ones arterial walls.

It is not uncommon to have excess testosterone without supplementation; in fact it occurs in approximately 10% of all women, not as common for men.

Excess androgen production is usually due to over-production by ones adrenal glands, not their ovaries.

Testosterone is made both in the ovaries and the adrenal glands, if someone was to undergo surgical menopause, testosterone levels could very well be affected.

In men the ‘normal range’ for testosterone is quite large, so patient individuality and assessing ones symptoms in addition to lab results needs to take place.

There is a precaution as well for men, and that is the risk of the testosterone to be converted to estrogen. This can be done through endogenous or supplemented testosterone. The fat cells an individual has, the higher chance for the testosterone to be converted to estrogen. It is this conversion to estrogen that is believed to contribute to cardiovascular and prostate issues.

A family of medications known as aromatase inhibitors have been given to men to help prevent or stop the conversion to estrogen.

For many years the common form of testosterone that has been given to both men and women is a synthetic form known as methyltestosterone, and ward of caution: this has been suggested to be carcinogenic to your liver.

Lastly, bio-identical testosterone as been becoming ever more popular over the last few years, to the point where drug companies have been manufacturing their own products in gels and patches. This is bio-identical, although the route of dosage does not provide as customized a dose as what can be created between a physicians order and a compounding pharmacy.

For more information on benefits, functions, and signs and symptoms check out the FULL VERSION of i Hormone in the App Store.

Pregnenolone

Pregnenolone comes with its own benefits and functions, although it is also very important for the products of all other sex hormones. Without pregnenolone, your body is put at a disadvantage to create DHEA, progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, and cortisol.  Pregnenolone is actually the precursor to all those other hormones, which itself is created from cholesterol, the ‘mother hormone.’

Like most other hormones pregnenolone declines with age and by the time of 75 years old, most people exhibit a 65% decline from levels at the age of 35.

Diet can have a major effect on pregnenolone, and ones natural pathways are blocked when consuming too much saturated fat and trans-fatty acids.

Aside from balancing off its natural levels, pregnenolone is used to treat arthritis, depression, memory loss, fatigue and moodiness.

Benefits of pregnenolone in your body:

  • Regulates the balance between excitation and inhibition in the nervous system
  • Increases resistance to stress
  • Improves energy both physically and mentally
  • Enhances nerve transmission and memory
  • Reduces pain and inflammation

Side effects to taking too much pregnenolone are acne and drowsiness.

Prolactin

You might not have ever heard of prolactin, it might not be sexy, although as you will find, like other hormones it has a direct affect on all of your other hormones.

Prolactin is created by your pituitary gland located in your brain and elevated prolactin levels can suppress ovarian function, thus the production of estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone.  In addition to this, elevated prolactin can lead to weight gain, breast enlargement, muscle loss, headaches, depression, and bone loss.

Thyroid

There are millions of people who are wondering, “Why has my metabolism suddenly hit a wall?”  Feeling tired throughout the day, with cold hands and feet, dry skin, and feeling depressed.  And there are many more that begin to notice this during the menopause years.

Your thyroid gland is your body regulator, affecting everything from mood to metabolism, tissue repair to digestion.

Hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid, is estimated to affect over 11 million Americans, 9 million who are female.  And there are countless others who fall into what is called subclinical hypothyroidism; which means they exhibit the symptoms, although either the tests still show that they are normal, or they are not having all the necessary tests that are needed to be done.

The reason numbers increase around menopause is because there is an interchange between the ovaries and the thyroid gland.  The ovaries have thyroid receptors, and the thyroid gland has ovarian receptors, so any decrease in hormonal activity can lead to a decrease in the hormonal counterpart.

Like estrogen, there is not just one thyroid hormone, although patients are often tested as if there was.  There are two main thyroid hormones to be monitored and supplemented if necessary; they are T4 (thyroxin) which is produced by the thyroid gland and T3 (triiodothyronine) which is made in other tissues and also converted from T4.

There is also a hormone called TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) which the body uses to signify the rest of the body to begin creating more thyroid hormone when needed.

Often time’s doctors only order T4 and TSH which is not giving them as clinicians, or their patients the whole picture.  That is why a complete thyroid panel (which you will find in the full version of i Hormone) is the preferred tool for assessment.

For more information on Thyroid such as What Tests Are Needed, Functions, Benefits and Symptoms, check out the FULL VERSION of iHormone in the App Store.