The debate over the safety and efficacy of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) has been a perpetual tug-of-war between traditional and alternative medicine. We can all agree that there is a middle ground in the bioidentical hormone debate. Suzanne Somers is on one side of the debate, while others such as Julie Deardorff of the Chicago Tribune take a much different stand on the issue. So what’s it going to take to bridge the divide between mainstream and preventive practices?
Alternative medicine is just now starting to gain popularity and with that, we should see a lot more research dollars to boot. Currently, over one-third of our nation uses some form of alternative medicine – that’s over 100 million people in the U.S. alone! Many doctors are trading in their prescription drugs for preventive techniques to help their patients avoid disease and ailment from the “get-go,” using a much more proactive approach. Physicians are finally beginning to realize that in traditional medicine, diagnosis and treatment revolve around which drugs can best mask the patient’s symptoms of chronic disease and illness.
Traditional medicine is by no means obsolete. In fact the benefits from traditional medicine are boundless. Traditional medicine is effective when used to treat sore throats, fevers, bacterial infections and viruses, but offers little preventive value. Unfortunately traditional medicine doesn’t help with hormonal imbalances such as perimenopause, menopause, andropause (the male menopause), thyroid disorder and stress-induced adrenal fatigue.
Think of your body like a car. Preventive medicine helps your body a lot like preventive maintenance helps a car. Oil changes, tire rotations and alignment, fluid top-offs and routine check-ups keep your car running smooth and clean. But what happens when the car has engine problems? The cars overheating, the windshield is cracked, a gasket is broken. You take it a to a repair shop, right? Well think of traditional medicine as your body’s repair shop. You get sick, you break out with a rash, or maybe you’re running a high fever, your doctor prescribes medication to help correct whatever the problem may be.
The point is your body requires both preventive and corrective care. We need pharmaceuticals to treat disease, but as a means of doing our best to avoid getting sick, we need to incorporate alternative therapies as a method of prevention. Until we’re able to successfully harness a synergy between traditional with alternative medicine, we’re robbing ourselves of our own health.
Recent studies have revealed a startling correlation between sleep apnea and diabetes. Did you know that one-third of all Americans with diabetes and 80% of all men suffering from moderate to severe sleep apnea haven’t even been diagnosed yet? What’s even more alarming is that scientists have said that sleep apnea and diabetes go hand in hand.
What is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is a term used to describe the condition where the tissues in the back of the throat intermittently collapse during sleep, which causes temporary pauses in breathing. These pauses can last for anywhere between a few seconds and a few minutes and can occur as often as 30 times per hour.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition where the pancreas does not produce enough of the hormone insulin. Insulin helps the cells absorb glucose from sugars, to burn off as energy. Diabetes is characterized by tell-tale symptoms such as polyuria and polydipsia, as well as chronic fatigue and significant weight loss.
What you can do about it:
Slim down! One of the main catalysts for diabetics developing sleep apnea is being overweight. A recent Temple University study reported that losing weight can greatly reduce a diabetic’s chance of developing obstructive sleep apnea.
Pass on the last call! There’s nothing wrong with having an occasional drink every now and again, but habitual drinking can greatly increase your risk of developing sleep apnea. As I’m sure you’re well aware, alcohol is sugar in its simplest form – what do you think the body processes it as? That’s right, sugar. High sugar consumption propagates insulin resistance which can lead to both diabetes and sleep apnea.
Check your hormones! Get your hormone levels checked! Being that insulin is a hormone, a hormonal imbalance could very well be the culprit. But by the time diabetes or sleep apnea strike, it’s too late – the damage is already done. Both sleep apnea and diabetes have no known cure, however they both can be controlled and more importantly, they can be avoided all together. By eating right, exercising and making sure that your hormones are balanced, you can significantly reduce your risk of developing diabetes and sleep apnea, or any age-related disease for that matter.
BodyLogicMD Chief Medical Officer Dr. Alicia Stanton was recently featured on an episode of Let’s Talk Live, discussing how using bioidentical hormones to balance your hormones can aid in disease prevention. During the segment, Dr. Stanton talks about the damaging effects of environmental toxins such as pesticides, pollution and consumer products and how they can propagate hormonal imbalance, which can lead to further disease and ailment.
Consumer products are riddled with toxins that we come in contact with each day. Bottled water is manufactured with plastics that contain an organic compound known as bisphenol A or BPA. In the body, BPA acts like estrogen or thyroid hormone and has been linked to thyroid disorders and estrogen imbalance in children. Plastics and synthetic compounds aren’t the only consumer products to yield a high risk. It turns out that our fruits and vegetables pose an equal risk to our health, because of the pesticides and insecticides used in cultivation. And if you think avoiding fruits, vegetables and bottled water will save you, think again. Even by taking a step outside, you’re risking exposure to a myriad of harmful pollutants in the air.
A recent article published in The New York Times discussed the many risks associated with products containing BPA. The article says that according to a study, more than 92% of Americans have BPA in their urine and have linked BPA to everything from breast cancer to obesity. It turns out that the estrogen-like compound has been feared since the 1930’s, but has just recently caught significant widespread concern.
Here are some tips from Dr. Alicia Stanton on what you can do to avoid environmental toxins:
Ditch the bottled water! – Instead of throwing money down the drain, buying overpriced cases of bottled water, invest in a quality water filter to cut own on the cost of water and reduce your exposure to BPA.
No more cans or unsafe plastics! – When at all possible, avoid purchasing consumer products that have been packaged in cans or plastics, especially products that are acidic. There are a lot of other options, such as glass or the “safer plastics” (Numbers 1, 2, 4 or 5).
Mind your meat! – Avoid consuming meats that have been treated with synthetic hormones and antibiotics. These chemicals and hormones have damaging effects on the human body.
Take a clean shower – Don’t just filter the water you drink – filter the water that you use to bath or shower with. Our body is porous and toxins can seep into our bloodstream if the water we’re using isn’t filtered properly.
Take a minute to get to know Heidi Archer, M.D. of BodyLogicMD of Vail!
Dr. Archer’s advice: “Over the years of my practicing medicine, I have seen first-hand the devastation caused by sedentary lifestyles, lack of proper nutrition and fitness and the effects of hormonal imbalance. It’s important that we take a more proactive approach to our health and wellness. We can’t wait for symptoms of aging and disease to surface, we have to start making a difference now!”
Heidi Archer, M.D. joined BodyLogicMD back in January of 2007 and opened BodyLogicMD of Potomac Falls. She currently shares her Virgina-based practice with fellow BodyLogicMD physician Dr. Bruce Thomas. In order to satisfy the growing demand for integrative and wellness medicine, Dr. Archer dedicates her new Colorado-based practice to helping the millions of men and women find relief from symptoms of perimenopause, menopause, andropause (the male menopause), thyroid disorder and stress induced adrenal fatigue. Dr. Archer will share her time between both practices and will continue to help thousands of patients overcome the symptoms of hormonal imbalance and age gracefully, using bioidentical hormones integrated with a combination of customized nutrition and fitness programs.
Love is by far one of the most powerful emotions one can experience in life. Love has the absolute power to manifest the lowest of lows and the highest of highs within all of us. So why is it that so many relationships start off with a bang and end with a thud? At first, our relationships seem to take on the often clichéd “honeymoon phase,” where both man and woman are overcome by the boundless energies of love, falling helplessly head over heels for one another. Be it 2 months or 2 years, the once radiant glow begins to fade and the relationship has begun to plateau. When things “level out” like this, it’s important to know what you and your partner can do to spice things up a bit. Here’s five great ways to rekindle that lovin’ feelin’!
Take it beyond the bedroom – By now the bedroom has become a comfort zone for both you and your partner. So step outside the box and shake things up a bit! Take it to the streets! Go Public! Now I wouldn’t recommend putting yourself in a situation where you could get in serious legal trouble, but the idea of getting caught can be riveting! The paranoia adds a whole new dimension to sex. For starters, try it in a different room of the house – perhaps the kitchen or laundry room. Once you and your partner are comfortable, you can graduate to more exotic settings like an elevator or the beach. Now I agree that this may not sound like a scene from “The Notebook,” but sex in public places really is a great way to dust those cobwebs off your sex life.
Trash the haggard clothing – I know that when you’re at home alone as a couple, there’s little reason to “dress to impress.” But nothing says turn-off like tattered, oversized t-shirts, maternity sweatpants and a limp ponytail pushed off to the side with a cumbersome scrunchee. A great way to refresh your sex life is to make yourself more desirable for your partner. As a relationship matures, a man and woman become much more comfortable with one another and as a result they aren’t so much concerned about their physical appearance at home, as they once were. Wear something that’s comfortable, but something that doesn’t scream “I’m a hot mess.”
Take dinner to the next level – Even if you and your partner are sharing an extra large pepperoni pizza on a Friday evening, spice it up a bit with some candles, a table cloth and some music to set the mood. The romantic lighting and subtle music can make for an intimate dining experience. Maybe incorporate some aphrodisiacs to the meal for little kick-start. Finger food also gives you a great excuse to feed one another.
Take a vacation – Escape the ordinary. Sometimes work schedules and personal commitments make it difficult for a couple to share intimacy. One of the first things a relationship coach will recommend is a romantic getaway. You don’t have to go far. In fact, a trip down the street to a local Marriott will do just fine. The feeling of detachment makes it easier to let go and get lost within the moment. Find a quiet hotel suite, grab a bottle of champagne and bucket of ice and have peace of mind knowing that the only thing you’re waking up for the next day is breakfast in bed.
Balance your hormones – As we age, our hormones naturally begin to decline. The result is a hormonal imbalance, usually identified as perimenopause or menopause in women and andropause in men. Although there are many unpleasant side-effects of hormonal imbalance such as weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, depression and loss of muscle mass, the chief complaint from both men and women alike is low libido. Hormonal imbalance affects millions of men and women each year. The good news is, there’s something you can do about it. Comprehensive hormone testing is available to determine if indeed a hormonal imbalance is present. Once the imbalance has been identified, physicians can use bioidentical hormones to restore the balance and in turn relieve the associated symptoms.
Nearly two-thirds (66%) of U.S. adults age 20 or older are overweight, 50% of which are so overweight that they are considered obese. The prevalence of obesity in America has increased exponentially over the years among all genders, racial and ethnic groups, despite mounting concern on the issue. Recent studies have shown that Americans are twice as likely to become obese than Europeans and have a much higher chance of developing chronic disease such as atherosclerosis, cancer and diabetes.
“The fact is, the reason that our children are so overweight is because we’re overweight,” shares Dr. Ghelfi of BodyLogicMD. “The reason that our children are not thriving the way they should be and the reason that diabetes is so prevalent in today’s youth is because they’re watching us watch television, they see us going to the grocery store and purchasing foods that we shouldn’t be eating, they see the poor lifestyle choices that we’re making as adults and they in turn take on many of the same damaging habits” continues Ghelfi.
“It’s our duty as parents to set an example for our children that they can benefit from. It’s our responsibility to lead a legacy that encourages promotes health and wellness.”
Here’s a great video of Dr. Ghelfi discussing the health care crisis that according to him, we’ve created for ourselves.
Are you always forgetting where you put your keys? Do you tend to forget people’s names? Do you forget what you were saying mid-sentence? Do you often miss appointments? Sometimes forgetfulness can be attributed to a sporadic lapse in memory, however if the problem persists, it may be a sign that you’re suffering Alzheimer’s disease.
November is known as Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. According the Alzheimer’s Association, every 70 seconds someone will develop Alzheimer’s disease. The disease is defined as short-term memory loss (STML) and is a result of ongoing degenerative neurological processing, and nearly 5 million people suffer from the progressive brain disease for which there is no cure.
Neurologist experts have divided the disease into three main stages; early onset, moderate stage and late stage. According to leading neurologist, Dr. Galvez-Jimenez in a recent article in the Sun Sentinel, “In the early stages the main complaint is moderate forgetfulness, finding the right words, problems with names and mild confusion; the moderate stage shows the person becoming more introspective, they can show agitation and depression and become either apathetic or aggressive. In the late stages full time care becomes a necessity. The person may require care for incontinence, dressing oneself, providing medications and eventually become wheelchair bound or bed bound.”
Recent studies have revealed a link between hormonal imbalance and Alzheimer’s disease. Although currently there is no known cure, there are many preventive steps that one could take in order to sidestep the onset of the disease. It’s important to remember that hormonal imbalance affects EVERYONE (that’s right gentlemen, you too!) and although it is indeed an imminent toil of aging, it doesn’t have to lead to suffering and disease. Some researchers attribute Alzheimer’s disease to poor lifestyle choices such as lack of exercise and poor nutrition as well as environmental factors such as pollution and oxidation. Whatever the cause may be, experts claim that balancing your hormones can help. Balancing your hormones doesn’t only help to relieve symptoms of menopause and andropause (the male menopause), it turns out that balancing your hormones greatly reduces your risk of developing infammatory-related diseases such as various types of cancers, athersclerosis and… Bingo! Alzheimer’s disease. Being that our hormones naturally decline as we age, our bodies become more susceptible to inflammation. The hormone progesterone has been found to help decrease inflammation and in turn greatly reduce one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. There are many bioidentical hormones such as progesterone, testosterone and estrogen that have already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (over 20) and have proven to be the most natural and effective way to correct hormonal imbalance and often reverse the aging process.
It seems the older we get, the more it feels as if the weight of the world rested on our shoulders. Sometimes it’s difficult to sustain momentum; we find ourselves fatigued, physically and mentally drained and depleted of every last bit of energy. It’s very important that we find healthy methods of relieving stress, instead of resorting to benzodiazepines or tranquilizers to control stress and anxiety. A recent article on ChicagoTribune.com discussed the health risks and negative side effects of using prescription drugs such as Lexapro and what natural alternatives are available to remedy stress and anxiety.
Many of these benzodiazepines such as Xanax, Ativan and Klonopin are effective in reducing anxiety on the short term; however, it has been proven that these drugs can be habit-forming (our bodies develop a natural tolerance to the drug and in turn our bodies require a higher dosage to achieve the same effect). Anti-anxiety drugs can also lead to a host of other symptoms such as drowsiness, headaches, heart palpitations, perfuse sweating and nausea as well as intimacy issues.
There many natural and effective methods of relieving stress and even sever anxiety. Herbs such as valerian and passionflower greatly reduce stress and help control nervousness. In cases of moderate to severe anxiety, physicians recommend cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which offers guidance and counseling on healthy ways to disarm potentially stressful situations. With alternative therapies, you can control stress and anxiety, without the side effects of drug-based remedies.
If stress and anxiety persist beyond treatment, the cause may in fact be hormonal. Anxiety is a tell-tale sign of men and women experiencing hormonal imbalances such as thyroid disorder, perimenopause, menopause or andropause (the male menopause). It’s important to have your hormone levels tested in order to determine whether or not a hormonal imbalance is to blame. Correcting hormonal imbalance is best done in a three-step process. First, the imbalance needs to be corrected by replacing the hormones, using hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The most effective method of HRT is bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), because it uses bioidentical hormones which are identical to the hormones that your body should be producing naturally. The next step is nutrition. The spectrum of nutrition far surpasses the cliché of eating a balanced meal. It has been found that certain food allergies and intolerances can lead to anxiety and in some cases clinical depression. Knowing what foods you should be eating is just as important as knowing what foods you should be avoiding to help maintain optimal health. Last but not least, there is fitness. Fitness is the by far the best way to relieve stress and anxiety and find peace of mind. In addition to being a great stress reduction technique, fitness helps prevent age-related diseases such as atherosclerosis, osteoporosis and heart disease and can greatly reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Dr. John Abell of BodyLogicMD of Louisville discusses stress and bioidentical hormones:
Throughout our lives, it’s inherent in our nature to question our purpose in life. It’s natural for us to wonder whether or not we’re taking the right steps towards achieving that in which we view as success. As years fold into decades, it seems harder and harder to wash away our worries and concerns. It seems that our fears and apprehensions have precipitated into our daily lives, making it more difficult to complete day-to-day tasks. We reach a certain age where death becomes an imminent reality - our hopes become eclipsed by the shadows of mortality. We don’t feel like ourselves anymore. We feel as if there’s something missing in our lives, we feel incomplete. As we age, our bodies begin to change, and as our bodies change, so do our values, our goals and our idea of success. We’re constantly changing who we are, improving who we are and shaping the person who we want to be.
A Mid-Career Crisis:
Career menopause is a term used to describe the frustration and restlessness experienced by men and women in their careers. Although our careers are an integral part of what we do, we can’t use our careers to define who we are. The only thing we fear more than change is permanence. We’re afraid that our careers will eventually plateau – we fear that all the joy and pleasure that we used to get out of our career has been sucked dry.
What You Can Do:
So what’s to blame for career menopause? Be it a mid-life crisis or a mid-career plateau, the anxiety, heart palpitations, night sweats and mood swings are all a direct result of hormonal imbalance. Hormonal imbalances affect millions of men and women each year, many unknowingly. The good news is hormonal balance is not a disease and it can be corrected with proper attention and specialized treatments. One of the most natural and effective ways to treat underlying hormonal imbalances is bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). BHRT uses bioidentical hormones to replace the hormones that your body no longer produces, using hormones that are molecularly identical to the hormones your body would produce naturally. Unfortunately, chances are it’s not the job, it’s you. The good news is you can do something about it! You don’t have drudge on throughout the workday anymore, now you can regain your passion and rekindle the joy and pleasure that you used to get out of your career. Rediscover you!
The 53-year-old actor and director, who has won countless awards for movies such as ‘Braveheart,’ ‘The Patriot’ and ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ says his acting style has changed now that he’s gone through andropause (the male menopause).
“You just get used up or feel like you’re not doing anything new, and that wasn’t exciting to me so I started to drop back,” shares Gibson in a recent interview with the Scotsman press. Mel Gibson admits that his career has slowed down tremendously over the past few years and attributes it to andropause or as Mel called it, “the male menopause.”
Many men often joke about experiencing menopausal symptoms, but the truth of the matter is, that menopause-like symptoms do in fact affect men and when they do it’s referred to as andropause. Unlike menopause, the symptoms of andropause follow a gradual progression, whereas in women the change is much more abrupt. It’s important that men understand that they too have a biological time clock and there are ways to keep that in check.
The most accurate way for men to determine whether or not they’re going through andropause would be to undergo diagnostic hormone testing to figure out if the hormones are balanced properly. If a hormonal imbalance is present, there are steps that men can take to correct the underlying causes and more importantly relieve many of the unpleasant symptoms associated with hormonal imbalance.
Hormone therapy is great way to replace the hormones that your body no longer produces naturally, but beware of synthetic hormones that can often do more bad than good. A natural alternative to synthetic hormones is bioidentical hormones, which are molecularly identical to the hormones that the bodyshould be producing naturally on its own. By using bioidentical hormones for men, and staying fit and eating right, you can regain your energy, rekindle your sex-drive and get your edge back!
Here’s a great video of BodyLogicMD Physician Dr. Mike Lee of BodyLogicMD of Miami discussing Andropause: The Male Menopause
The debate over the safety and efficacy of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) has been a perpetual tug-of-war between traditional and alternative medicine. We can all agree that there is a middle ground in the bioidentical hormone debate. Suzanne Somers is on one side of the debate, while others such as Julie Deardorff of the Chicago Tribune take a much different stand on the issue. So what’s it going to take to bridge the divide between mainstream and preventive practices?
