Kinetic Magazine February 2010 pg22

Page 22

Hormones: Bio-Identical, Natural Xenoestrogens

What is All The Fuss About?

What is a bio identical hormone? Quite frankly, I don’t know how to answer this question. The fields of thought amongst conventional health care providers and natural medicine practitioners are so far apart about what they themselves mean when they use this word that there is simply not a clearly defined meaning of this new word… bio-identical hormone. The bio identical hormone form of which I speak is the most basic form of the hormone in a living being of the same species. A conventional interpretation of bio identical hormones might be “that hormone from within that specific organ of a particular taxonomy, meaning mammals… as long as it has mammary glands.” Based upon my personal research in preparing this article, I am of the opinion that not all practitioners believe the source of the hormone to be important. Therefore I feel it important to educate oneself as to the forms of hormones before taking them. “Natural” does not necessarily mean identical. For example would you prefer to take a hormone from the urine of a pregnant horse or a plant based hormone? I cannot help but wonder how a human body would like being injected by some power house hormone from the urine of a pregnant horse. Hormones are directors… they tell organs and systems what to do or what not to do. The definition of hormone from Medicine.Net is: “Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activity of certain cells or organs.” Do you really want some hormone from the urine of a pregnant horse directing your brain, or heart or liver? If you do, don’t let me dissuade you… that is your individual choice and right. However, if you care to look at the overall picture so that you can make an intelligent decision, the place to start is to educate yourself about the various forms and applications of hormones available.

Hormones direct where your body is going. Whether that body achieves that optimum state of health; or how one declines and goes downhill quickly. It is all determined by hormones because hormones are the intensifiers of the physical state. In fact, hormones are exactly how that state occurs. Hormones push the mental state into reality. You feel a thought of a physical state and a hormone converts it from mind into action so to speak

The human body has multiple hormones with each specific hormone having multiple roles. Each and every hormone is used by every man, woman and child alive. So if every human alive utilizes these hormones, it must be that monitoring them would be a good idea. Dr. Jay Mead and Labrix Laboratories specialize in hormone testing. https://www.labrix.com/reportingspring/staticContent.do?page=resources.resourceResearch Upon completion of the testing, the lab will provide a thorough interpretation of the tests results that you can then take to your physician of choice for treatment.

Hormones can make you feel wired but they can also make you feel tired, depressed and uninterested in life. They can also make you feel in love, or angry at the world. A hormone is that thing that makes you who you are... that thing that makes you a man or a woman; masculine or feminine. A hormone is that thing that helps you to walk or run or laugh or cry. They are the directors of your experience of life.

Hormone imbalances contribute to most every dysfunction within the body. Granted, amino acids strengthen, vitamins boost your immune system and minerals give you that spark of life… but hormones direct each task of these vital elements, how much is to be used and when it is to act. There has been a huge misconception in medicine that hormones simply direct sexuality and their related organs. To the contrary, a hormone deficiency can weaken the bladder walls causing urinary accidents, fatigue, irritability, mood swings, endometriosis, excessive and painful uterine bleeding. Bio identical hormones, among other things, can certainly address erectile dysfunction and lack of libido, but also vascular function or rather dysfunction, to-wit cardiovascular disease, balding, mood swings, loss of muscle mass and body temperature just to name a few. Plainly stated, if you have a major hormone imbalance your get up and go will have got up and gone.

We have all heard about the risk for breast cancer being much higher if one has estrogen dominance (unopposed estrogen). It is not how high the estrogen is or how low the progesterone is, it is the ratio between the two! Why one might ask is there such a problem with estrogen dominance? The answer can be stated in one word… xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are petroleum based chemicals that lie hidden in our every day products: fabric softeners, lotions, soaps, detergents, plastics, shampoos, conditioners and oils. Xenoestrogens are estrogenic, meaning they have a hormone like effect on the body by stimulating the production of estrogen. They are silent, but potent and powerful. They do not need to be ingested orally to inflict their effects. You get more than a powerful dose every time you wash your hair, slather on the conditioner and after bath lotion, wash your clothes in detergent and then throw in that pleasant smelling fabric softener in your dryer. Xenoestrogens absorb readily through your skin. Read the labels on the products you use. If you see “methyl”, “ethyl”, “propyl”… beware.

If you have, or have had in the past, heavy bleeding, fibroids, cysts, cramps, bloating and/or fluid retention, you more that likely have a progesterone/estrogen imbalance. Properly supplementing with progesterone can balance out the progesterone/estrogen ratio. With balance you will find many of the negative symptoms of unopposed estrogen will just go away within a few months… usually along with 5-10 pounds. Natural progesterone will have the same chemical structure as the progesterone you came into this world with, many use an altered plant steroid such as wild yam. This being said, I would not advise anyone to run out and start taking hormones without laboratory testing first. Though they are readily available on the market, it is important to use them under a doctor’s supervision. Nutrients and hormones walk hand in hand and proper cofactors are needed for optimal results.

For example, a deficiency in Vanadium can increase progesterone and too much vanadium can decrease progesterone. So it is important to have all of your levels monitored with supplementation. Boron, Fiber, Folate, Vitamins A, C and E, Zinc and likely magnesium, support optimal progesterone levels.

Estrogen is responsible for good things too. Among its many positive attributes, it increases the transmission of dopamine; it helps in maintaining the blood brain barrier, increases GABA, a calming neurotransmitter, effects glucose and oxygen transportation. It can play a tremendous role in moods and well being of mind, but as with anything else in life, it is balance that matters.

Testosterone… not just men need testosterone. Women need testosterone to maintain muscle mass and tone, such as sagging legs and leaky bladders. A testosterone deficiency can contribute to heart disease, hypersensitivity, endometriosis in woman and erectile dysfunction in men. Certain amino acids such as arginine, leucine or glutamine are ways to increase testosterone naturally. Scotts’ Pine Pollen available only in the Northeast United States is allegedly one of the best natural ways to increase testosterone, but should be used only with the guidance of a physician. Again, hormones work hand in hand. It is when they become unopposed, and out of balance that they become a problem.

DHEA is another very important hormone. In fact, Norm Shealy calls it “the mother hormone”. Again, too much or too little both have negative effects. Like everything else, it needs to be balanced. Some benefits of DHEA is that it is a precursor to testosterone, can elevate growth hormones, decreases cholesterol, lowers triglycerides, prevents blood clots, increases sense of well being, lean muscle mass, sensitivity of insulin, for just a few. Excess DHEA can contribute to anger, depression, insomnia, mood changes, sugar cravings, weight gain and fatigue to name a few.

Another important hormone is the thyroid hormone. The thyroid regulates things. How much of this and how much of that. There are several types of thyroid tests – T3 and T4. Decreased reduction of T3 can be caused by electromagnetic radiation, heavy chemicals, pollutants, high stress and hormonal imbalances with estrogen and progesterone. They can also be reduced by certain mineral deficiencies such as zinc, Vitamins B6 and 12, iron, vitamin D and iodine. When T3 is down, your body temperature goes down. Enzymes are activated by heat, so when the body temperature goes down, the enzymes are unable to do their jobs so you might end up with fluid retention, migraine headaches cold hands and feet, high blood pressure, hypoglycemia, diabetes, panic attacks, irritability, fatigue and anxiety, among many other things.

One last tidbit of information I feel important is that you are your emotions. Your emotions drive hormones and hormones drive those emotions right into the cells through chemical interactions. There is evidence that having had to experience abuse as a child (both emotional and sexual) plays a role in the way your body is influenced by hormones, especially as it relates to heart disease and cancer. So when evaluating hormonal imbalances, take a look at your life history/conditioning and try to learn to release those painful memories. They were painful, but they are in the past and living such memories from your past in your life today, without a doubt, influences how your body runs. A very good resource for releasing pain can be found in Dr. Dan Benor’s new book called WHEE the 7 Minute Pain Release. It is an inexpensive, non invasive and successful treatment for treating both emotional and physical pain which in turn could affect your hormone levels.