Top 5 Reasons To Optimize Your Hormones!

How hormone replacement therapy can help you modify your risk factors for illness and help you live longer,  healthier and happier.

To help see the big picture, I tend to get a bit morbid and consider how we are gonna end up dying. And then work backward and try to figure out what we can do to reduce our risk for suffering needlessly. We are all dealt a hand of non-modifiable risk factors that we have no control over. But what are considered the modifiable risk factors and what can we do about them? I love this subject because it really puts things in perspective.

1. Hormone optimization improves Cardiovascular health

The number one killer of women is heart disease and strokes are not far behind in 3rd place. Cholesterol levels, vascular inflammatory markers, metabolic syndrome, visceral adipose tissue and hypertension all increase after the final menstrual period. These are all independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and these risk factors increase independent of the effects of aging alone.

Elevated cholesterol plus vascular inflammation leads to atherosclerosis and plaque in vessels which leads to strokes, heart attacks, and blood clots. This is why so many postmenopausal women start needing cholesterol-lowering medications.

Bioidentical hormones actually can reduce the risk of stroke and heart attacks, provided they are started early enough before a woman has had the opportunity to develop arterial plaques. The ELITE study evaluated carotid intima-media thickness in women on estrogen vs placebo and showed that post-menopausal estrogen supplementation reduced plaque thickness provided the hormones were started within 10 years of the last menstrual period.

 

2. Estrogen (and Testosterone) supplementation maintains bone health

Bones require adequate minerals, vitamin D and estrogen to maintain their strength. Often the prelude to being ushered into a nursing home is falling, breaking a hip and landing in the hospital. Accidents are the 6th leading cause of death in women in the US. Over and over studies have shown that estrogen maintains bone health and if osteoporosis has already developed, actually increases bone density.

Bisphosphonates like Fosamax and Boniva, and expensive drugs like Prolia only prevent further bone loss but don’t help rebuild lost bone. In addition, because they prevent healthy bone turnover, patients must take a drug holiday to prevent atypical spontaneous bone breaks.

 

3. Estrogen protects your Brain!

Because the brain needs healthy blood vessels, cardiovascular risk factors also increase the risk of dementia. And as referenced above, cardiovascular risk factors all increase dramatically with the loss of estrogen.

Research has also shown that estrogen may help to protect the brain from Alzheimer’s by blocking some of the harmful effects of the amyloid-β protein. In one large study, the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia was less in estrogen users relative to nonusers. Hormone optimization helps protect you from dementia, the 5th leading cause of death in the US.

 

4. A healthy bladder and vagina will help you live longer! (this is one of my favorites, really)

The epithelial cells of the urinary tract and vagina become dry and painful with the loss of estrogen. This combined with a rise in the naturally acidic pH makes this area more susceptible to infection. Postmenopausal women thus develop more urinary tract infections and incontinence.

Consequently, incontinence and infection from the bladder area a very common reasons elderly people become hospitalized. Making sure your urogenital tract is well estrogenized will not only allow you to have sex that isn’t painful, but it will also protect you from bladder infections, reduce the risk that you will need diapers, and probably keep you out of the hospital!

Where, by the way, most additional infections like pneumonia are contracted. And last but not least…you

WILL LOOK AND FEEL BETTER!

5. Energy and mood will improve.

Low estrogen and testosterone contribute to the fatigue and depression seen in post-menopausal women. Also, an incredibly important result of more energy is that one is able to MOVE and strengthen their muscles which reduces the risk of falls. When you move and exercise, your body fat goes down (and muscle mass goes up!) which reduces your risk of diabetes and can reduce your cholesterol. Muscle strength improves as well which also reduces your risk of falls and accidents.

 

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A few comments from some of our very happy patients:

“I never realized how good I could feel, and how badly I really felt”

“This was a life-changing decision.”

“Now I’m the one chasing my husband around the bedroom!”

“I tell all my friends about Dr Reyes. Just call, you won’t regret it.”

 

~ Interested in hearing your options for feeling better as well as ensuring a healthier future you? ~

Call Dr Michelle Reyes at The Med Spot for a consultation by giving us a call from our contact page

 

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Credits:

https://www.cdc.gov/women/lcod/2015/all-females/index.htm

http://www.womens-health-advice.com/causes-of-death.html www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1505241.

Naftolin, Frederick, Jenna Friedenthal, Richard Nachtigall, and Lila Nachtigall. “Cardiovascular health and the menopausal woman: the role of estrogen and when to begin and end hormone treatment.” F1000Research 8 (2019).(ELITE STUDY)

Gurka MJ, Vishnu A, Santen RJ, DeBoer MD. Progression of Metabolic Syndrome Severity During the Menopausal Transition. J Am Heart Assoc. 2016 Aug 3;5(8):e003609.

Samargandy S, Matthews KA, Brooks MM, Barinas-Mitchell E, Magnani JW, Janssen I, Kazlauskaite R, El Khoudary S.  Abdominal visceral adipose tissue over the menopause transition and carotid atherosclerosis: the SWAN heart study  Menopause  2021 Mar 1;28(6):626-633.

Ozkaya E, Cakir E, Kara F, Okuyan E, Cakir C, Ustün G, Küçüközkan T. Impact of hot flashes and night sweats on carotid intima-media thickness and bone mineral density among postmenopausal women. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2011 Jun;113(3):235-8.

Rossouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL, et al. Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women: principal results From the Women’s Health Initiative randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2002 Jul 17. 288(3):321-33.

Thurston, RebeccaC., J. HowardAizenstein, A. Carol Derby, Ervin Sejdic, and M. Pauline Maki. “Menopausal hot flashes and white matter hyperintensities.” Menopause 23.1 (2016).

Paganini-Hill A, Henderson VW. Estrogen deficiency and risk of Alzheimer’s disease in women. Am J Epidemiol. 1994 Aug 1;140(3):256-61. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a117244. PMID: 8030628.