Hormone imbalances are common in both men and women after periods of stress (both emotional and physical), and are a normal aspect of aging. Poor nutrition, stress, lack of regular exercise and draining emotional situations can contribute to disruption in the hormonal system, resulting in imbalance and dysfunction. Replacing hormones to bring them back into balance can make remarkable differences in your health, vitality and energy levels.
Bioidentical hormones have the same chemical structure as hormones made by the human body, and can replicate the actions of those made naturally. Side effects and risk factors are minimized when your body recognizes its own molecular structure, fills its receptor cites efficiently, and can utilize, break
down, and detoxify hormones effectively.
Bioidentical hormones can be tailored to match each individual's needs by a compounding pharmacist. Synthetic hormones, on the other hand, have an altered molecular structure that the body does not recognize completely, thus their actions are not straightforward and they are not detoxified from the body as easily. Side effects are common with these types of hormones because they are foreign to the body. Synthetic hormones are prescribed as a "one size fits all", and cannot be specifically made for an individual.
The individualized approach of bioidentical hormone treatment requires a saliva hormone test. This will measure only active hormone levels unlike serum tests, which reflect inactive levels. Measuring inactive hormone levels is not useful in assessing function or balance. When testing the sex hormones through saliva, it is also important to assess adrenal status (DHEA and cortisol levels). Even if the chief complaints seem to be an imbalance of the sex hormones, the adrenal and sex hormone pathways are so closely linked that an imbalance in one area will affect the function and efficiency of the other.
The state of the art delivery system for bioidentical hormones is transdermal (through the skin). By applying hormone to the skin rather than ingesting it, therapeutic levels can be reached with far less hormone. A good starting place for assessing hormonal status is to measure estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA, and morning cortisol by a saliva test.
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