[ Zenestar is not Currently Taking New Functional Medicine Patients ]

Imbalances in hormones can create a whole slew of symptoms and problems for men and women at any age. Here are just some of the many symptoms hormone imbalance can cause:

Hormone imbalance can also contribute to the following diseases:

Of course, the benefits of hormone balance are an improvement in all the above. Moving beyond just reversal of symptoms and prevention, hormone optimization (along with exercise, proper nutrition, and the use of targeted nutraceuticals) is an anti-aging therapy and prevents the shortening of our telomeres. This allows you to have a high quality of life until you are 100 (or more). For optimal wellness, imbalances are best corrected when they begin.

Hormones are chemical messengers that affect our whole body in different but complementary ways. Because of this we often have many seemingly unrelated, sometimes obvious and sometimes vague symptoms. Hormone balance is like an orchestra playing in concert. If one “instrument” is out of tune it throws off the whole symphony. In other words, when one hormone is out of balance it can affect the balance of other hormones. There are many other hormones other than sex hormones that all play in concert with one another. Some of the hormones we look at in our practice are sex hormones, thyroid, cortisol, insulin, and other hormones and prohormones like vitamin D, leptin, DHEA and pregnenolone. We also look at neurotransmitters. In addition, we look at many other factors that influence these hormones.

Hormone balancing is not just about measuring hormones, seeing one is low, and replacing it. There is a reason your hormones are not in an optimal range and our first task is to ask why. We use a functional medicine approach to hormones. First taking a comprehensive history, identifying factors that can affect hormone balance like nutrition, stress, sleep, and hereditary factors and then using advanced testing to further evaluate root cause. After consideration of risks and benefits, we will balance your hormones to a youthful level, titrate them to how you feel, and control harmful metabolites when needed.

Often, we can balance your hormones with just nutrition, lifestyle changes, stress reduction, detoxification, and botanical therapy. When we do decide hormone replacement is the right therapy, we are careful to use hormones in a safe, evidence-based manner.  We maintain close Follow up to monitor progress and labs and make sure we are maintaining natural physiologic ranges to reduce the chance of side effects.

When possible, we use bioidentical hormones. Bioidentical hormones are hormones that have the same “shape” as the ones your body makes. Non-bioidenticals might fit into the keyhole on your cells but because they are a different shape, they can have different or additional effects- often harmful. Studies using synthetic hormones such as Provera in conjunction with estrogen from horse urine (Premarin) were shown to increase a woman’s risk for heart disease, stroke, and breast cancer, so much so that the Women’s Health Initiative study had to be stopped short. Studies on bioidentical hormones have had no adverse outcomes while improving quality of life and overall health. Bioidenticals, when compared to synthetic, have shown multiple protective and preventive qualities.

If you are ready to feel young again, or if you are interested in checking your hormone levels, request a consultation with our functional medicine practitioner.

[ Zenestar is not Currently Taking New Functional Medicine Patients ]