What are hormones?

The medical dictionary describes hormones as a chemical substance produced in the body which has a specific effect on the activity of a certain organ or organs. In other words, hormones can effect change in organs.

There are three major hormones that are produced by the ovaries. They are estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Each of these hormones feeds back to the brain in a feedback loop and can affect the emotions as well as the organs.

Testosterone is considered a male hormone but is still present in smaller amounts in women. It helps maintain sexual desire. It also helps reduce fat and builds and maintains muscle mass. Symptoms of low or deficient testosterone are: Weight gain, an increase in belly fat, muscle loss, fatigue, depression, loss of sexual desire, loss of shine in the hair, dryness of the skin and hair, lack of mental clarity and urinary incontinence.

Progesterone is mostly associated with PMS symptoms. It's mostly responsible for muscle relaxation and emotional control.

Estrogen deficiency comes with menopause. The symptoms include: weight gain, belly fat, hot flashes or flushes, dry skin, depression, dryness of the vagina and skin, insomnia, fatigue, irritability, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

Please note that I have not yet covered the symtoms for the excess of these hormones. The symptoms for excess and deficiency are so similar that diagnosis can be tricky - please see your health care practitioner for an accurate diagnosis. This is NOT the time to self-diagnose or self-prescribe based on a list of symtoms. We have several ways of determining which supplements are appropriate for you to take. Most often a lab test is needed. Balancing these three hormones is a great place to start on the path to feeling better.

Do I NEED Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Should I Take Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Most doctors will tell you yes. The school of thought is by taking a synthetic hormone you protect your body against heart disease and osteoporosis. It will also make their job easier because the belief is HRT will manage the symptoms associated with menopause.

But do you really NEED to take HRT? How did our fore mothers get through menopause before HRT? After all HRT has only been around for about 50 years. They did it why can't we?

I believe you can do it. You may change your ideas about health and learn some new things about how your body works, but you can do it. Don't be afraid because you do have choices. Do remember that as you go through this journey you are in motion and so are your hormones so symptoms may change month to month and even week to week. Still, these can be managed with knowledge and patience.

What should you do before going on HRT?

• If you are someone who wants a more natural approach to balancing your hormones, there are many options available. The key is working with a practitioner or ND (naturpathic doctor) to find what makes sense for you. This is not the time to get a recommendation from the supplement advisor at Whole Foods. There are just too many elements that need to be factored in before going on supplements or HRT. Your practitioner may even recommend hormonal testing (not the kind your MD does) to get a baseline mark for you.
• Ask your doctor the reasons why she wants you on HRT. Make sure it makes sense to you and that your doctor has a full picture of your family history and risk factors. There may be an interim step such as compounded HRT, which is generally prescribed by an ND.

In the weeks to come I will be covering more on HRT and the female body in relation to the hormones involved in the "change" known as menopause. I will be addressing many of the more common symptoms women experience as they progress through peri-menopause and menopause and how to handle them with grace.

Do I NEED Hormone Replacement Therapy?

This is a question most women ask at least once while going through menopause.

Most doctors will tell you yes. The school of thought is by taking a synthetic hormone you protect your body against heart disease and osteoporosis. It will also make their job easier because the belief is HRT will manage the symptoms associated with menopause.

But do you really NEED to take HRT? How did our foremothers get through menopause before HRT? After all HRT has only been around for about 50 years. They did it why can't we?

I believe you can do it. You may change your ideas about health and learn some new things about how your body works, but you can do it. Don't be afraid because you do have choices. Do remember that as you go through this journey you are in motion and so are your hormones so symptoms may change month to month and even week to week. Still, these can be managed with knowledge and patience.

In the weeks to come I will be covering the female body in relation to the hormones involved in the "change" known as menopause. I will be addressing many of the more common symptoms women experience as they progress through peri-menopause and menopause and how to handle them with grace.

Peri-Menopause: A Weighty Issue

I was thrown into early menopause according to my family history and during this time gained a substantial amount of weight. Early on I didn't really understand how or why this happened since I really didn't change my diet or exercise program. In addition, I gained a lot of weight pretty quickly. I was always slightly heavy but never obese. Now, according to Western medical standards, I'm obese. Does this sound at all like what you've experienced?

As time went by and I got farther along in peri-menopause I was able to drop 40-45 pounds but I still maintain in excess of 50 stubborn pounds. The good news is based on research and case studies it has been determined that this excess weight will drop once I have stopped all menstrual activity.

I've been very frustrated with the stance that many physicians have taken with this issue. Western medicine does not fully understand why women gain weight during this turbulent time of in a woman's life. The most they will say is that we don't need as many calories and our lives become more sedentary as we age. I see this as too simplified and it doesn't explain many of my experiences or frustrations.

One explanation for the weight gain and specifically the addition of FAT is the body's protective nature. In its constant endeavor to endure, the body begins to "sense" a change coming. During this time the ovaries, the body's major source of estrogen, begin to fail or slow down the production of estrogen and other female hormones. In response the body begins to protect this estrogen by stock-piling it into the FAT cells for use later. The extra fat tissue thus becomes an extra endocrine gland, one of the many sources of estrogen metabolism and an important one at that.

Think of it this way: You have a lot of money and want to spread the wealth to a few different checking accounts and a savings account. As one of the checking accounts gets low your automatic transfer kicks in from your savings account to help replenish and maintain financial "health" in your checking account. Your body does something similar; by beefing up its fat stores it is insuring your body will always be prepared which could explain why just increasing exercise and decreasing calories doesn't seem to work very well.

For women who experience this storage syndrome the question is how do you spend what's in your checking account (your current fat stores) without having your savings account (your new little extra endocrine gland) continually transfer over fat? The answer is complex because every woman's physiology is different and it may sometimes be a case of trial and error until the right solution is found. We must also keep in mind that our hormones fluctuate much more often as we progress through peri-menopause, which means a solution that worked last month may not work this month.

Chris Kahl, R.N. is a co-founder of NewLogic Solutions Alternative Health & Wellness, www.newlogicsolutions.com. NewLogic Solutions is a blend of cutting edge approaches to wellness and the ancient healing solutions practiced for thousands of years. Chris has over 25 years of training and education as a registered nurse. Additionally, Chris is has been trained in TCM, she is a gifted CranioSacral Therapist, a practitioner of Acutonics Sound Healing, highly knowledgeable in Western and Eastern herbal medicine and homeopathy. Chris is also a Huna Practitioner and Alakai`i (teacher).

3 Keys to Dealing with Peri-Menopause

There is so much mis-information out there about what happens to a woman's body as she enters the new phase in her life known as peri-menopause (PM) and eventually menopause (MP). I remember when I turned 40 I received a book called Menopaws as a gag gift. I was so hurt and insulted that I never even opened up the book. Now, 12 years later and having gone without my period for 8 months most physicians will tell you I'm officially in menopause.

I wish I still had that book because I could use a few laughs about what has transpired over the past 12 years as I made the transition into menopause.

Luckily for me my partner, Chris Kahl, is an R.N. and an expert in women's health. She has been an R.N. for over 25 years. In addition, she is well trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), herbology and various other natural approaches and let me tell you that all these perspectives are important. It is having a well-trained and well educated healthcare practitioner that will make getting through this long and sometimes challenging life change easier.

Here are my three keys for dealing with peri-menopause:

Key #1: It's your body. If you are in touch with what's "normal" for you then you'll know when it's time to consult a healthcare professional if you are experiencing something out of your range of normal. Listen to your body. Notice what's different and DO stay calm. One thing is for sure, when going through peri-menopause, many bodily issues that seemed normal in the past may suddenly become “abnormal.” Stay calm.

Key #2: Educate yourself just enough to understand that you are not going crazy. There is an old saying “you have just enough knowledge to make yourself dangerous.” Learning about your body is important. Going to the Internet to self-diagnose and self-treat is dangerous. I’m pretty knowledgeable about my body, but I’m not objective and I’m not an expert in vitamins, over the counter supplements and herbs. That advice needs to come from an expert who can evaluate your individual physiology and needs.

Key #3: Find a superb practitioner who listens to you, encourages you to listen to your body, understands traditional allopathic medicine and can give you natural options to good health. There is a time and place for the benefits of traditional allopathic medicine and yet this option can be very limiting (often confined to synthetic hormone replacement therapy) or nothing at all. Explore other healthcare practitioners. Acupuncturists are considered primary care physicians and can often treat peri-menopausal issues successfully, however most of them are not trained to understand traditional allopathic medicine so you may have to find an open minded allopathic physician to work with you if you choose this path.

• Ask for referrals to a healthcare provider from friends, neighbors or co-workers who have experienced what you are going through.
• Do NOT think that what works for your friend is what you should go out and buy from the local health food store. Everyone’s physiology is different and you should be treated as an individual.
• Self-treating can often be a waste of money and time and in some cases lead to dire results.
• Invest in your health and you’ll reap the rewards

Julie Hawkins is a co-founder of NewLogic Solutions Alternative Health & Wellness, www.newlogicsolutions.com. She is a Certified NLP Trainer and Coach; Creator of Energy Grid™ Healing, a rapid, multidimentional painless approach to clearing disempowering emotions and beliefs; Huna Alakai`i, teacher of ancient Hawaiian spiritual practices for the modern mystic. Julie is known as The Breakthrough Mentor.