Have you ever wondered what causes the changes you experience as you age? Suddenly you are restless at night, or you can’t sit still long enough to watch your favorite TV show. And then there are the hot flashes, your own simulation device that seems to be designed to show you what it must be like to be a turkey roasting in an oven. Monica Gavin, M.D., a diplomat of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, is an advocate for taking control of the aging process. A point that Dr. Gavin repeatedly stresses to her patients at the Azani Medical Spa in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is that you don’t have to just take aging as it comes. Plenty of treatments are available that can equip you with the tools you need to fight the aging process.
For both men and women, Dr. Gavin suggests bio identical hormone replacement therapy to alleviate poor libidos, calm restlessness and eliminate the symptoms of menopause. The goal, she explains, is to remain as vital and healthy as we possibly can by replacing vanishing hormones so that the levels in our body return to normal, youthful levels.
What’s happening to your body? Biologically, humans are not programmed to live after the birth giving age, explains Dr. Gavin. But, with all of the advances in medicine and everything we know about the effects of proper nutrition, many people live to see their hundredth birthday. Still, natural occurrences in our bodies, like decreased levels of hormone production, still takes place. That doesn’t mean however, that after 50, you have to succumb to the pitfalls of getting older.
How is bio identical hormone replacement therapy different that traditional hormone replacement therapy? The traditional hormones used in replacement therapy are synthetic, and are intentionally designed to be different from the natural hormones in our body’s. This is done, Dr. Gavin believes, so that drug companies can patent the hormones. They typically come in the form of creams or pills, marketed to help control symptoms of menopause. But, hormone replacement is not limited to estrogen and progesterone for menopausal women. Now it encompasses replacing all of the vanishing hormones in both men and women: testosterone, DHEA, pregnenolone, cortisol, thyroid, etc.
Where does the hormone come from? Bio identical hormones are developed in a lab to produce an exact match for the hormone being replaced.
It may sound a bit odd, but in an example on how the hormones are created to be identical, Dr. Gavin explains that the estrogen is taken from yams. Surprisingly the yam molecule is similar to ones in humans. Once the hormones are extracted, they are sent to a lab where they are altered to match the lost human estrogen.
Why do men need to replace hormones? Dr. Gavin says that men are suffering from the loss of hormones, just like women, but they do it quietly. Men feel ignored, and when they have a doctor on their side, they feel like their concerns are being taken seriously. “Getting old,” is no longer the standard diagnosis.
What research has been done? Most studies that have been done on bio identical hormone replacement therapy have taken place in Europe. Dr. Gavin argues that this does not mean that the treatments are not safe, just that they have been poorly studied in the United States.
Dr. Gavin says that to date, she knows of only one study done in the United States on women’s health initiatives. The study, conducted in the 1960s, followed 1,000 women who were given synthetic estrogen through the mouth. The study had to be terminated, however, when it was found that the women had an increased risk of cancer and heart disease.
The biggest problems with this study, explains Dr. Gavin, were that first, the hormones were synthetic (not identical), leading to complications. Secondly, the hormones in bio identical therapy are absorbed—never ingested the way they were in this study.
In Europe however, the studies done produced more positive results. One in particular followed 10,000 women over a 10-year period, and found no increased risks of heart disease or cancer. In fact, the women who participated decreased their risk of breast cancer.
The studies also confirm the upside of treatment, notes Dr. Gavin, a noticeable improvement in the quality of life.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
