Getting it all Balanced out: A Natural Approach to Hormone Balance and Testing

By Dr. Laura Riley Jones

Hormones are powerful molecules essential for maintaining physical and mental health.  Steroid  hormones support a wide range of essential physiological functions, including blood lipid balance, bone mineral density, fertility, sexuality, a general sense of well being, as well as certain aspects of brain functioning. We frequently think of estrogen as being a female hormone, and testosterone as being a male hormone. But men AND women make both, plus several more that need to be in balance for optimum health. An imbalance of any one hormone can throw your physical and mental health out of balance, causing aggravating and even serious health problems.

For decades western medicine has prescribed Hormone Replacement Therapy as if everyone needed the same hormones and the same amount of each. Unfortunately, this method does not take into account the fact that one size does not fit all when it comes to hormones. Your hormones are like your fingerprints and in order to achieve optimal health, you need to know what your specific imbalances are.

There are several ways to test for hormones (saliva, serum and urine), however, a continually growing sea of reseach is demonstrating that salivary results most closely correlate with a person’s true levels and symptoms. This is because only the active portions of hormones are measured and it is these portions that determine how individuals feel. Because salivary collection can be done at home, timing of the test can be precisely controlled and levels can be determined at optimum times.  Saliva testing provides a means to establish whether or not your hormone levels are within the expected normal range and it is simple and non-invasive.

Dr. Riley feels salivary hormone testing has great benefits and  treats many patients, both male and female in order to restore hormone balance.  Her preferred methods of treatment include adrenal support, phytoestrogen therapy and bio-identical hormone therapy.  The severity of problems caused by the use of synthetic hormones led to a landmark decision in 2002 by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a long term health study of postmenopaual women. After discovering that instances of breast cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis increased with the use of medroxy progesterone and pregnant mare’s urine conjugated estrogens, research was halted. Bioidentical hormones were brought into the spotlight after women sought a safe alternative for synthetic hormone replacement therapy.

The difference between bioidentical and synthetic hormones starts at the molecular level. 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 more common with these types of hormones because they are foreign to the body.

One common condition often identified as a result of salivary testing is Estrogen Dominance.  The term “Estrogen Dominance” can be confusing at times because it is less related to the amount of circulating estrogen and more related to the ratio of estrogen to progesterone in the body. Contrary to popular belief, Menopause and PMS are not the result of estrogen deficiency although estrogen levels do decline during the latter phases of a woman reproductive cycle.

More relevant is that the estrogen levels drop by approximately 40% at menopause while progesterone levels plummet by approximately 90% from premenopausal levels. It is the relative loss of progesterone that causes the majority of symptoms termed estrogen dominance. The disproportionate loss of progesterone begins in the latter stages of a woman’s reproductive cycle, when the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle begins to malfunction. The malfunction is initiated when the remnant tissue of the follicle (corpus luteum), the primary source of progesterone, begins to lose its functional capacity. By about age 35, many of these follicles fail to develop creating a relative progesterone deficiency. As a result, ovulation does not always occur and progesterone levels steadily decline. It is during this period that a relative progesterone deficiency, or what has become known as Estrogen Dominance, develops.

Typical symptoms of estrogen dominance are:
Mood Swings
Irritability
Depression
Irregular Periods
Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
Hot Flashes
Vaginal Dryness
Water Retention
Weight Gain: Hips, Thighs and Abdo  men
Sleep Disturbance (Insomnia, less REM sleep)
Decreased Libido
Headaches
Fatigue
Short-term Memory Loss
Lack of Concentration
Dry, Thin, Wrinkly Skin
Thinning of Scalp Hair
Increased Facial Hair
Bone Mineral Loss (Osteoporosis)
Diffuse Aches and Pain

For more information on Salivary Hormone Testing and the use of phytoestrogens or Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement therapy, contact Whole Health Concord at (603) 369-4626 for a free 15 minute consultation with Dr. Jones.