Month: May 2019

Anyone who has a menstrual cycle, or knows anyone with one, knows that hormones are powerful things.

Those wanting to harness the full power of hormones to improve health and wellbeing have to ask two key questions: 1. How do I assess my current hormonal landscape and detect imbalances? 2. How do I rebalance the hormones in my system?

If you’ve wondered this (mystified, while in the throws of PMS) — fear no more! We’re bringing you this guide to boosting low progesterone levels for hormonal balance.

Hormones are invisible, but symptoms of imbalance are not

When a cold makes you weak, tired and hungry, you know it’s a cold. Why? The stream of gooey white stuff coming out your nose. You can see your illness and correctly identify its cause. When hormonal imbalances are throwing you off, it can be harder to work out what’s going on.

Well, that’s all about to change.

Diagnost’s home testing kits give you a full map of your internal hormonal and metabolic landscapes. We offer easy self-tests that you can administer yourself at home. Then, we send your tests to the lab and deliver your results to you via our app. Within a few days, you can access comprehensive information on your internal hormonal landscape.

When it comes to women’s health, we have noticed time and time again that low progesterone levels are one of the most under-acknowledged hormone imbalances that contribute to common health conditions. In this article, you’ll learn about what progesterone is, the benefits of boosting it, and how to do so – entirely naturally!

So what’s this progesterone thing anyway?

We’ve all heard about testosterone. It has long barged its way into hormonal discourse, leaving its over-qualified, under-paid female counterpart, progesterone, in the shadows. So what is progesterone?

Progesterone is the female sex hormone. It’s also a steroid, helping stimulate muscle growth in the lining of the uterus. Progesterone maintains this uterine lining for the 14 days post-ovulation, keeping your body ready for the possibility of conception and pregnancy. Once the egg isn’t fertilised, progesterone levels drop. This decrease in progesterone levels leads to all those unbearable symptoms of PMS.

In addition to playing a key role in regulating the monthly cycle, progesterone is also responsible for the best-feeling weeks of our cycle. It makes you feel more attractive and confident when you’re at your most fertile. In other words, progesterone is so powerful, it can make you feel friggin’ fantastic!

via GIPHY

But that’s not all – progesterone balances out the negative effects of estrogen too. While estrogen plays an important part in our monthly cycles, the symptoms of estrogen dominance are less than desirable. So what does estrogen dominance look like?

Common symptoms of low progesterone and estrogen dominance include:

As the graphic above shows, the range of symptoms of progesterone deficiency and estrogen dominance is quite broad. Besides decreasing well-being by triggering headaches, bloating, hot flashes or breast pain and tenderness, it can also disrupt menstruation cycles, causing irregular or shortened periods and increased PMS. Weight gain and decreased sex drive are two additional symptoms that significantly influence the every-day life. Finally, this hormone imbalance can even have a major impact on our mental health, causing mood swings and depression, as well as affect our energy levels, leading to fatigue, difficulty to concentrate and even insomnia.

Luckily we can reduce these symptoms by boosting progesterone, to help your body get back to its natural, healthy balance. Let’s take a deep dive into the best practises for increasing your progesterone levels, naturally!

The dos and don’ts of boosting low progesterone naturally

You can boost your progesterone levels naturally by focusing on adding certain vitamins and minerals into your diet. These will create the optimal conditions for progesterone to flow forth, naturally.

Do:

Magnesium

This is a fun one to work on because magnesium is in some of the best foods: dark chocolate, nuts, avocados. Try this vegan avocado chocolate cake and sprinkle some nuts on top for extra crunch. Almonds, brazil nuts, and cashews are particularly good sources of magnesium at around 82mg per ounce – so focus on these as you make the progesterone cake of your dreams. It’s also found in beans and legumes so why not make a whole vegan dinner party out of your progesterone-boosting project? You’ll make your friends feel amazing too with some of these great recipes.

Happily, magnesium supplements are some of the best you can buy. Magnesium helps relax your muscles and alleviate anxiety. Studies have shown that magnesium helps improve sleep. And why not combine this with an evening bath in Epsom Salts and Magnesium Flakes for a relaxing wind-down into progesta-joy?

Zinc

Zinc is a mineral that makes you feel sparky and amazing. Research carried out by the World Health Organization has shown that nearly 75% of Americans suffer from a zinc deficiency. It’s time to fix that!

Zinc helps your pituitary gland regulate hormones. At the right time of the month, it helps the gland produce FSH hormones which tell your ovaries to produce progesterone. Aside from these hormonal benefits, Zinc also helps boost your immune system and promote overall wellbeing. Foods that are rich in Zinc include meat, shellfish, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate and whole grains.

Vitamin B6 and B12

Vitamins B6 and B12 also play key roles in keeping the hormones in your body at an optimal level. One research study showed that increasing B6 vitamin consumption to 200-800 mg each day can raise progesterone levels and reduce estrogen enough to improve symptoms of PMS. Other research shows the potential to increase fertility by up to 120% and reduce miscarriage rates by around 50%.

B6 has gained infamy as the essential vitamin that you can’t get on a vegan diet. For this reason, supplements abound. Whilst it’s easy to find plant-based B6 supplements, a serving of sweet potatoes or carrots can also provide up to 16% of the recommended daily intake. Alternatively, a serving of salmon or lean meat can provide almost 100% of all the B12 you need. That means whether you’re vegan, vegetarian or pescatarian, there are endless ways to get that all-important B6 in your system!

Don’t:

Stress

This won’t be the first time you’ve heard that when it comes to living healthily, stress won’t help. But it’s worth saying again. When things in your life trigger your adrenal glands to produce cortisol and adrenaline, just say no! Stress hormones actually use up progesterone that your body needs, so trying to keep calm in stressful situations will bring you positive returns – and your progesterone reserves will thank you.

Drink too much alcohol

Alcohol, in addition to everything else, changes the way your body produces estrogen and can raise your levels of estrogen and lower your progesterone levels. A study published in the 2000 edition of Alcohol and Alcoholism found that women who drank moderately had much lower levels of progesterone than non-drinkers. Too much alcohol can also keep you from absorbing that sparky Zinc we spoke about above. Instead of winding down with a glass of wine at the end of the day, why not try a Magnesium Bath with lavender essential oils or a Yin Yoga class.

Consume processed foods

Sadly, these days, processed foods are hard to avoid. Despite that, it’s important to know that many of them are packed with harmful byproducts such as xenoestrogens which contribute to estrogen dominance.

Most mass-farmed meat is pumped with synthetic hormones that are harmful to consume. Check that any meat you buy is labelled as “hormone-free.” Soy milk and tofu are other ones to avoid in excess. The ways in which soy has been genetically modified and processed on its way to becoming milk often lead to products becoming overloaded with estrogen. This means processed foods can disrupt your body’s natural hormonal balance and lower levels of progesterone in your body – so take care when the fast food cravings hit.

Conclusion

We should all be focusing more on fighting progesterone deficiency. Indeed, progesterone might be the missing link in your health questions. It’s hard to tell when hormones are behind our symptoms but, with Diagnost’s home testing kits, you can finally get to know your hormonal landscape and start to take steps to regulate it by encouraging the production of progesterone if your levels are too low.

Our old friend progesterone only wants the best for us, and many of the most impactful things we can do to encourage higher levels of this fabulous hormone simply involve good self-care:  not stressing and making sure we’re getting key vitamins and minerals from healthy foods. Health radiates from the inside, out – so good luck!

Anti-ageing medicine emerged in the United States in the 1990s. Its objective was to change the approach to ageing. In 1992, Dr. Robert Goldman and Dr. Ronald Klatz together with a group of doctors founded the American Academy of Anti-Ageing Medicine, which revolutionized gerontology. Until then, ageing was considered to be an inevitable process that nothing could be done about. Geriatrics (the science of treating the elderly) was applied by the doctors to simply ease the symptoms of diseases that come with age.

Anti-ageing medicine changes our perceptions of ageing as unavoidable to that of a disease that can be treated with new medical methods. The first change is in the attitude, a transition from a passive position to an active one. It has been proven that changing a few habits combined with the use of medication can alter the pattern of ageing. It was found that healthy ageing is not the result of winning the genetic lottery, but rather the outcome of a new, preventive and interventionist approach.

According to Dr Thierry Hertoghe, President of the World Society of Anti-Ageing Medicine (WOSAAM) and acclaimed preventive medicine specialist:

“Anti-ageing medicine dispels the myth that you simply wait for the arrival of diseases and ageing and accept them, showing that you can actually intervene before this happens by developing habits that will prolong your life.”

Slowing down the ageing process means getting older in good health, enjoying both youthfulness and the wisdom of your years. Durability should not be a burden. Fun and youthful energy can be saved and maintained with the help of medicine.

The key is to prevent the disease or even the tendency for the disease. The focus is on diagnosing functional and metabolic changes in the body before they manifest themselves as diseases, and stopping them from doing so. Today we know how to identify the predisposing factors of chronic diseases. They can be altered so the development of pathologies can be avoided or postponed.

Anti-ageing medicine examines multiple factors of the ageing process and takes the necessary actions to affect their influence. There are five pillars or areas of anti-ageing we need to watch in order to age gracefully.

The Five Pillars of Anti-Ageing Medicine

1. Diet and nutrition

Scientists have discovered that what we eat has a direct influence on how long we live. A diet rich in calories, animal protein and saturated fat not only causes cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, but also accelerates the ageing process of the body as a whole. The process of digestion overwhelms and wears out the body. Metabolism increases oxidative stress and causes cellular ageing. On the other hand, a low-calorie diet, composed of small portions of balanced and healthy food, is associated with longevity. The key here is in a sufficient consumption of low-calorie, high fiber foods including a variety of fruits and vegetables.

2. Stress management

Chronic stress has a negative impact on our fast-paced lifestyles and can affect how quickly ageing results in disease. Stress chemistry is similar to ageing chemistry in that is raises cortisol and catecholamines and reduces anabolic hormone levels. Incorporating regular rest into your weekly routine will help you deal with stress. The pursuit of harmony, pausing and enjoying the simple pleasures of life, will act as an invigorating elixir that affects your quality of life and its prolongation.

3. Physical activity

Physical inertness and daily hypofunction are the causes of many diseases associated with ageing. Many studies have proven the common health benefits of regular physical activity. Exercise prevents a number of diseases, such as cancer. Aerobics and power exercises allow men and women to increase muscle strength, endurance, balance and bone density at any age. To achieve these results, bring at least one type of physical activity into your life on a daily basis. It can be just a walk, dancing or martial arts.

4. Vitamins and minerals

Today it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide our body with the right balance of minerals, vitamins and nutrients. Even in a balanced diet, nutrients may not be available due to the modern methods of crop harvesting or manufacturing of animal products. In pursuit of healthy ageing, it is necessary to enrich our diet with nutritional supplements. The daily intake of supplements is important not only to provide the nutrient building elements necessary for the organs, but also to protect against free-radical attacks caused by bad eating habits, unhealthy lifestyles and a polluted environment.

5. Hormone replacement therapy

Previously it was believed that diseases such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and atherosclerosis are associated with age, but recently it was found that they are caused mainly by hormonal deficiencies. After age 35 the process of reducing hormone production begins, and the production of sex hormones and anabolic hormones gradually decreases. As catabolism continues, the absence of anabolic hormones creates conditions under which further recovery and regeneration of the body cannot take place. Replenishing hormonal deficiencies will give the body the ability to maintain its regenerative power.

Conclusion

A balanced approach to stress management, a complete and healthy diet, and the addition of minerals, vitamins and hormones replenished to the optimum level will lead to an effective process of rejuvenation and regeneration and prevent many diseases.

Anti-ageing medicine is aimed at improving and maintaining good health as a means of extending our lifespan and improving our quality of life. Its principles can be integrated into any medical field and benefit as many people as possible. As we get older, we can also become healthier.