Do you remember the teleseminar I did with hormone expert Dr. Wendy Ellis (from Dr. Jonathan V. Wright’s clinic in Washington) on Hormone Balance For Chronic Illness?
Well, I’ve brought her back for another really timely topic faced by many:
How do you keep your hormones balanced after age 35?
Many men and women face classic symptoms of hormonal imbalance after age 35-40 like:
– thinning hair, dry skin
– fatigue, brain fog, memory issues
– weight gain or weight loss, difficulty building muscle
– gluten-intolerance
– estrogen dominance (uterine fibroids or breast cysts)
– cold hands and feet, etc. etc.
If you struggle with, or have been thinking about these issues, then prepare to have the light switched on and at long last some clarity on what to do.
Oh yes, and another big question Dr. Ellis answers: How do you get rid of that stubborn belly fat after age 40?
Click the links below to download either the Audio MP3 recording of the teleseminar, or the pdf transcript:
AUDIO
http://jptwellnesscircle.s3.amazonaws.com/teleseminars/hormones-after-age35.mp3
TRANSCRIPT
http://jptwellnesscircle.s3.amazonaws.com/teleseminars/hormones-after-age35.pdf
Enjoy!
That is a lot of information – and quite a bit to take in, so I may be back with some thoughts. Just a point on cortisol, belly fat and exercise. There were some who had called in complaining that they worked out (quite a bit), ate well, were fit all over – except for the bell fat. I am a fairly lean and fit – but I noted that I tended to carry more of a roll around my mid-section paradoxically when I was exercising the most (mostly running). This continuous high-intensity exercise actually was inducing the release of more adrenal hormones – particuarly cortisol. This caused a shift in the distribution of weight (it is easier for the body to get energy from the fat stored around the belly then other areas if it gets trained to require high energy demands) and also increased cravings for carbohydrates for energy. This is the same physiological effect of stress – again leading to cortisol release and belly fat storage. Thus, taking it easier on the high intensity work outs, doing more resistance training and consuming more mono-unsaturated fats (especially from nuts and seeds) – and sleeping (the hardest bit) can help.
On sex steroids-thyroid axis – it is well known that estrogen increases the demand on the thyroid by increasing the levels of thyroid binding globulin (TBG) – which reduces the free T4 available. Women with normal thyroid function can compensate – but those women with subclinical hypothyroidism will be unmasked on estrogen treatment as they will develop overt hypothyroidism.
Thanks for continual output of info!
LTD – awesome info on the belly fat! That makes a lot of sense. Have you read Tim Ferriss’ “The 4 Hour Body”? He says the same thing (but for other reasons) and advises NOT to work out more than twice per week for maximum results.
No, I haven’t read Ferriss’ book – do you recommend the read? I have a bit of background on endocrinology and metabolism (on the research end of the spectrum), and I was theoretically aware of this phenomenon. Having measured the salivary cortisol levels of athletes before and after workouts- I knew that cortisol is increased, but the physiological significance of this didn’t actually click until I experienced this myself. You will have a hard time convincing someone who likes working out hard that they are actually setting themselves back from this extra effort – the no pain, no gain philosophy is pretty ingrained. It wasn’t until I experienced an injury that prevented my regular running routine that I came to believe what I knew as I experienced the change first hand in about 6 weeks. I had always figured I was an ectomorph – and that is just the way my body was built – but it is certainly amendable to some tweaking given the proper stimulus.
Yes, I recommend the book – a worthwhile read and with your brain, you’ll like it!
Someone else emailed me this link as an alternate take on progesterone supplementation:
http://www.gaiaresearch.co.za/progesteronecancer.html
what do you think?
I’ll put the 4 hour body on my “to read list” – though it sounds like it will take more than that to get through.
The amount of effort that man put into his progesterone hypothesis is either commendable or borderline OCD (not that the two are mutually exclusive). Unfortunately, what turned me off was the number of inaccuracies and fallacies – and some complete contradictions. It is hard to justify the claim that the molecule named specifically for its role in maintaining gestation could be a cause of birth defects – this would be quite a revolutionary conundrum. We know that the levels of progesterone during pregnancy can rise almost 500 fold in women – and this prevents miscarriages. There are some things that are true – progesterone does have an anti-inflammatory effect (which you need so you don’t reject the fetus) – but it isn’t global immune paralysis – it is specifically tailored to heighten innate immune functions and ensure that adaptive immunity doesn’t reject the fetus. This doesn’t make women more vulnerable to cancer – in fact – women have fewer infections and cancer in comparison to men. I do agree that hormones have a powerful effect and should be standardized – and there are side effects – but everything, even B vitamins have such effects if used incorrectly. There have been no randomized controlled trials actually testing if bio-identical progesterone alone increases the risk of cancer – so it is a hard claim to make. However, the statement in the article suggesting the use of the word “natural” was to fool women into thinking they are taking something safe is incorrect. Up until very recently, only progestins (synthetic hormones that are not even related to progesterone) were used medically. These were formulated by testing compounds that could bind and exert an influence on progesterone receptors. “Natural” or bioidentical – so called because it is actually like endogenous progesterone – has come onto the market fairly recently in North America. It has been used in places like France for some time – so we do have data from them that show that it is actually safer than progestins – as far as breast cancer risk goes – and may even be preventative as some studies have shown that it induces breast tissue differentation (as opposed to proliferation – which estrogen is known to do).
Progesterone production is very vulnerable to stressors – which makes sense because it regulates if a woman is in a state to carry a child. Due to the overwhelming number of stressors women suffer these days – luteal phase defects and ovulatory disturbances are very common. This stress also – unhelpfully – potentiates the effects of estrogen – this is where the migraines, endometrial disorders and inflammatory conditions can get worse. Given the number of women who have been helped with progesterone (especially for perimenopause), I think it is not only a stretch, but a little delusional to call estrogen dominance a myth.
LOVE it LTD! this is exactly what I thought:
“The amount of effort that man put into his progesterone hypothesis is either commendable or borderline OCD (not that the two are mutually exclusive). Unfortunately, what turned me off was the number of inaccuracies and fallacies – and some complete contradictions.”
but you expressed it so eloquently PLUS gave us all the info to back it up. Perfect. Thank you so much!
Yes. Thanks. That article scared me a little as I use the Now brand “natural” cream.
Appreciate it!
Also, very interesting on the belly fat info. I had a severe case of adrenal exhaustion. It took me two years to recover.
I was in the dance and fitness business for many years and was a twig then. I worked out hard day in and day out. No matter how much I work out now, I still have the belly fat. Extremely good diet. I chocked it up to getting on in years, but this makes a lot more sense.
I am going to cut back on the power walks and just do my resistance Pilates and see what happens.
Thanks again. Great info!
My physician recommended flax seed for lowering estrogen. My really breasts hurt less or don’t hurt at all before periods and down there it also hurts less. So the answer is yes – hormone imbalance is a culprit that causes a lot of trouble but it can be managed. And thank you very much for the typescript – it really fixed my hormone ignorance a bit!
Another cause of belly fat can be an enlarged fatty liver, called a “liver roll”. It is extremely prevalent in modern times and can lead to diabetes or even liver cancer if left untreated. Most have the non-alcoholic variety but there is a alcoholic variety too. North American Allopathic medicine doesn’t seem offer much in the way of treatments but I’ve found treatments – Dr. Cabot’s Liver Cleanse book and the Ezra Protocol have been instrumental in treating mine. I have cleaned up my personal care products: laundry detergents, makeup, soaps, shampoo, etc.