Testosterone Progesterone

Magical Elixir: Cocoa

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:32:08 +0100

Excerpted article ...
The Kuna Indians of Panama with Magical Elixir: Cocoa
Posted by Julio C. Chavez

RYE, England, March 13 (UPI) -- When they are not talking about the sonic rise in house prices, the English mutter about the collapse of the National Health Service.

The Kuna Indians of Panama have excited the attention of Harvard Medical School for an ancient cure surely none of us will turn up our noses at: cocoa.
Professor of Medicine Norman Hollenberg reports in the current International Journal of Medical Sciences of cocoa therapy -- one we would happily be prescribed, and one we already practice -- just not in the right quantities or with the right quality of compound.

For centuries, the isolated tribal people living on the San Blas Islands north of Panama have apparently benefited from a diet that includes up to 40 cups a week of the soothing dark drink. If we indulged in drinking that much of the cocoa found in supermarkets, we would quickly succumb to extra weight gain, pimples and zits and the possibility of heart attacks. What we think of as cocoa in the modern world is generally a processed powder pumped with sugar and stripped of goodness.

But the Kuna Indians are drinking the unadulterated, unstripped cocoa, its bitterness tempered by sugar. The secret compound is epicatechin. This is what Hollenberg believes is the element responsible for the exceptionally low incidences of heart disease, stroke, cancer or diabetes among the Kunas.

Epicatechin is a flavonoid that has been recently celebrated for its antioxidant properties. Food developers have latched onto it to launch a whole new line in drinks, promoting the way that flavonoids that are found in green tea and red wine can improve blood flow.

Well, you can bet that's about to change. Expect to find chocolate drinks jostling their way onto the shelves as the new health beverages. The epicatechin flavonoid is apparently found at much more concentrated levels in cocoa than in those drinks and other foods that boast of antioxidants. Professor Hollenberg thinks epicatechin is so important it should be reclassified as a vitamin.

You can't just reach for the sugary brown stuff you've got stored in the back of your pantry, however. You have to invest in pure cocoa powder. The trouble is, flavonoids are bitter. It's OK when you're drinking red wine and green tea, but not great in cocoa. So food-industry producers strip it off the cocoa bean, removing the protective property from mass-produced cocoa.

Professor Hollenberg has been studying the Kuna for 16 years. And he's found when they move from the San Blas Islands north of Panama, settle in the cities and drink the same cocoa drinks we drink, their levels of good health are no longer sustained.
He said that when he measured their cocoa consumption, he found the Kuna people had "probably the most flavonoid-rich diet of any population."

A senior researcher at Britain's Institute of Food Research, Dr. Paul Kroon, backs him up. "The science does look robust," he told the Sunday Times. "It is indicative that epicatechin is the active compound."

Until we can reach for a canned or bottled cocoa-for-health drink, here is a recipe for individual servings of the best cocoa in the universe. Don't even think of having 40 of these a week unless you want to become extinct. One on your birthday or at Easter will do nicely. But it makes a terrific dessert when you have unexpected guests.

-- Break 1½ ounces of the best dark chocolate, at least 70 percent cocoa solids, into small pieces and put into a blender.
-- Fill a mug with boiling water and set aside.
-- Bring a cup of whole milk to the boil. Add half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, then pour the milk into the blender.
-- Whiz it up until the chocolate has melted completely, pour the boiling water out of the mug and fill the mug with the frothy dark chocolate soup.

Another Promising Treatment for PCOS

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:07:07 +0100

Alternative Promising Treatment for PCOS

An important educational objective in many of our newsletters and articles regarding women's hormones is understanding the relationship between blood sugar, insulin and androgen hormones. Upper range or elevated testosterone and/or DHEA levels are very common findings with saliva testing and treatment involves balancing blood sugar and treating insulin resistance to blunt the insulin stimulation of androgen hormones. Just recently we sent out a newsletter article with some treatment ideas including several botanical options as well as some key nutritional needs. One of the most common conventional treatments for insulin resistance and PCOS is the medication metformin which decreases intestinal glucose absorption as well as glucose production in the liver and increases insulin sensitivity at the receptor level. While reasonably effective, metformin has many common side effects including diarrhea, nausea, abdominal discomfort and general GI upset and has been known to induce a vitamin B12 deficiency.

A recent study published in August of this year compared the efficacy of metformin to N-actetyl-cysteine (NAC) in 100 women who had been diagnosed with PCOS and found that the two treatments had comparable effects on hyperandrogenism and hyperinsulinemia. Yep, that's right. The amino acid NAC was shown to be just as effective at controlling blood sugar and insulin levels as metformin. N-actetyl-cysteine is a derivative of the amino acid L-cysteine and is a precursor to the antioxidant glutathione. It is commonly used for detoxification support and for protecting against or treating exposure to environmental pollutants. Although the study comparing NAC and metformin didn't elucidate the mechanism of NAC's benefit with insulin resistance, it may be due to NAC's ability to reduce oxidative stress on the insulin receptor caused by elevated glucose, an action that has been shown in other studies.

NAC is a widely available and relatively safe amino acid therapy with many uses and may be a viable option for treating your patients with insulin resistance and/or PCOS, especially if they are experiencing GI side effects from metformin. The dosage used in this study was 600 mg of NAC three times daily, which is consistent with the dosing regimen for other conditions.

www.labrix.com
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References:

Haber CA, Lam TK, Zhiwen Y, et al. N-acetylcysteine and taurine prevent hyperglycemia-induced insulin resistance in vivo: possible role of oxidative stress. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Oct; 285(4)

Oner G, Muderris II. Clinical, endocrine and metabolic effects of metformin vs. N-acetyl-cysteine in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. EuroJ Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2011 Aug 8.

Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database

Hyperandrogenism & Metabolic Syndrome in Women

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 21:23:20 +0100

What it is: Hy perandrogenism ?

According to the Metabolic Syndrome Institute, metabolic syndrome affects up to 25% of the world population including more than 40% of the United States population and 30% of Europeans. Incidence increases with age and many lifestyle factors, including sedentary lifestyle and poor dietary habits.

Healthcare costs for individuals with metabolic syndrome are at least 37% higher than for those without, and this figure increases based on the combination of risk factors an affected individual has. In addition to costing more financially, metabolic syndrome can also be costly to an individual's future health if not recognized, addressed and reversed early on.

An individual with metabolic syndrome is twice as likely to develop diabetes and 5 times as likely to develop cardiovascular disease (heart disease, hypertension, heart attack and stroke) than an individual without metabolic syndrome. A diagnosis of metabolic syndrome is given when a patient displays 3 or more of the following signs and symptoms:

Elevated Fasting Glucose (100 -125 mg/dl)

2 hr glucose (on GTT) between 140 and 199

Elevated fasting insulin (>20 mcl)

2 hr insulin (on IGTT) >27

Fasting Triglycerides:

150 mg/dl or higher
or taking medicine for elevated triglycerides

Fasting HDL:

less than 50 mg/dl in women
less than 40 mg/dl in men
or taking medication for low HDL levels
Increased Blood Pressure:
Systolic: 130 or greater
Diastolic: 85 or greater
or taking medication for elevated blood pressure

Waist measurement:

35" or greater for women
40" or greater for men

The recognition of metabolic syndrome lowers your morbidity by specifically decreasing your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Utilizing lab screening for fasting glucose, insulin and cholesterol levels will help identify affected individuals.

In addition, salivary hormone testing may help you identify at risk for developing insulin resistance early on in its progression because of the relationship between insulin and androgen hormones.

Hyperandrogenism (increased testosterone and/or DHEA levels) in women is indicative of developing insulin resistance.

Androgen production sites include the ovaries, the adrenal glands and the peripheral tissues. The major androgen produced in the ovaries is testosterone although the ovaries also produce androstenedione and DHEA.

The adrenal glands produce DHEA-S in largest amounts, but also produce androstenedione and DHEA. In the periphery, there is conversion of androstenedione to testosterone and DHEA, as well as conversion of DHEA to testosterone. Because the adrenal glands and ovaries produce approximately equal amounts of androstenedione and DHEA, 2/3 of the total daily testosterone production in women comes from the ovaries.

Origin of Testosterone in Women

Origin   Amount (mg/day)
Ovarian secretion   0.1
Peripheral Conversion
Androstenedione to testosterone   0.2
Dehydroepiandrosterone to testosterone   0.05
Total testosterone production   0.35

The ovaries are sensitive to insulin and insulin-like growth factor - 1 (IGF-1). Individuals with insulin resistance have increased levels of insulin and may or may not have increased fasting blood glucose, depending on where they are in the progression of the condition.

Increased levels of insulin and IGF-1 potentiate the stimulatory effects of luteinizing hormone (LH) on the ovarian theca cells, increasing the production of ovarian androstenedione and testosterone resulting in increased levels of DHEA and/or testosterone as seen on the salivary hormone panels of affected female patients. Utilizing salivary hormone testing to identify women with hyperandrogenism will help you identify current or future risk for developing insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.

www.labrix.com
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References:

Boudreau DM et al.; "Health care utilization and costs by metabolic syndrome risk factors.";Metab Syndr Relat Disord.; 2009 Aug;7(4):305-14.

Katz: Comprehensive Gynecology, 5th ed., 2007

American Heart Association; "About Metabolic Syndrome;" AmericanHeart.org

Testosterone

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 17:14:14 +0100

Testosterone and Male Libido:

Testosterone is often tested because the patient talks of low libido. Declining testosterone levels are the number one cause of low libido in males, and plays a contributing factor in females.

Declining testosterone levels are commonly seen in men beginning in the fourth decade of life. Suboptimal or low testosterone levels in males are often associated with symptoms of aging and are referred to as Andropause or male menopause.

Testosterone is an important anabolic hormone in men. It increases energy, prevents fatigue, helps maintain normal sex drive, increases strength of all structural tissues such as skin/bone/muscles; including the heart and prevents depression and mental fatigue. Testosterone deficiency is often associated with symptoms such as night sweats, insulin resistance, erectile dysfunction, low sex drive, decreased mental and physical ability, lower ambition, loss of muscle mass and weight gain in the waist. The primary cause of this increase in girth is visceral fat, not excessive subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin).

The visceral fat cells are the most insulin resistant cells in the human body. As a person ages hormone levels change in favor of insulin resistance. The insulin levels rise while progesterone, growth hormone and testosterone decline. The visceral fat cell begins to collect more fat in the form of triglycerides. A vicious cycle is initiated, which if not interrupted with natural hormone balancing will lead to abdominal obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol levels. This phenomenon is known as "Metabolic Syndrome." In males, metabolic syndrome results in lower testosterone levels, however, in females metabolic syndrome results in high testosterone levels and a phenomenon known as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (see below).

Stress management, exercise, proper nutrition, dietary supplements, and androgen replacement therapy have all been shown to raise androgen levels in men and help counter male metabolic syndrome symptoms. The trick is to know how much testosterone is required for each individual male. This is where knowing the salivary testosterone levels come into play.

Initial salivary testing and following salivary monitoring are crucial for determining the most optimal prescription. Metabolic Syndrome and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) in females results in the same visceral fat pattern, insulin resistance and triglyceride formation as in males, however, the female patients with PCOS and metabolic syndrome had high levels of testosterone and often DHEA. This results in a typical symptom pattern seen in women with metabolic syndrome – acne, increased facial and body hair, hair loss on the head, trunkle obesity and infertility. Salivary testosterone and DHEA levels are diagnostic for this syndrome and follow up testing is key for monitoring treatment. It is important to note that women do not need to have their ovaries to have metabolic syndrome. The adrenal glands in women who have a predisposition to metabolic syndrome can produce above normal levels of testosterone and DHEA.

Vibrance and Vitality?

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 03:51:11 +0100

I received an email from my friend Rosie Brown,RN who was recently interviewed about balancing hormones to avoid what might be needless surgery.

She said:

"I, like thousands of other women around the world, suffered a needless hysterectomy because of fibroid tumors. I was a nurse for 30 years, and I had never heard of natural hormone balancing. The medical community doesn’t talk about it. It is not taught in medical schools. I had no idea that simply balancing my hormones earlier in my life would have prevented that surgery".

I asked Rosie if I could share this valuable information with you and of course she said yes.

Vibrance and Vitality: Stopping the Needless Suffering from Hormones (7mb)

Author, speaker, teacher, and nurse, Rosie Brown, R.N., M.S.N., guides her readers on a journey of self discovery, rejuvenation, and higher purpose. In her writings, Rosie shares the wisdom she has gathered, not only from her thirty-seven-year health care career, but more importantly, from her own personal experience.

Rosie Brown, RN, Author
"Stop the Needless Suffering"

Rosie Brown is a dedicated and passionate Health and Wellness educator. Through her years of conducting Wellness classes and sharing her story, she has the lives of thousands of others with her profound and powerful message. "Rosie is literally saving lives." Her message of hope will inspire you to take control of your life.

What Is Progesterone?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:27:08 +0100

The two main sexual hormones in women are estrogen and progesterone. Both are produced in men and women, although in different quantities. Progesterone is made from pregnenolone, which in turn comes from cholesterol.

Production of progesterone occurs at several places. In women, it is primarily produced in the ovaries just before ovulation and increases rapidly after ovulation. It is also produced in the adrenal glands in both sexes and in the testes in males. Its level is highest during the ovulation period (day 13-15 of the menstrual cycle). If fertilization does not take place, the secretion of progesterone decreases and menstruation occurs. If fertilization does occur, progesterone is secreted during pregnancy by the placenta and acts to prevent spontaneous abortion. About 20-25 mg of progesterone is produced per day during a woman’s monthly cycle. Up to 300-400 mg are produced daily during pregnancy. During menopause, the total amount of progesterone produced may decline to less than 1% of the pre-menopausal level.

Progesterone in addition to being the precursor to estrogen, is also the precursor of testosterone and the all-important adrenal cortical hormone cortisol.

Cortisol is essential for stress response, sugar and electrolyte balance, blood pressure and general survival. In short, progesterone serves to promote survival and development of the embryo and fetus. It acts as a precursor to many important steroid hormones and helps to regulate a broad range of biological and metabolic effects in the body. During chronic stress, progesterone production is reduced as the body favors cortisol production to reduce stress. This is an important point which we will look into later.

Progesterone acts primarily (opposite to) estrogen in our body. For example, estrogen can cause breast cysts while progesterone protects against breast cysts. Estrogen enhances salt and water retention while progesterone is a natural diuretic. Estrogen has been associated with breast and endometrial cancer, while progesterone has cancer preventive effect.

Some of the functions of progesterone include:

• Helps Use Fat for Energy • Facilitates Thyroid Hormone Action

• Natural Anti-depressant

• Natural Diuretic

• Normalizes Blood Sugar Levels

• Restores Libido

• Normalizes Menstrual Cycles

• Normalizes Zinc & Copper Levels • Normalizes Blood Clotting

• Protects Against Breast Fibrocysts

• Precursor for Cortisone Production (Arthritis)

• Stimulates Osteoblast Cells (they are necessary in the bone building process)

Progesterone and Osteoporosis

For many years, estrogen was given routinely with the hope that it would prevent osteoporosis. It is now well established that estrogen replacement therapy does reduce osteoporotic fractures by 50 percent. Estrogen works by preventing increased bone resorption during menopause.

However,estrogen has no effect on bone formation; therefore, it does not reverse osteoporosis. Furthermore, when estrogen is discontinued, the rate of bone resorption resumes and the rate actually is accelerated. To be successful, estrogen replacement should be started early (before significant bone loss has occurred) and be maintained indefinitely.

It is important to note that a lack of estrogen does not cause osteoporosis. For example, it is proven that there is significant bone loss during the 10 to 15 years before menopause, despite an ample supply of estrogen during this period. But during that same period, there is often a shortage of progesterone. Although estrogen inhibits the bone-destroying osteoclast cells, it cannot rebuild bone. Progesterone, on the other hand, is a bone builder. It does so by stimulating the osteoblast cells that rematerialize and restore bone mass. Supplementing with bio-identical progesterone has proven useful in the prevention and reversal of osteoporosis. In other words, progesterone is the key to healthy bones, in addition to magnesium (and not calcium alone).

For reliable testing information check our AdvancedPlus Hormone Panel

Stop the Testosterone Madness!

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:35:35 +0100

Jim Paoletti, RPh, FAARFM

Men using topical testosterone replacement products are typically and commonly given too much hormone. The explanation for this erroneous tendency seems to be rooted in the standards for dosing that have been established on false assumptions, misconceptions, invalid conclusions, and marketing instead of physiology and science. So why are the process for prescribing testosterone and standards of testosterone replacement so frequently misguided?

The problem of testosterone overdosing starts obviously with incorrect dosing principles for testosterone replacement products. For topical application, a physiologic daily dose of any of the sex steroids in either sex is approximately the same as our daily production during our prime, if you no longer make any of a hormone. With topical testosterone in males, typical doses are 5 to 10 times the amount of hormone a man makes when he is 18 years old. The physiological production of testosterone in a young adult male is approximately 6 mg per day. BHRT should be restoration therapy in the sense we should be dosing enough hormone to restore the level by adding to what the patient is still producing. A physiologic dose of topical testosterone for a male is 1 to 10 mg daily. Administration of too much hormone will suppress endogenous production and eventually lead to receptor down regulation.

A dose of 50 or 100 mg of topical hormone is a commonly administered dosage, which unfortunately is TOO EXCESSIVE an amount for men. So why is such a high dose prescribed?

The culprit is testing methods for topically applied hormone. No studies have ever validated the use of serum testing for topically applied hormone. No correlation has been shown between venous serum levels and bioavailability (available at site of physiologic activity) or long term efficacy. In contrast, Dr. Frank Stanczyk has shown that venous serum testing cannot be used to judge the effect in the uterine tissue for topically applied progesterone. Applying the principles of evidence based medicine and using the strongest scientific evidence instead of a manufacturer’s marketing piece, one would have to avoid using venous serum testing for any topically applied hormone.

Relying on the irrelevant serum testing method, drug manufactures lead us down the wrong road. They used venous serum levels to determine how much hormone in their topical products is “delivered” or “absorbed” or “bioavailable”. These terms have been bastardized by the pharmaceutical industry, which defines all these only by the amount of hormone seen in the serum. In medical use, bioavailability is defined as “the degree and rate at which a substance (as a drug) is absorbed into a living system or is made available at the site of physiological activity.” “Absorb” means “to take up especially by capillary, osmotic, solvent, or chemical action.” Both definitions have to do with the amount of hormone that goes into the system, not the amount left over in venous serum. “Delivered” is a label initiated by the drug manufactures so as to avoid the term dose in terms of topical manufactured products.

As a result of relying on serum testing for topically applied hormones, doctors and patients are confused as serum levels often go down initially, even if an amount as low as 5 or 10 mg daily is used. Since most males are still producing at least a fair amount of the original 6 mg daily, even 5 to 10 mg can bring their total level to higher than physiologically normal, resulting in a decreased endogenous production and down regulation of testosterone receptors, and the resulting loss of symptom management. The venous serum testing only reflects the endogenous hormone level and not the topically applied hormone, so the suppression of production causes a reduction in the serum level. Often the prescribing practitioner may increase the dose even higher because of the decrease in a venous serum level. This is blatantly incorrect! We give a patient testosterone, and because a level goes down, we give him more? Before increasing the dose further, should one not first be able to explain why the level would go down?

Resistance is the most common reaction I see to suggestions of reducing the dose of topical hormone. The lowering of estrogen dosages in women over the past 20 years to 1/10th to 1/20th or what was initially used met this type of resistance. One reason for the resistance is the lack of knowledge of any other approach to addressing the symptomology sufficiently. Another source of resistance is the amount of knowledge, education and time it requires to properly balance all hormones, nutrition and lifestyle factors, in opposition to simply increasing the dose of testosterone.

Other prescribers simply state that they do not understand saliva testing and/or that topical testosterone doesn’t work in men. These same practitioners fail to explain why venous serum doesn’t show a linear relationship to topical testosterone dosing, or why testosterone is the only hormone in either sex that doesn’t work topically.

This resistance results from the fact that it is much easier to follow suit and not have to learn and think how to correct the real problem. A vital solution to the issue of overprescribing and overdosing testosterone would be accurate and indicative hormone level testing and monitoring. Saliva testing and capillary dried blood spot testing present such an answer. The discrepancy between free and protein bound hormones becomes especially important when monitoring topical or transdermal hormone therapy. Studies show that this method of delivery results in increased tissue hormone levels, thus measureable in saliva, but no parallel increase in serum levels. With the use of dried blood spot testing, like saliva, hormones are present in the “capillary” blood from the finger and are representative of the hormones being delivered to other tissues of the body. With hormones delivered through the skin as supplements, the capillary dried blood spot hormone level rises in concert with an increase in salivary hormone levels because this represents hormone delivery to tissues throughout the body.

In sharp contrast, blood taken by conventional venipuncture rises very little, not at all, or even decreases in some cases with skin delivery of hormones. This might seem odd, but blood being delivered back to the heart through the veins has already delivered its bioavailable hormone load, and hormones remaining in the bloodstream are tightly bound to serum proteins such as SHBG and albumin.

Jim Paoletti, R.Ph, FAARM is Director of Provider Education for ZRT Laboratory, Beaverton, Oregon. Jim has over 25 years experience with bio-identical hormone therapies both in clinical practice in retail pharmacy, as a pharmacy consultant, educator, and educational program developer.

Progesterone

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:53:18 +0100

The female body requires an optimal balance of progesterone and the estrogen hormones (a trio of related hormones called estradiol, estrone and estriol). Progesterone Deficiency occurs when the hormonal balance is shifted in favor of the estrogens. This condition is also referred to as Estrogen Dominance.

Signs and Symptoms

Millions of women suffer from Progesterone Deficiency and the following are the Premenstrual Signs and Symptoms of Progesterone Deficiency:
•    Breast Tenderness
•    Mood Swings
•    Fluid Retention and Weight Gain
•    Headaches
•    Cramps
•    Clotting
•    Irregular Cycles

In addition, here are some other Signs and Symptoms of Progesterone Deficiency:
•    Uterine Fibroids
•    Breast Disease
•    Endometriosis
•    Infertility
•    Miscarriage
•    Joint Pain
•    Muscle Pain
•    Decreased Libido
•    Panic Attacks

How Does Progesterone Deficiency Occur?

Mostly it is the inevitable result of the aging process. A woman’s ovaries generally function best between a few years after puberty until around age thirty. However, as a woman ages, so do her ovaries.

By the time a woman reaches thirty-five years of age she is over halfway through her menstrual life and her ovarian function begins to falter.

The ovaries are the primary site for the production of both the estrogens and progesterone. But while both estrogen and progesterone levels decline with age, progesterone declines much more dramatically.

By menopause, a woman’s progesterone level is likely to be a mere 1/120 of the level she experienced in her early twenties. In contrast, her postmenopausal estrogen level may remain at 40% of the level she experienced in early adulthood, because even when her ovaries no longer produce estrogen, her fat cells continue to do so.

Thanks to this additional source of estrogen, an obese postmenopausal woman may have higher estrogen levels than a thin premenopausal woman.

Another reason why Progesterone Deficiency becomes more common with age is that as a woman ages she begins to have anovulatory cycles, menstrual cycles during which her ovaries do not release eggs. When a woman does not ovulate, her ovaries produce NO PROGESTERONE AT ALL.

The stimulatory effects of estrogen unopposed by progesterone can cause the endometrial lining to become abnormally thickened, resulting in heavier periods, clotting, and painful menstrual cramps. As women enter their thirties, anovulatory cycles become more common, and symptoms of estrogen dominance become progressively more severe.

In addition, other causes of Progesterone Deficiency are:
•    Hysterectomy
•    Bilateral Tubal Ligation
•    Childbirth
•    Oral Contraceptives
•    XenoEsrogens (Petrochemical products found in plastics, herbicides and pesticides)