Bioidentical Hormones How Can Improve My Health?

Potential benefits of bioidentical hormone therapy include:

• Relief from menopause symptoms: Bioidentical hormone therapy can help alleviate hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, brain fog, and irritability… just to name a few.

• Improved bone density: Hormone imbalances can contribute to osteoporosis. Bioidentical hormone therapy can help improve bone density and reduce the risk of fractures.

by Amy Sharp

Dr. Julia Ward, founder of local Balanced Body Functional Medicine, says, “Bioidentical hormones are hormones that have the same chemical structure as the hormones naturally produced in the human body. They have amazing health benefits for both men and women after a certain age. I believe everyone looking to age gracefully and enjoy a great quality of life should consider bioidentical hormones.”

Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are the three main sex hormones. “Men and women have all three, just in differing amounts,” explains Dr. Ward. “These start to decline as we age, but they especially take a nosedive once we pass child-bearing years. In hormone therapy, there are synthetic hormones (i.e. Premarin and Provera), and then there are ‘natural’ or bioidentical hormones. Bioidentical means that they are chemically identical to what your body produces. This is in contrast to the synthetic hormones which usually come from pregnant horse urine.”

There are many reasons for maintaining your sex hormones at youthful levels…and it’s not just getting rid of the annoying symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, mood swings, irritability, fatigue, and insomnia (just to name a few). Dr. Ward says, “There is a common misconception that women go ‘through’ menopause, as if menopause is the only time they’ll experience hot flashes, night sweats, etc. Many women believe that once these symptoms stop, they are ‘through’ and don’t need to worry about anything else. In fact, once you are in menopause, you are never done with it. Your body will never go back to producing the estrogen, progesterone and testosterone that it once did when younger. If you want to age gracefully with as little signs of aging as possible, you will need to have your hormones balanced and at youthful levels. Bioidentical hormone therapy is really the cornerstone of any ‘anti-aging’ program.”

The first step is to schedule an initial consultation with Dr. Ward. “At the consultation, we’ll discuss you…your needs and wants. Every person is different, and my end goal is always to do what’s best for the individual patient!”

Balanced Body

• Reduced risk of heart disease: Hormone imbalances can increase the risk of heart disease. Bioidentical hormone therapy can help restore hormonal balance and reduce this risk.

• Improved cognitive function: Bioidentical hormone therapy can help improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of age-related cognitive decline.