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Hormones Play Vital Roles In Your Overall Health, But Especially With Age, Hormone Levels May Drop. It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way With Hormone Replacement Therapy In Littleton, CO.
Behind the scenes, you have hormones — regulatory chemicals that control everything from your blood sugar levels to metabolism to mood to immune response.
But, as you age, your body will start to make less of certain hormones, specifically testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone — all sex hormones that play a role in reproduction and other aspects of your health.
When you lack them, you may experience various symptoms, such as a lack of energy, weight gain, and mood changes, among others.
However, hormone replacement therapy in Littleton, CO, can lessen your symptoms by replenishing your levels.
But what should you know about hormones before your consultation?
Let us explain…
Feel like yourself again with hormone replacement therapy!
An Introduction to Hormones
Put simply, a hormone is a chemical messenger that signals an action in the body. Your endocrine glands are ductless and release them into the bloodstream, where they’re then carried to the tissue or organ(s) that need them. These designated locations have receptors that recognize and respond to the hormone.
Think of the receptors as door locks and the hormone as the key that unlocks them. But rather than truly unlocking them, the hormone binds with the receptor to trigger certain actions.
Examples of Hormones and Their Functions
Hormones control your metabolism, blood sugar, and certain aspects of your bone and cardiovascular health, as some examples. In fact, researchers have identified over 50 of them in humans, including probably the most well-recognized one — insulin. Cortisol (“the stress hormone”) and human growth hormone are other examples.
While you have heard of all of those, what may come as a shock to you is that vitamin D makes the list. Yes, that’s right — a vitamin makes the list as a hormone because of how it functions and how the body produces it. Let us explain: typically, you acquire vitamins through diet or supplementation.
The same applies to vitamin D; however, you also receive it from sun exposure. Your liver and kidneys play a role in this route, though, and the process is similar to hormone activation. This hormone/vitamin also interacts with receptors in the body and functions similarly to endocrine hormones.
How Hormones and Neurotransmitters Differ
Comparable to hormones, you have neurotransmitters, which are also chemical messengers. Unlike hormones, however, neurotransmitters don’t travel as far; the typical journey for them is from one nerve ending to another. These have receptors on receiving neurons that they bind with, triggering the following:
- Controlling your mood
- Regulating your movement
- Coordinating your sleep cycle
- Impacting memory and learning
- Managing stress
Know Your Sex Hormones
Now that you know what a hormone is and how it affects your body, you can imagine what the effects are whenever your levels are unbalanced — everything from fatigue to weight gain to mood swings.
That said, we’d like to take a moment to talk about the three main sex hormones: testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone. These are necessary for reproduction, but they dwindle as you age, leading to you having various potential undesired effects, like hot flashes.
Testosterone
First on the list is testosterone. It gets a reputation for being what makes a man, well, a man. However, both women and men produce it, but men need it for muscle mass, sperm production, sex drive, motivation, etc. Ladies, on the other hand, need it for bone density and cardiovascular health, to name a few examples.
In men, levels begin decreasing after age 30 by about 1 percent per year. Many men don’t notice a difference, while others experience symptoms like hot flashes (You read that right; hot flashes aren’t just for women.), mood changes, muscle loss, and fatigue.
And besides potentially having symptoms, a loss of testosterone can contribute to several unwanted health conditions, such as:
- Hypertension
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- Obesity
Studies in men also indicate it’s protective against osteoporosis (an issue that increases your risk of fractures) and Alzheimer’s disease.
While women only produce a tenth of the testosterone of men, it’s still necessary for sexual function, muscle development, and mood regulation. When found at normal levels in women, it can protect against dementia, cardiovascular disease, and breast cancer.
No matter your gender, you may experience any of the following if you have a testosterone deficiency:
- Brain fog
- Low energy
- Irritability
- Sleep disruptions
- Decrease in muscle mass
- Weight gain
Symptoms like mood changes and decreased libido from a deficiency may be more prominent in men than in women.
Men may suffer from erectile dysfunction, hair loss, enlarged breast tissue, and hot flashes.
Estrogen
On to estrogen…
This hormone is produced in a higher amount in females, but men produce it too. During a woman’s reproductive years, estrogen is involved in menstruation and maintaining a pregnancy.
Interestingly, through a process called “aromatization,” some testosterone becomes estrogen in men.
No matter your gender, having estrogen in the proper amount helps protect the cardiovascular and immune systems, gastrointestinal tract, and brain.
Both men and women may suffer from all these symptoms of an estrogen deficiency:
- Mood swings
- Decrease in energy
- Trouble sleeping
Symptoms tend to be worse in women, and some ones exclusive to ladies include:
- Vaginal dryness
- Night sweats
- Hot flashes
- Headaches
- Frequent UTIs
- Abnormal or absent menstruation
- Breast shrinkage
These symptoms may happen when a woman goes through menopause — when menstruation stops for 12 consecutive months, usually around the age of 51 — and estrogen levels significantly decrease.
Progesterone
Last, but certainly not least, is progesterone, another hormone found in both men and women. In men, it’s necessary for testosterone production, and low levels are known to be associated with prostate cancer, osteoporosis, and arthritis.
Like estrogen, progesterone decreases in women around the time of menopause because this hormone regulates menstruation, controls uterine growth, and supports pregnancy.
Once it decreases, a woman may experience any of the following:
- Night sweats
- Hair thinning
- Mood swings
- Low libido
- Breast tenderness
- Fatigue
Men may have breast tissue development, reduced bone health, and loss of muscle mass.
Learn more here: Warning Signs of Hormone Imbalance: Hormone Therapy for Men
Balance Your Hormones With Hormone Replacement Therapy in Littleton, CO
Your hormones are in control of so much of your health, and when they begin to decrease, so can the quality of your life, as you’re battling mood swings, sleep disturbances, and other issues.
While you can contend with the issues, hormone replacement therapy in Littleton, CO, will lessen those unpleasant effects, and you’ll feel better overall. Plus, you’re reducing your chances of certain health problems in the future.
And if you’re having concerns related to menopause or andropause, we also offer MonaLisa Touch to lessen vaginal dryness and make intercourse more comfortable or the P-Shot to correct erectile dysfunction and allow men to resume enjoying their sex lives once again.
For those still deciding on a practice, we encourage you to read our reviews click here.
Reach out to Ageless Expressions and schedule your appointment today by calling (720) 864-1272 to balance your hormones and ease your symptoms. So you know, we’re within walking distance of the Littleton Post Office.
