Consider HRT To Keep Active

By New Day Vitality Hormone Center

New Day Vitality Hormone Center

. http://www.newdayvitality.com/

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Consider HRT To Keep Active

What makes you feel old? Achy joints? Fatigue? Weak muscles? Most people over 50 recognize these symptoms creeping up on them and just accept them as part of getting older.  But if these problems lead to slowing down and sitting more, they truly are the hallmarks of old age.

Study after study shows that a more sedentary lifestyle “puts adults at greater risk of . . . heart attacks and strokes, type 2 diabetes, dementia and cancers such as breast and colon,” according to the World Health Organization. So dealing with the symptoms that may lead to a more sedentary lifestyle—like achy joints, fatigue and weak muscles – has a huge impact on both quality and quantity of life. Interestingly, all of these problems are related, in part, to our declining sex hormones.   

For example, estrogen helps maintain joint tissues and protects cartilage. It supports collagen production, crucial to healthy connective tissues, such as tendons and ligaments. Estrogen also influences immune and inflammatory processes.

Regarding fatigue, estrogen plays a critical role in regulating metabolism. It enhances insulin sensitivity and regulates pancreatic cell function, ensuring adequate insulin production. Estrogen also promotes fat breakdown, contributing to energy expenditure. Finally, estrogen modulates thyroid hormone metabolism, influencing overall metabolic rate.

Testosterone is the muscle-making hormone. Since muscle burns more calories than fat tissue does, muscle mass is a key factor in metabolism. However, testosterone decreases as much as 50 percent in the years from our mid-20s to our mid-40s (yes, it’s found in females). This decreasing testosterone diminishes muscle mass making it harder to maintain, let alone build, muscle as we age. And maintaining muscle is critical to strength, mobility and even balance.

Although HRT is currently on FDA-approved for treating common menopause symptoms, like hot flashes and vaginal discomfort, it is hard to overlook the many body functions impacted by our sex hormones. It may be time to talk to a bioidentical hormone replacement therapist to help you keep living a healthy, active life.