GUIDE TO HORMONES
At Omniya Clinic in London
Hormone balance is essential for age management – for your memory and concentration, cardiovascular health and strong bones, as well as supporting the body’s ability to maintain health, energy and happiness. Hormone Therapy is the overarching treatment of hormones.
Hormone deficiency may be associated with significant changes in body composition, bone density, lipid/cholesterol metabolism, cardiovascular function, skin, physical and mental wellbeing. With decreased hormone levels, sleep patterns and immune system function may also be affected.
The aim of hormonal therapy is to cause an actual physiological change to your body by improving cardiovascular, neurological and bone health, as well as improving your symptoms and quality of life.
As we age, there is a naturally occurring decline in hormones, such as oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Balancing these hormones can have a wide-range of significant health benefits
Within this page, we cover a variety of hormones, including:
For more information on both male and female hormone replacement therapy treatments (HRT and TRT) please see the links:
Hormone Therapy Incorporates The Following
Memory
Concentration
Cardiovascular Health
Strong Bones
Energy
General Sense Of Happiness
Genetics
Gut Health
Tesosterone
Oestrogen
Progesterone
DHEA
Cortisol
Insulin
Telomeres
Thyroid
Melatonin
Hormone Therapy Treatment Overview
Hormone Treatment Performed By
General Practitioner
MRCGP, Dip Study of Integrative Medicine, Cert BioIdentical
Hormone Therapy, Dip Reproductive and Sexual Health
Hormone Therapy at Omniya Clinic London.
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Information On Hormones
What Exactly Are Hormones And What Do They Do?
Hormones are special chemical messengers in the body that are made in the endocrine system via various glands. These messengers control most of our bodily functions, from needs like hunger to more complicated systems like reproduction, and even our emotions and mood. Understanding the major hormone functions will help you take control of your health.
BHRT Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy
Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), also known as bio-identical hormone therapy, or body identical hormone therapy, is a term referring to the use of hormones that are chemically the same structure as the hormones in our body.
In both men and women, key hormones begin to decrease with age which can lead to health issues and unpleasant symptoms, so BHRT is used to help balance out the natural decline of our hormone production or address general hormonal imbalances at any age. BHRT can be used for many types of health issues, for example infertility, thyroid disease, menopause, erectile dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, fibroid, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome and adrenal fatigue.
BHRT comes in cream, lozenges, gels and tablet form and sometimes injections. Depending on your diagnosis and type of hormonal issue, a specific format will be chosen for treatment, as different formats will absorb into the body at different rates.
Patients who are prescribed BHRT are monitored very closely.
Doses are adjusted according to a patient’s symptoms and natural hormone levels, with the goal of keeping the dose to the minimum required to help address the hormonal issues.
Age Management
Hormone deficiency may be associated with significant changes in:
- Body composition
- Bone density
- Lipid/cholesterol metabolism
- Cardiovascular function
- Skin
- Physical and mental wellbeing
- With decreased hormone levels, sleep patterns and immune system function may also be affected.
The aim of hormonal therapy is to cause an actual physiological change to your body by improving cardiovascular, neurological and bone health, as well as improving your symptoms and quality of life.
As we age, there is a naturally occurring decline in hormones, such as oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Balancing these hormones can have a wide-range of significant health benefits, as will be discussed.
Other Tests
Other tests that can help us to assess health and ageing are:
Telomeres
Telomeres are the caps on the end of our chromosomes that protect them, a bit like the plastic tip on a shoelace.
Our DNA is located on our chromosomes which means that telomeres protect our genetic material.
Telomere length is a good predictor of longevity. For example in 2007, a study showed that in elderly twins, the twin with shorter telomeres is three times more likely to die first.
Having your telomeres tested will give you a measure of your biological age. Based on this, Dr Roked can then see what lifestyle changes and supplements are needed, as well as what other testing that may be need.
Vitamin and mineral analysis
A lot of people follow a good diet and lead a healthy lifestyle but still do not feel optimum. It can be of benefit to have your individual vitamin, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids and other nutritional markers looked at in depth to guide what supplements your body needs and make improvements in nutrition.
Gut health testing
Making sure our gut health is optimum is important as it can affect our immune system, mood, weight, energy and digestive health.
If your gut isn’t working well, you won’t be able to metabolise what you eat and it will also affect your ability to process hormones. Some symptoms of gut dysfunction are:
- bloating
- abdominal pains
- loose stools
- constipation
- feeling sluggish
- low mood
- low energy
- increased weight
Dr Sohere Roked’s Protocol in managing gut health issues involves:
- eliminating offending agents such as pathogens or foods causing irritability
- testing for parasites
- treating and repairing increased gut permeability
- adding in supplements if needed such as probiotics and enzymes
- looking at other imbalances that can affect your gut
DNA/Genetic testing
A simple cheek swab test can hold the key to your health. This enables analysis of over 100 of the best researched genetic markers that can be impacted by diet and lifestyle.
Your genes are not your destiny, but understanding them can be the first step to preventative health.
Key areas addressed are:
- DNA Diet – what to eat for your genetic type
- DNA Sport – what sort of exercise should you be doing and how much do you need to stay healthy
- Methylation – one of the most important processes in the body. If this isn’t optimum it can affect your hormone metabolism, mood, sleep, energy and heart health.
- Detoxification – how is the liver functioning and is your body able to detoxify.
- Hormonal Balance – is your body able to process hormones and detoxify them. This can be for your own hormones or any hormone replacement therapy.
- Allergies and Histamine Balance – are your genetic pathways not functioning well and causing you to have increased allergies?
For more information about these tests and if they could benefit you, ask Dr Sohere Roked.
Oestrogen
Problems like mood swings, unexplained weight gain, and even difficulty getting to sleep can be caused by an oestrogen imbalance.
Your ovaries start releasing oestrogen at puberty as part of your menstrual cycle and levels increase and decrease depending on what time of the month it is. Oestrogen plays a huge role in our bodies, especially in our brains where it controls and regulates our emotions. Oestrogen increases levels of serotonin and even changes the effects of endorphins. So, you can see when levels are disturbed and why it affects our emotions so much.
Oestrogen is also key in providing protection to our hearts and bones and is also involved in keeping our reproductive organs healthy.
As we age our bodies naturally experience a drop in our testosterone and progesterone levels, which can leave us with excessive oestrogen levels.
You can also experience low libido, hot flashes, heart palpitations, night sweats, dry skin, urinary symptoms such as increased frequency or cystitis or incontinence, vaginal dryness, joint aches and pains.
Low levels of oestrogen are common in the lead up to menopause, a time when hormone fluctuations are common place, and for some this can go on for years before you are considered to have passed through menopause.
The typical approach to address oestrogen imbalance is to balance the other hormones or if menopause related then HRT – hormone replacement therapy. The Dr R