The Hormone Conundrum...

Understanding Hormone Changes in Women and their Impact on Health and Fitness Part 2.

Last week we gave a lesser-known and broader definition of stress.  We also talked about what happens during menopause, and 2 of the main hormones at play in this event:  Progesterone and Estrogen.  We talked about how the ratio of progesterone (our most protective hormone) and estrogen (a stress hormone and catalyst of many other stress hormones) shifts to a more estrogen-dominant profile and the possible health consequences of this shift (increased risk for breast and other cancers, heart disease, insulin resistance/diabetes, and other "lifestyle diseases").

This week, we're going to look a little more into the "Stress Hormone Cascade" that happens in response to any type of stress, and is elevated in menopausal women do to the aforementioned hormonal shift.  So, here are a few more definitions:

Cortisol:  hormone that is released by the adrenal glands in response to any stress such as exercise, lack of sleep, low blood sugar, etc.  Cortisol breaks down proteins from muscles and organs (usually the thymus gland- our immune system control- first!) into amino acids to be converted into glucose (sugar) by the liver for energy to overcome the current stress.

Adrenaline:  hormone released by the adrenal glands to signal the liver to release additional glucose (liver glycogen) for fuel.  Adrenaline also mobilizes free fatty acids ("triglycerides") for fuel when glycogen stores have been depleted.  Symptoms of adrenaline release are cold extremites and nose compared to the rest of the body.

Serotonin:  an adaptive stress hormone released by the small intestine in response to stress, and is triggered by increased estrogen.  One of serotonin's main functions is smooth muscle contraction (ie. gut motility in response to stress, blood vessels- high blood pressure, etc) as well as activating the pituitary gland, otherwise known as "stress central."  

Triiodothyronine (T3 or Thyroid Hormone):  T3 is the "active" form of thyroid hormone.  T3 is created in the liver by an enzymatic conversion of T4 (glucose (sugar) + selenium + enzymes).  T3 elevates the metabolism, and is combined with Vitamin A and LDL cholesterol in the liver to create Pregnenolone- our most youthful, "mother hormone" that gets converted into all of our anti-stress hormones such as Progesterone, Testosterone, and DHEA.  These, along with T3 are what the body needs more of and less of the others for optimal health, high metabolism, and function.

As we said earlier, this response is continually happening in us all of the time.  It is intensified as the hormone profile shifts.  Menopause is one of the "symptoms" of chronic exposure to these stress hormones without the proper balance of the youthful, protective hormones.  The result being low metabolism, inefficient use of glucose and oxygen for energy production, inflammation, a suppressed immune system, and in our context, decreased ability to adapt to exercise.

All of these stress hormones are catalysts of each other.  If we're breaking down our own proteins (muscle tissue) and mobilizing fat stores for energy because our "chemistry" is not optimal, building muscle and gaining strength becomes very difficult unless you eat enough protein to counteract this response (150+ grams/day!), which is still less than ideal.  Muscle is what burns fat while we're resting, so if you want to be lean, you want to build muscle!

As we saw last week, this response (menopause) doesn't always happen.  So how can we delay it or minimize it?  Last week we started with assessing first:  See just where your metabolic state is which will give you an idea of how your thyroid and hormone system are performing.  Body temperature and heart rate were our 2 measures.  (98.6-99.5 degrees, and 85-95 beats per minute are optimal)  Today, we've learned of another marker:  coldness of the extremities and nose.

If your thyroid/metabolism are "underperforming" and you've found evidence of increased stress hormones, we now have some clues as to how we can improve them.  If you look at the definitions above, and those from last week, we see that "stress" is a requirement of extra energy- the ultimate effect of these hormones is the creation of glucose for energy at the expense of our own tissues.  Energy is produced in our cells by breaking down glucose (sugar) and oxygen.  In the absence of these, metabolism is slowed and the stress hormone response is increased to make up for it.  

Supplementation can be helpful to give your body the proper tools and building blocks to create these protective hormones, and is sometimes necessary.  However, how you fuel your body with the food you eat is still the most important factor in creating the hormone profile you desire.  The foundation of the correct nutrients from diet has to be in place before you can apply the mortar of supplements.  **Notice we used the word "correct" instead of "healthy."  There are thousands of foods that are considered healthy and unhealthy.  What makes them "healthy?" Your body's response to those foods!  Everyone responds to foods a little differently.  So finding the right types and right amounts foryour body is the key making a food healthy or not.

Our first "magic remedy":  Orange Juice (not from concentrate and pulp free!)  Orange juice is full of important vitamins and minerals.  We'll highlight 2 for you:  fructose and potassium.  Fructose is similar to glucose as far as energy production goes, but is slightly different than the glucose molecule and is treated differently.  Many people who have blood sugar control problems mostly have problems controlling glucose, which makes fructose a better option.*  Fructose has also been shown to rebuild liver glycogen stores very efficiently.  Potassium is also a very important mineral for many processes in the body.  One of its key functions is blood sugar control.  Potassium actually plays a lager part than insulin in transporting glucose into the cells for use.**  High potassium helps minimize insulin dependency for those who are pre-diabetic and showing signs of "insulin resistance."  Those who are worried about the effects of increased insulin do well with orange juice due to the high amount of potassium.  

Our stress hormones are released in when we don't have sufficient resources to handle a stressor.  Having a glass (or bottle) of orange juice with you to sip on throughout the day, or having frequent snacks of OJ with some milk or cheese can give you a very pure, healthy, and protective fuel source to help fuel the conversion of your youthful, protective hormones and minimize the estrogen, cortisol, adrenaline response.  Trust your brain, and use taste as your guide.  If it doesn't taste sweet enough that day, you're likely low on fuel, so add a little white sugar (sucrose) to the juice**.  If it's too acidic, add a tiny pinch of baking soda to neutralize the acid.  OJ also makes a great "sports drink" during your workouts.  

There's more to come of tips and strategies to improve your hormone profile.  Until then....

Keep Moving!

*Click here if you need to see the science that confirms this.

**Click here for more reading on potassium and blood sugar control

***Click here for the sucrose science

The Hormone Conundrum...

Understanding Hormone Changes in Women and their Impact on Health and Fitness Part 1.

By popular demand, we're going to attempt the tackle the complex and, unfortunately, confusing issue of hormone changes in women and how it affects your metabolism, health, and fitness.  This is a complex issue, and willprobably be unrolled in multiple parts.  

To start, this week we'll start with defining some terms and concepts to give the rest of this conversation context.  

Stress: any event or situation that requires the body to create extra sugar for energy.  Stress can be our traditional view: difficult situations, busyness, adverse relationships.  That's just a small part of the large list of things the brain interprets as stress.  Also included can be:  poor food choices, lack of sleep, environmental/air quality, lack of proper light, fasting or limited calorie intake, exercise, illness, and many others.

Menopause:  from wikipedia, "literally means the "end of monthly cycles" (the end of monthly periods aka menstruation), from the Greek word pausis(cessation) and the root men- (month). Menopause is an event that typically (but not always) occurs in women in midlife, during their late 40's or early 50's, and it signals the end of the fertile phase of a woman's life."  We've traditionally considered menopause as an inevetable  part of aging.  Hormonally, menopause occurs when the ovaries stop producing progesterone.

Progesterone:  often referred to as the "pregnancy hormone" by pharmaceutical companies, but is actually the true female hormone.  It's the body's most protective, ant-stress hormone.  It's an anti-testosterone, anti-estrogen, made from -cholesterol, pro-gestational hormone.

Estrogen:  often referred to as the "female" hormone, but in reality yields more male characteristics.  Estrogen is a stress hormone involved in increasing blood sugar by slowing metabolism, breaking down proteins into sugar, blocking the cells' use of oxygen, and mobilizing free-fatty-acids in the blood stream ("trans-fatty acids"), among many other processes.  High levels of estrogen in women has been shown to expedite menopause, increase risk of breast cancer and uterine cancers, ovarian cysts and fibroids, heart disease, diabetes, and other "lifestyle diseases." 

More terms will come as this series unfolds, but we'll start here.  At the onset of menopause, progesterone production by the ovaries stops, though estrogen production continues.  Progesterone is still produced elsewhere, but at a much lower level.  A healthy ratio of progesterone:estrogen is 3:1.  However, due to chronic stress of lifestyle, dietary choices, chronic exercise, etc., this ratio shifts dramatically the other way triggering menopause and/or other lifestyle diseases (it's been shown and widely accepted that post-menopausal women are at higher risk of breast cancer due to this ratio shift). 

Estrogen is also a synergist for a multitude of other stress hormones like adrenaline, cortisol, prolactin, serotonin, pituitary stimulating hormone (PTSH) and others.  All of these hormones play a part in our stress response system.  These hormones are activated by and activate a response in the body that halts a lot of our developmental processes, changes our energy production to a less efficient and inflammatory process, and slows the metabolism (the cell's ability to produce energy) in order to overcome the current stress.  

As this hormonal shift takes place, symptoms such as night sweats, hot flashes, increased anxiety and irritability- all effects of the above mentioned stress hormones- become common.  There is also a slowing down of the metabolism as these hormones decrease the cells' ability to produce energy.   Adaptation (increasing strength and muscle mass) is also slowed as our youthful, adaptive hormones are less and the brain is not getting a proper "fuel mix" to make the adaptation.  

So what can we do about this?  Is this just inevitable, or can something be done to delay or at least minimize the effects?  If you read the definition above, there is the parenthasesed (is that a word?) section that says "but not always."  If it doesn't always happen, that would suggest it isn't inevitable, right?  How can we optimize the body and minimize the effects?  Well, it's complicated but can be done. 

Step 1: Assess.  We never do anything at Fitness Evolved until we assess first.  Then, we try a course of action, and re-assess.  The number one driver of our metabolism and producer of the youthful, protective hormones is the thyroid.  Many are not clinically "hypothyroid," but sub-optminal thyroid function results in a slow metabolism, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, low energy, poor digestion, and sub-optimal immune function.  We're not looking for a diagnosis, but wanting to assess thyroid function.  Dr. Broda Barnes showed that the best way to assess thyroid function is by testing body temperature and resting heart rate.  So, if you're experiencing any of these symptoms (males or females!), are going through or post-menopausal, or if you eat food and want to be healthy ;), this is the place to start. 

Assess your thyroid function and metabolism by taking your temperature and resting heart rate 2-3 times a day.  Write it down, and look for trends.  One measurement is never enough (for this or any other lab test)!  The body is constantly changing, so taking frequent measurements and looking for trends is the only way to get an accurate assessment of function. 

Next week we'll talk more about this process and give you tips and ideas on what to do with it.  Until then......

Keep Moving!