You At Your Best

bY rHOnda baber-crOne sPecIal tO YOu at YOur best Ask any woman over the age of 40 and she will tell you: things change; sometimes literally overnight. Of course, it varies in age and degree for everyone and although we can't escape it, we can put up our best fight. Becoming wiser, able to say the word "no" and shrug off judgment from others - those are the good things that come with age. But with knowledge and a little effort, there are steps we can take to fend off things like slow metabolism, brain fog, sleep problems and the many other "side effects" that come with age. Check your hormone levels Possibly the most important aspect, in addition to nutrition and exercise, in regard to healthy aging in women is hormone balance. During peri-menopause and menopause, women experience changes in hair, skin, digestion, sleep, metabolism…the list goes on. At or around age 40, most women fall into peri-menopause, and the average age at menopause is 51. Many women don't suspect hormones when they encounter digestive issues, weight gain or anxiety, but it may well be. Often, they end up being prescribed medications that don't get to the root cause, and probably develop additional problems from those medications. Just as puberty is life-changing for a girl, hormone balance or imbalance can literally make or break this time of life. "The two biggest events in a woman's life are puberty and menopause," says Jana McCullough Evensen, Pharm. D., a self-described "functional pharmacist" and expert in bio-identical hormones at Collier Compounding in Fayetteville. On the importance of hormone balance, Evensen describes it this way, "A small amount of hormones bring the best of women to the aging arena." She has been helping women achieve this balance for years through saliva testing. She says "Saliva testing enables us to fine-tune hormones and stress level." Hormones determine everything from bone density to heart health to risk of Alzheimer's. Sure, eating whole foods and getting exercise are things we can do easily on our own. But with hormones, we need a little extra help. Being a vegan cyclist, for example, can't create enough estrogen after menopause to ward off osteoporosis or heart disease, necessarily. Ultimately, if hormones remain unbalanced, women experience health issues that can literally disrupt their lives. Finding that balance can significantly improve quality of life. Saliva Testing and BHRT Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone are just some of the hormones that can be tested through saliva. The simple saliva test accurately determines levels of hormones in tissue, as opposed to a blood test, which only detects levels circulating in the body. You can ask your gynecologist for a recommendation on a compounding pharmacy that does saliva tests and compounding. You can find testing options online by googling "hormones and saliva testing." The test is quite simple. You get your kit, collect your saliva in a vial and send it off. So once you have your levels, what's next? You'll meet with a professional who evaluates the levels and prescribes the "compound." You might be surprised that the treatment, bio-identical hormone replacement therapy(BHRT), does not come in a pill. It's in a fat- soluble cream that you apply to skin, rotating to different areas daily. It's easy, has no side effects and it's not overly expensive. And, unlike the high estrogen replacements, natural hormones come in safe, low doses. Thyroid: The Regulator Thyroid is an endocrine gland in the neck that regulates metabolic rate and protein synthesis and can wreak serious havoc on the body if out of whack. Testing is typically done by blood test as opposed to saliva. Most doctors do a routine test of just the T3 and T4 levels, and most women don't know to ask for Free T3 and TSH levels as well, which give a much more accurate reading of what's really going on with the thyroid. Women also may not be aware that there are several treatment options. If your thyroid test points to an abnormally high number, which would be hypothyroidism, doctors routinely prescribe Synthroid. But there are natural options like Armour thyroid and Nature thyroid that have proven to be effective without side effects that often come with the synthetic version. Another aspect to consider is iodine deficiency, which can lead to hypothyroidism. People don't usually know if they're iodine deficient. So, it's important to get iodine in your diet through iodized salt and other sources like cod, yogurt, reduced-fat milk, shrimp, canned tuna in oil and eggs. Or, a there are several iodine supplements available at natural health food store, under the category of iodine or thyroid supplements. And one more thing: Vitamin D is a hormone too! Evensen recommends 2-4000 mg. per day, all year long. HealtHy aging: Balancing Hormones ultimately, if hormones remain unbalanced, women experience health issues that can literally disrupt their lives. 6 | YOu at YOur best | nWadg.cOm/YOuatYOurbest OctOber - WOmen's HealtH | sundaY, sePtember 27, 2020

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