More individuals are turning to bio-identical hormone therapy to manage age and hormone-related conditions. However, to ensure maximum safety and effectiveness, it’s essential to develop a tailored approach that takes into account how your body metabolizes hormones. Enhance the benefits of hormone therapy by adopting the right diet, lifestyle, and supplements.
Changes in your Hormonal Profile
As you age, your hormonal profile alters. For instance, menopause reduces the crucial female hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. European research demonstrates the benefits and safety of bio-identical hormones, particularly when applied transdermally (on your skin), instead of ingested as a pill.
To make hormone therapy safer, attention should be given to individual hormone metabolism, assessed through advanced urine analysis. With a precise view of an individual’s hormone metabolism, hormone therapy can be optimized with appropriate food choices, lifestyle habits, and supplementation.
Testing Your Body’s Hormone Metabolism
By supporting healthy hormone breakdown, hormone therapy can be made safer. Labs now use a 24-hour urine hormone test that revolutionizes evaluating hormone usage in men and women while providing insight into possible risk factors for hormone-related cancers. This information is valuable for individuals seeking proactive healthy aging and cancer prevention measures, those taking hormones, or those with hormone-dependent cancers. Treatment strategies and personal supplement and dietary guidelines can be guided by this information.
Identifying potential issues with hormone breakdown in an individual allows for improved support for the critical processes, enhancing hormone treatment safety for both men and women.
Recommendations for Healthy Hormone Breakdown
Several nutrients, foods, and lifestyle interventions can aid healthy hormone metabolism and breakdown.
Beneficial supplements include:
- Activated B vitamins like methylcobalamin (B12), 5 methyltetrahydrofolate (folic acid), pyridoxyl-5-phosphate (B6)
- Trimethylglycine (TMG)
- Sulfur donors (SAM-E, whey protein, MSM)
- DIM
- Zinc
- Flax lignans
- Cruciferous vegetables
- Medicinal mushrooms
- Compounds like quercetin and curcumin
- Integrative formulas for women containing herbs, flavonoids, reishi, and astragalus
- Integrative formulas for men containing minerals and medicinal mushrooms
Diet and Lifestyle Factors for Hormone Health
Healthy lifestyle habits can positively influence hormone balance and breakdown. Minimize alcohol intake, eat an organic unprocessed diet, maintain proper sleep, reduce stress, and increase regular exercise. Improve the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio in your body with balanced omega or essential fatty acid supplements to promote normal hormone balance.
A multifaceted approach to using bio-identical hormones can enhance the safety of this increasingly popular therapy. If you’re using hormones or considering this treatment, consult your doctor about urine hormone testing to help assess and guide your hormone treatment plan.
