Ladies, hormones getting you down? Help is here!
regulating hormones
Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Hosted by Amanda Williams MD, MPH
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InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: [00:00:04] Welcome to the InVite Health podcast, where our degreed health care professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InVite Health has to offer at www.invithealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code podcast at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started. † [00:00:34]
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Amanda Williams MD, MPH: [00:00:40] Okay, ladies, you’ve all heard about the nightmare scenario of going through menopause. Hot flashes, disrupted sleep, weight gain, low energy moodiness. Who wants to deal with that? Right. But we also have to recognize that hormonal fluctuations, even before menopause, this can happen in women who are in their teen years, in their twenties, that hormonal fluctuations can really create such an imbalance and affect our overall sense of well-being to such degree that it’s incredibly disruptive. Hence the word PMS or premenstrual syndrome. We know that this, can create significant havoc in a female’s life. So it’s not just that post-menopausal experience. So today I want to really talk about what we can be doing throughout our entire life when it comes to creating a better balance of our hormones. We have energy. We have that drive to want to do things. We’re not on edge or getting good sleep and we’re maintaining healthy weight. So how do we achieve this? Well, it comes from a couple of different fronts. One, we have to pay attention to our diet and exercise, and then we have to look at what supplements can be beneficial. Well, luckily for you, we have a formulation called Menopause Advanced Hx. And I’m going to talk about even though the name is called menopause, this is certainly not just for women who are going through menopause or are post-menopausal. This is for all women. So I’m going to talk about the science behind this formulation today. I’m Dr. Amanda Williams, scientific director at InVite Health.† [00:02:28]
[00:02:29] And when it comes to hormonal imbalances, oh, goodness, we know it is a real thing when you look at symptoms and the percent of women who experience things such as hot flashes going through hormonal fluctuations, menopause in particular. You’re looking at roughly 60% of women who can experience hot flashes, night sweats, feeling moody. This is all in that 50% and higher range. Then you can look at other issues such as anxiety, forgetfulness. This is a big one, when women say, gosh, I feel like I have a lot of brain fog, I don’t feel as sharp as I once used to. Now, this can happen even when you are 25 years old. So once again, we don’t want to focus solely on post-menopausal women in this. We can look at shifts in our appetite, food cravings, for example, which can lead to weight gain. We certainly know that the hormonal imbalances themselves, can create a problem with water retention, and we can certainly look at the impact that this can have when it comes to low sex drive. So a decreased libido is certainly a very common issue that can arise.† [00:03:43]
WHAT IS BRAIN FOG? – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 517>>LISTEN NOW!
[00:03:44] So we know that we need to really focus in on what we can be doing each and every single day throughout our lives to maintain a healthier hormone balance. Well, we always want to think about the foods that we are eating. We know that eating a standard American diet that is loaded now with bad carbohydrates, all of those added sugars certainly do no benefit when it comes to creating balance for our hormonal systems. This is all hormone systems. Under the endocrine system, everything is interrelated. So it’s not good for your blood sugar. It’s not good for your thyroid function. It’s certainly not good for your sex hormones either. And we have to look at the adrenals so we know that cortisol influence certainly is not helped by eating a standard American diet. So we want to adhere to a mediterranean diet because we know that all of those healthy antioxidants, healthy fats, that we obtain from a mediterranean diet are certainly going to be much more supportive at that cellular level for all functions in the body when it comes to maintaining healthy weight, our mood, blood sugar, as well as our sex hormones. So those cruciferous vegetables, for example, very beneficial when it comes to hormonal balance. Things like flaxseed, for example, have those very powerful phytoestrogens that can help mimic the activity of estrogen in the body. So it’s not going to alter your estrogen levels, but it helps to play that protective role that estrogen yields women. So flax is a very good option or the organic flax powder start to incorporate that into your daily diet. Very good for hormone balance.† [00:05:26]
[00:05:27]And then, of course, we look at having fruits and vegetables every single day and healthy fats, things like salmon, for example, all very beneficial. So we think about that, we think that we need to exercise. We have to find that balance of something that you enjoy doing that you’re actually going to stick with. This also makes a difference in terms of regulating our hormones. So maybe you like to ride a stationary bike, maybe you like to go out and take a walk around your neighborhood, whatever it is. You want to find something that you enjoy and then you want to stick with it on a regular routine. Then we have to jump into the specific nutrients, and this is where the menopause advanced formulation comes into play, because we know that with the menopause advanced, we are really packing a punch of powerful nutrients that have all been shown in clinical trials to be highly effective at targeting the many different issues that women can experience throughout their life, not just postmenopausal women. This is for all women, as I said, even though the name is called menopause advance doesn’t mean it is just for postmenopausal women.† [00:06:38]
[00:06:39]We know that there’s a lot of issues that can arise when we have these hormonal fluctuations, disturbances in our sleep, our appetite, our mood. And we don’t want to have those things interrupt the quality of our life. So we want to embrace the hormones, we don’t want to try to run from them because, hormones are chemical messengers and they basically are what kind of run us. So if your hormones are starting to take a tank, this is going to affect, maybe your focus, your attention. And this is where women oftentimes will then go to their physician, say, I have brain fog, I feel anxious all the time, I’m not sleeping well. And now you start to hear all of the different potential medications that your doctor may prescribe, a sleep aid, something for depression or anxiety. We definitely don’t want to go down that path when, what we know we can do in terms of diet, exercise and proper supplementation, can work very effectively. So this is a comprehensive blend of scientifically researched nutrients that really help to enhance the way that the body is responding to these fluctuations in hormones.† [00:07:59]
[00:08:00]So one of the big complaints that a lot of women have is the energy aspect, and they feel like they have low energy. This is common for women who have PMS. They feel like, gosh, I’m really tired. I don’t have energy. So this formula contains two different nutrients that really help to charge up our cells. It has Rhodiola extract, which we know is a powerful adrenal adaptogenic herb, and then it has Maca Root extract. Both are very powerful when it comes to helping the body make energy. We know that Maca does a wonderful job when it comes to mood support, so maybe you do feel like you’re a little on edge when you’re using this formulation, you’re getting that daily exposure to that Maca, into that Rhodiola. It gives you that heightened sense of overall well-being.† [00:08:50]
TARGETING SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION WITH MACA – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 403>>Listen Now!
[00:08:51]And then we look at things like Tribulus extract, Grape Seed extract, Isoflavones extract, along with a very powerful blended herb, which is a registered trademark nutrient called EstroG-100. This combination of these unique nutrients have all been shown to be powerfully effective in targeting many of the symptoms that women experience throughout their lives when it comes to these hormone peaks and valleys. So whether it’s hot flashes, the problems with sleep, the problems with energy, we know that these different nutrients certainly pack a punch. Now, what was really interesting was that, the initial studies with EstroG-100, were really geared towards postmenopausal women, who are experiencing a lot of problems with hot flashes and vaginal dryness. And they found that when they gave them this three herb combination, which is now known as EstroG-100, it has a combination of Angelica root extract, there’s Phlomis extract and there’s Cynachum extract. So these three extracts together is what forms EstroG-100. They started to see that when they gave the same extract to perimenopausal women, that they were doing just as good with the types of symptoms, so women who were complaining about problems with PMS, the problems with anxiety, the sleep issues. When they started to use the EstroG, they started to have much more balance when it came to their cycles. So hence, we know Estro-G is very beneficial for a post-menopausal woman who may be experiencing problems such as vaginal dryness and hot flashes. But it’s also very good for pre and perimenopausal women as well.† [00:10:46]
[00:10:47]And then we look towards a nutrient such as the Novasoy isoflavones. The Novasoy is once again, this is a registered trademark form. And we know that this is one of those phytoestrogens, it’s a plant based estrogen. It’s not going to alter your estrogen level, but it gives you this very powerful benefit for the healthy estrogen receptors. Now, what’s really interesting is, once again, this was shown to be highly effective at targeting issues such as hot flashes and the mood issues. But at the end of the day, one of the side benefits that they realized with the Novasoy, was how beneficial it was for bone health, as well as skin health. Now, one of the things that we recognize when it comes to hormonal fluctuations is the risk that goes up when it comes to cardiac function as well as when it comes to bone loss. And so having the isoflavones on board to not only target the issues such as hot flashes, but to also yield that support when it comes to maintaining bone density is a really wonderful addition. So think about this, these are all in this formulation. We’ve got Grape seed extract, because, we have seen these studies showing how grape seed extract, the proanthocyanidins from those grape seed extract, do a wonderful job at targeting those menopausal symptoms as well as maintaining healthy body composition in the Journal of Menopause. Yes, the Journal of Menopause, they actually did a randomized double blind placebo controlled trial, and they showed how effective the grape seed extract was when it came to middle age women who were experiencing different aspects of hormonal fluctuations, and they rated their sleep cycles. They were looking at their mood, but they also looked at their BMI, as well as, cardiovascular parameters, and they found an improvement, not only in some of those physical aspects, such as the hot flashes and things along that line. They saw an improvement in sleep, but they also saw an improvement in blood pressure, which is a wonderful thing. And this is why when we look at something such as grape seed extract and we say, yeah, that should be included in this formulation. They found that women who were using the grape seed extract during this eight week trial actually had an improvement on their BMI. So their muscle mass was maintained better in the group who was taking the grape seed extract. So study after study continue to impress upon this.† [00:13:32]
[00:13:33]In the Journal of Phytotherapy Research back about ten years ago, they were looking at the effects of EstroG on pre, peri and post-menopausal women. Once again, this is a double blind, placebo controlled trial looking at 11 different symptoms that many women complain about, whether that’s, you know, fatigue, feeling a little anxious, just generalized discomfort and pain, the hot flashes, the vaginal dryness, and at the conclusion of that trial, they found, that the women who were taking EstroG-100, did significantly better on all of those different 11 markers. So we understand the science of how these nutrients are working, which is why they are all combined together in the menopause advanced formulation, because I wanted to create a product that would target the main things that, so many women have come to me through the years and said, you know, I’m dealing with hot flashes or I just feel like I have absolutely no energy and I can’t focus and my libido is so low, I have absolutely no sex drive. Hence this is what the Tribulus extract is in the formulation for, the Tribulus along with that Maca root extract can be very supportive for that issue that arises when it comes to low libido or loss of sex drive. So the combination of all of these different nutrients together is what creates this comprehensive balance for the many different factors that can come up throughout a woman’s life when it comes to those hormone ups and downs. So I definitely encourage you to check this formulation out, speak with one of the InVite Health degreed health care professionals to get the personalized approach as to how you should use this formulation based on your specific needs. And remember, that is a free service, so you definitely want to take advantage of that. But go to our website, check out Menopause Advanced Hx, remember, it’s for all women and all women can yield a benefit from this powerful formulation.†[00:15:46]
[00:15:47]I want to thank you so much for tuning in to the InVite Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting, Invitehealth.com/podcast. Do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InVite Health. And we will see you next time for another episode of the InVite Health podcast.† [00:00:40]
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