Part 6 of the Series: Aging and the "Pauses of Life"
Menopause - The Decline in Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone, and More

​

​
Did you know that once menopause begins, the rest of the "pauses" quickly progress, as the imbalances feed on each other? Consequently, your health breaks down. The roll down the hill goes faster and faster, especially if our brains aren't in good shape. The imbalances in the estrogen-progesterone ratio can feel chaotic at best.

Along with hot flashes, the following symptoms can be experienced during menopause:

• Attention deficiencies
• Bone weakness
• Vaginal dryness
• Failure to ovulate
• Hair loss
• Loss of libido
• Mood swings (Freak-Outs)
• Abdominal weight gain

But why are increased body fat, loss of muscle tone, weight gain around the middle, and "freak-outs" common occurrences during menopause?

The fall of estrogen and progesterone cause a cascade of rising blood sugars and lower mental activity. Women begin to feel both hungry and tired so often, they eat more junk food to stay alert and they exercise less. The good news is that we now have the ability to give low dosages of natural hormones that will transform not only the way you feel but the way you look.
​
GABA and serotonin agents can stop the "freak-outs" many women experience as a result of declining estrogen levels. This occurs because you're losing progesterone, the hormone that keeps you calm. Without progesterone, many women experience a general "sinking" feeling. With the right treatment, this feeling will go away.

If your hot flashes and other symptoms are severe, you may need to let your doctor know - estrogen-containing products can be a most effective treatment.

Progesterone is a medical gift. It's a natural mood balancer, stress reliever, and brain calmer, and it squashes cortisol (our stress hormone). It is a natural diuretic, antidepressant, antioxidant, and a precursor of cortisone and necessary for survival.

By taking natural estrogen and other bioidentical supplements, you can turn back the clock. While there's no medication that will stop menopause from occuring, you can trick your brain into thinking it is 50 forever. 

The only way menopause can be successfully treated is by imitating the body's own mechanisms, which means replacing the hormones that the body naturally has lost. By maintaining and increasing hormone levels, you can restore your health and even reverse the symptoms that have been affecting you. Natural hormones have been found to be capable of doing this without causing negative side effects.

You can also strengthen your overall health by supplementing with vitamin D. Typically I prescribe 5,000 units per day as a natural brain builder.

My Rainbow Diet will allow you to control your weight and stop the cascade of illness associated with obesity. It's remarkable how carrying as little as 10 extra pounds can significantly affect your overall health. Keep your meals full of colorful fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, lean proteins, and healthy fats.

And discuss with your doctor about taking these code-breaking hormones:
  Hormonal Treatment                        Brain Code Action

• Progesterone                                GABA, Serotonin
• Testosterone                                 Dopamine
• Estradiol (E2)                              Acetylcholine
• Estrone (E3)                                Acetylcholine
• DHEA                                         Acetylcholine, Dopamine
• Pregnenolone                              GABA

There are many health care professionals, today, that still focus on treating disease once it is diagnosed. They're still not getting the big picture and miss 90% of silent disease. While early detection is key, prevention is equally important in guaranteeing a longer, healthier life. By focusing on preventive treatment, my patients don't experience unexpected illnesses or surprise deaths.

We can now conclusively predict who is most likely to become the victim of a stroke or heart attack, even though the majority of patients who die of a sudden heart attack have few or no symptoms. For example, a major study of 28,000 women at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital provided conclusive evidence that painless inflammation of heart and blood vessels is a major trigger of heart attacks - even more so than high cholesterol. Women with high levels of inflammation are twice as likely as those with high cholesterol to die from heart attacks and strokes.

The collective condition known as "cardiovascular disease" refers to disorders of the heart as well as the vascular system. Below are signs and symptoms that you want to be on the lookout for; and if they occur, talk to your doctor immediately.

A C-reactive protein blood test is one of the simplest ways to identify chronic inflammation that may be smoldering in your body. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) is another useful technique for identifying heart disease.
​
The key to prolonging good heart health (and overall health) and continuing to lead a vibrant and active life is the ability to identify the aging parts of your body that may already be experiencing the ravages of silent disease.

You can never start a cardiovascular program soon enough. In assessing your heart attack risk, simply look at the notches on your belt. An increasing waistline is a reliable risk indicator of heart disease.

Potential heart disease patients may benefit from preventive hormone therapy, especially testosterone therapy (in men). Testosterone and other hormones strengthen the heart muscle, which will aid in heart contraction and improve the heart's pumping ability. DHEA may help protect against atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Contact our office for an appointment to discuss further hormone therapies.

By following a healthy lifestyle including exercise and a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy whole grains, and plenty of low-fat protein (including eggs, which are a perfect protein source rich in amino acids), you may lose excess weight that can contribute to heart disease and stroke. You also need to eat foods that are low in sodium, which will naturally reduce internal swelling and water retention. For more information on my Braverman Protocol and Rainbow Diet, you can read my book, The Amazing Way to Reverse Heart Disease Naturally. But a yearly exam that includes early detection tests is a must. 

At PATH Medical, we can help you with all of your health, dietary, and supplemental needs.

Why is the thyroid important?
Your thyroid gland controls the rate that your body burns the fuel necessary to keep you and your mood going. It does this by synthesizing the hormones thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyronine (T3). These thyroid hormones are necessary in adults for normal function of the other organs and systems. Thyroid hormones also affect tissue growth and maturation, help regulate fat digestion, and increase intestinal absorption of carbohydrates.

Signs of thyropause:​
Thyropause marks the beginning of a metabolic disorder, which can begin as early as birth but typically begins between the ages of 30 and 50.  If you know that you have a dopamine deficiency, you are a likely candidate for experiencing thyropause sooner than you think. Changes can be subtle, but many of the following symptoms could indicate the possibility that you're experiencing thyropause (the aging and weakening of your thyroid):

​Thyroid Problems Can Be Reversed:
Any form of thyroid disease can be managed with medication. To treat an aging thyroid, you start with natural thyroid treatment. If it is picked up soon enough, the disease is stopped in its tracks. Taking natural thyroid supplements when you need them works like taking other bioidentical hormones. It's not a crutch. It doesn't make the thyroid weaker but actually makes it less likely to decline by getting its adequate support. Your thyroid health may require bioidentical hormone supplementations of the hormones T3 and T4.

Because there's a distinct relationship between your thyroid and a dopamine deficiency, you can augment your dopamine with foods and nutrients. But with thyroid problems, it may best to stay away from foods that are known as goitrogens (cruciferous vegetables, soybeans, peaches, strawberries, peanuts, radishes, spinach, and millet). Instead, choose Thyropause-reversing meals such as:

*omelets made with low-fat cheddar cheese
*black bean soup
*lentil soup
*organic turkey with lentil sauce
*4 oz. lean steak, broiled with fresh garlic and basil and a green bean salad
*japanese seaweed salad

Our body parts will not pause at the same time. For example, a patient whose chronological age (real age) is 40 years old could have a heart that has aged to that of a 50 year old; or they could have bones that have aged to that of a 60 year old. You can find out your AgePrint by completing my AgePrint quiz and through testing and blood work. My AgePrint quiz can help you determine not only which pause(s) might be affecting your health, but what stage they have reached. The results from the quiz assign an approximate age for every organ and system of the body. Blood work and testing can easily confirm your findings.

Every aging code currently known is reversible in its early stages. I know of no aging signal that has not been reversed. The keys then to a Younger YOU are the tests that detect symptoms before a health problem hits you, instead of waiting for medical and surgical intervention. The most successful way to achieve total health and extend life is to prevent internal again from occurring.

This is Part 1 of a continuing series on the "Pauses." I'll discuss each pause in more depth which will include dietary, supplemental, and hormonal strategies.

​Are you overweight? One way you can determine whether you need to lose weight is by identifying your leptin levels. Leptin is a hormone secreted by the body’s fat cells. Its receptor is found in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls your hunger and body weight. The discovery of this hormone has led to a greater understanding of how fat cells are formed and how we respond to hunger. These fat cells are no longer viewed as a part of tissue that merely stores excess calories. Instead, we now know that they are dynamic cells that work with the endocrine system to produce hormones that regulate appetite and metabolism.
 
Each fat cell has an internal sensor that demands food. As more fat enters the fat cell, that cell secretes leptin in response. The secretion of the leptin hormone signals your brain, “telling” you that you’ve achieved satiety: the feeling you get when you’ve eaten enough. The more leptin that’s present, the stronger the signal to your brain, and the less hungry you feel. However, if there is leptin overload, which often occurs when you are overweight, or if the signal doesn’t get received, your brain won’t transmit the message to stop eating. Unfortunately, the consequence is that you will continue to eat past the point of satiety, which leads to the accumulation of body fat. It becomes a vicious cycle then as, subsequently, more fat cells also accumulate and their food requirements need to be met.

An expert on bio-identical hormone replacement therapy and natural approaches for the treatment of cancer, Ms. Somers shared her self-taught lessons with conference attendees and guest lecturers. Her remarks garnered a prominent Page Six mention. Dr. Braverman, who contributed a chapter to her bestseller, Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness, was honored to have her participation in the groundbreaking conference, and is proud to have her ongoing support.
Other highlights from the all-day conference included:

• Introductory remarks by Governor David Paterson
• Lecture by Joseph Maroon, MD, team doctor for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Inspirational talk from Rocky Bleier, former NFL star and Vietnam War hero
• Lectures by Nora Volkow, MD, head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse; Yasmin Hurd, Ph.D., Professor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine; and Mark Gold, MD, Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine, in addition to those by Kenneth Blum, Ph.D. and Eric R. Braverman, MD, Science Director and Founder, respectively, of the PATH Foundation.
• Rousing, crowd-pleasing dinner recital by Miri Ben-Ari, Grammy Award-winning violinist.

For information about purchasing recordings of conference lectures and VIP interviews, and/or for information about upcoming PATH Foundation papers and events, call Mona Li at the Foundation: 646.367.7411 or inquire at info@pathfoundationny.org

Insomnia isn’t just a matter of being tired and catching up on sleep somewhere down the road. It’s a critical health issue that impacts health globally because without proper sleep, the brain and body do not have adequate opportunity for restoration/rejuvenation. And reversing insomnia and getting 7-8 hours of proper sleep every night isn’t just a matter of a warm glass of milk before bedtime or swallowing an over-the-counter sleep aid.
Every case of sleeplessness has to be carefully evaluated, and treatments must be tailored using multiple modalities:
Sleep Environment
Total dark room; 68° temperature; soft sheets; pillow that supports both neck and head;
Lifestyle changes
Regular exercise (preferably in the morning); regular stretching (both sitting and standing); meditation; chamomile tea; hot baths prior to bedtime; brainwave modulation using the Cranial Electrical Stimulation (CES) device;
Supplements
Melatonin; Inositol; Valerian Root; Tryptophan;
Prescription Medication
Trazodone
Prescription Hormones
Adenosine; Aldosterone; Leptin; Pregnenelone.
The comprehensive four-to-five-hour initial visit at PATH Medical will get to the bottom of any sleep problem and identify the most effective combination of treatments.

​Call 888.304.7284 to schedule the checkup that will get you on the path to total health.
It’s your life. Extend it.
888.304.7284