Aging Happens in Bursts (new study!)

This might explain a few things.

A new study tracking 108 Californians between the ages of 25 and 75 found that human aging is not linear! Instead, they found bursts of disruption in molecular markers of aging at 2 points in time:

▪️ Around the age of 44, changes occur that affect the metabolism of lipids, caffeine, and alcohol

▪️ Around the age of 60, changes occur that affect immune function, kidney function, and the metabolism of carbohydrates

The study used the words “waves” and “crests” to describe the moments across the lifespan when aging activities spike. At both the age 44 and age 60 crests, muscle and skin aging also accelerated.

Do you think your body has hit one of these aging bursts?

PMID 39143318

REFERENCE:

Shen X, Wang C, Zhou X, et al. Nonlinear dynamics of multi-omics profiles during human aging. Nat Aging. Published online August 14, 2024. [link]

Things I Skip for My Hormone Health

Things I avoid for my hormone health:

🚫 Receipts

🚫 Plastic Bottles

🚫 Fragrances

🚫 Food Dyes

(Here’s why 👇)

All of these things contain 💥xenoestrogens💥

Xenoestrogens are chemicals in everyday products that have estrogen-like effects.

Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to:

▪️ Uterine fibroids

▪️ Endometriosis

▪️ Infertility

▪️ PCOS

▪️ Early menopause

▪️ Early puberty

As well as cancers, metabolic disorders, obesity and more 😢

The point is not to fear everything we breathe, eat, smell, or touch. The point is to understand simple things we can do to minimize exposures to xenoestrogens and endocrine disruptors on an everyday basis over time.

Here are some things anyone can do:

💧 Carry a glass or stainless steel water bottle rather than plastic

💸 Opt to skip printed receipts

🧴Choose fragrance-free cleaning products

🍭 Avoid synthetic food dyes

🌽 Purchase organic foods

💋Choose personal care products that are paraben-free

🌱 Use air purifiers and/or house plants to keep indoor air clean

Think of your body as a bucket. Chemical toxins are always pouring into the bucket, and your natural detox pathways are always draining those toxins out. As long as you are clearing out toxins faster than they are building up, you’ll stay in a space of health.

Drop me a ❤️ if you learned something new!

#xenoestrogens #hormonedisruptors #endocrinedisruptors #hormonehealth #elementsnatmed

REFERENCES:

Ahn C, Jeung EB. Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Disease Endpoints. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(6):5342. Published 2023 Mar 10. [link]

The Endocrine Society. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Threats to Human Health [link]

How to Support Estrogen Metabolism

💥 Not all estrogens are equal.

Maybe you’ve heard that estrogen fuels breast cancer risk.

But did you know that there are many different estrogen metabolites and some present a greater risk than others?

Also, estrogen metabolites interact with genetics, liver enzymes, antioxidants, and other biochemical pathways to ultimately determine breast cancer risk.

Meaning estrogen is only part of the puzzle 🧩

Some things we can do for healthy estrogen metabolism include:

▪️ Support estrogen elimination from the gut with fiber-rich foods, probiotics, and supplements like calcium-d-glucarate

▪️ Support estrogen metabolism in the liver with sulfur-rich foods (like onions, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts) and antioxidant supplements like resveratrol

▪️ Support production of more favorable estrogen metabolites with supplements like DIM (diindolylmethane) and I3C (indole-3-carbinol)

The best approach is one that is personalized to YOU.

If you are looking to strike the perfect balance of hormonal health today and disease risk reduction down the road, we are here to help.

🌱 Get started at our practice through the link in our bio!

#estrogenmetabolism #breasthealth #hormoneoptimization #hormonehealth

REFERENCES:

-Das S, Somisetty VS, Ulven SM, Matthews J. Resveratrol and 3,3'-Diindolylmethane Differentially Regulate Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and Estrogen Receptor Alpha Activity through Multiple Transcriptomic Targets in MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(19):14578. [link]

-Siddiqui R, Makhlouf Z, Alharbi AM, Alfahemi H, Khan NA. The Gut Microbiome and Female Health. Biology (Basel). 2022;11(11):1683.. [link]
-Starek-Świechowicz B, Budziszewska B, Starek A. Endogenous estrogens-breast cancer and chemoprevention. Pharmacol Rep. 2021;73(6):1497-1512. [link]

When Women Ask If I Think It’s Their Hormones…

💥Female hormones start with estrogen & progesterone BUT ⬇️⬇️

They don’t end there.

If you’re dealing with period problems, PMS, mood swings, painful breasts, no libido, hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, or anything else you suspect *might* be your hormones, this post is for you!

Yes, it might be your hormones.

AND ALSO your hormones might be out of whack because of one of these 6 contributing causes I see most often in my practice:

1️⃣ Detoxification (estrogen is metabolized in the liver)

2️⃣ Gut Health (estrogen metabolites are eliminated in everyday healthy 💩)

3️⃣ Stress (stress causes the body to favor cortisol production over progesterone)

4️⃣ Blood Sugar (spikes in blood sugar and insulin lower the levels of SHBG, increasing free estrogen and testosterone)

5️⃣ Nutrient Depletion (magnesium and B6 are especially important for hormone metabolism)

6️⃣ Xenoestrogens (everyday chemicals can mimic our hormones)

Don’t worry. It’s not your job to make sense of all this.

That’s my job.

If you want to stay informed and empowered in your health and prefer a root-cause approach, you’re in the right place.

Follow for more on Female Hormone Health.

🌱 Get started at our practice through the link in our bio!

Mental Health through the Menstrual Cycle

450.

If you menstruate, that’s about how many periods you’ll have in a lifetime.

Yet even though half the world’s population is menstruating for half their lives…we have very little research on what the hormonal effects actually are…especially in relation to the brain and mental health.

That’s why this new study 👆 is so remarkable.

Neuroscientists tracked 30 women over the course of their menstrual cycles with MRI brain scans and hormone tests—and found brainwide structural changes that correlated with hormone fluctuations 🤯🤯🤯

For example:

🔹 Just before ovulation (when estrogen is high), brains showed changes that indicated faster information transfer.

🔹 The rise of FSH before ovulation was associated with thicker gray matter.

🔹 Progesterone after ovulation correlated with decreased cerebrospinal fluid volume.

What does all this mean?

It means the hormone changes throughout the menstrual cycle influence MORE than just the ovaries and uterus. The more we learn about these hormone-brain connections, the better we can make sense of the domino effect of female hormone balance.

Is your mind blown?

P.S. this study is not yet peer-reviewed but available preprint.

Reference

Rizor EJ, Babenko V, Dundon NM, et al. Menstrual cycle-driven hormone concentrations co-fluctuate with white and grey matter architecture changes across the whole brain bioRxiv 2023. [link & news article]