Hormones and aging
While you’re probably already aware of the important role hormones play in your body – helping your cells and organs to carry out crucial bodily processes as efficiently as possible – you may be unaware of how aging impacts our natural hormone levels and the consequences of that shift.
The decline of hormone levels with age is inevitable, but the symptoms of that decline don’t have to be. Hormone replacement therapy (or HRT) is a very effective treatment to help in not only the management of symptoms but brings a host of other benefits, too.
When we’re working with a new client and discussing HRT, safety is a topic that comes up often, and safety is an important conversation to have with any medical provider, especially when considering a hormone-based treatment.
What is hormone replacement therapy?
HRT is a treatment used to replenish your body’s natural levels of key hormones, like estrogen in the case of HRT and testosterone in the case of TRT (testosterone replacement therapy).
As we age, our bodies lose the ability to produce the optimal amounts of these hormones for our bodies to function at their best, and that can lead to some of the more unpleasant signs of aging and menopause in women. HRT is essentially supplementing your body’s natural hormone production to ensure hormones stay at the correct level.
Along with assisting in the management of menopausal symptoms, HRT can provide a lot of great benefits, like:
- Improved energy
- Better sleep
- Improved mood
- Faster muscle recovery
- More effective weight loss
Is hormone replacement therapy safe?
For most people, HRT is perfectly safe and effective, but only when administered by a medical professional that has the right experience and knowledge. It’s crucial that your provider has a deep understanding of hormones and a reliable method to test hormone levels before administering treatment.
How does HRT differ from steroid therapy?
HRT is often confused with steroid therapy because they share some similarities, but there is a large difference between HRT and steroid therapy that makes HRT much safer.
That difference? Precision dosing.
HRT is simply the replenishment of hormones to your body’s normal level. In contrast, steroid therapy gives your body significantly more hormones than you need, which can cause a lot of problems – as we’ve learned time and time again in the sports world. In other words, HRT’s goal is to optimize your body’s function, while steroid therapy abuses these functions.
With dosing being as important as it is for safe HRT, choosing a provider that can properly do therapeutic dosing is crucial.
How do you know if hormone replacement therapy is right for you?
As with any health treatment, it’s essential to weigh the pros and cons with a medical professional when considering HRT or TRT, but it’s important to remember that precision dosing is key to safe and effective HRT. Here at 10X Health, when a client is interested in HRT, we always start with detailed testing to help us ensure not only the safety but the effectiveness of treatment.
Our comprehensive blood and genetic tests will help us identify any issues in hormone levels and inefficiencies in the body that may make it harder for your body to produce or balance the hormones it has naturally. Once we have a full snapshot of your current health and hormone levels, we can make a more educated recommendation on if HRT is a good option for you.
While genetic and blood testing are the best ways to know when HRT may be helpful, some specific symptoms can be good early indicators of a need for HRT, especially some of the more common menopausal symptoms, like hot flashes, loss of bone density, and dryness or general discomfort.
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Want to learn more about how HRT or TRT could help your body attain peak optimization? Get in touch with our team by booking your first blood test or ordering your at-home gene test today!
