Menopause is the most common period in a woman’s life when hormonal imbalances occur. During menopause, a woman’s ovaries no longer make two prominent hormones, estrogen and progesterone. Women also need small amounts of testosterone which can be deficient as well. This new imbalance can present itself in the form of hot flashes, sexual dysfunction, night sweats, dry skin, bone loss, skin changes, mood swings, and vaginal dryness. However, menopause isn't the only cause of hormonal deficiencies. Women as young as their mid-30s can experience deficiencies due to environmental stressors, other medical conditions, and nutritional intake.

Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy can combat these symptoms by replacing the hormones that our bodies once made thus reducing symptoms and improving a woman's quality of life. Multiple studies have shown that women on BHRT have lower risks of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's.

• Fatigue -Hot flashes are a hallmark symptom of menopause because so many women experience them. Hormone imbalance is almost always the root cause.

• Weight Gain -Losing weight during menopause can feel like pushing a heavy rock up a steep hill. Balanced hormones can end the uphill battle, and make weight loss easier.

• Fatigue -The other symptoms of menopause, like insomnia, night sweats, and depression, are often the culprits behind fatigue. The answer: balanced hormones.

• Low Sex Drive -Low libido often gets lost in the shadows of more classic symptoms. Meanwhile, losing your sex drive can feel like losing a part of yourself.

• Insomnia -Would you do almost anything for a good night’s sleep? Most menopausal women would. Sleep can be a rare commodity during this time in life.

• Mood Changes -Mood issues comprise a particularly difficult cluster of symptoms because they impact those around you—particularly your loved ones.

• Skin Changes -Hormone deficiency won’t do any favors for your skin if left unchecked. We halt those changes with solutions that work from both the inside and the outside.

• Memory Loss -Don’t worry—you aren’t going crazy. Losing your train of thought and drawing mental blanks are common during menopause and perimenopause.

• Vaginal Dryness -Few women want to talk about it. Most women find it a little embarrassing. Lots of women have it. The good news is we aren’t shy about it, and we can fix it.

• Hair Loss -There are numerous reasons why a woman might lose her hair, but two of those reasons are related to testosterone and thyroid.

• Osteoporosis -The “silent” nature of osteoporosis is why screening has become routine in menopausal women, and why healthy levels of estrogen are so important.

Every day we hear from women who are frustrated. They’re frustrated with the inadequate treatment they’re receiving from their primary care physician or their gynecologist. Or they’re frustrated because they can’t find treatment at all. In particular, women are frustrated by how difficult it is to get good information about treatment options.

Due to the abundance of misinformation available, this frustration is frequently focused on estrogen. Allow us to shed some light on this very misunderstood hormone.

Benefits of Estrogen:

Let’s cut to the chase. Estrogen is the feel-good hormone for women. You simply won’t feel your best without an adequate supply in your system.

Following, you will find a concise list of the many things estrogen does for your body:

• Decreases “bad cholesterol” (LDL), and increases “good cholesterol” (HDL).

• Protects your arteries by keeping them open and flexible.

• Lowers your risk of a heart attack.

• Reduces homocysteine levels in your blood.

• Protects your brain and your memory, and reduces the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

• Increases your ability to concentrate.

• Promotes the production of collagen, which helps your skin to maintain its elasticity.

• Helps your skin retain moisture, minimizing wrinkles.

• Maintains the elasticity of your vaginal tissue.

• Prevents osteoporosis.

• Keeps your teeth healthy.

• Increases your metabolism and reduces your appetite, which helps to prevent weight gain.

• Protects the health of your eyes.

• Prevents colon cancer.

• Protects your lungs from cancer.

• Keeps your voice strong and steady.

• Reduces insulin sensitivity, and makes your blood sugar more stable.

• Detoxifies the cells in your body.

• Estriol in combination with bioidentical progesterone protects against breast cancer.

• Estriol in combination with bioidentical progesterone protects against ovarian cancer.

Estrogen can be found everywhere in your body. It keeps everything moving and growing and functioning optimally. Take away estrogen, and things don’t work as well—they decline. Replace estrogen, and everything functions better. Estrogen is key to healthy aging for women.

While the focus in women’s hormones is often on estrogen, it’s important to remember that estrogen is at its best and safest when combined with progesterone. Progesterone is like the police when it comes to estrogen. It allows estrogen to do its good work in terms of healthy cell growth but keeps that growth from going unchecked.

Benefits of Progesterone

Bioidentical progesterone is the “can-do-no-wrong” hormone.

Following are just a few of its many positive benefits:

• Protects against estrogen dominance.

• Protect the breasts, uterus, and ovaries from cancer.

• Protects your brain from decline.

• Reduces anxiety.

• Acts as an antidepressant.

• Alleviates insomnia.

• Acts as an anti-inflammatory.

• Prevents water retention.

• Improves the breakdown of fat into energy by raising thyroid hormone levels.

• Cuts cravings for carbohydrates.

• Reduces breast tenderness.

• Combats osteoporosis by contributing to the creation of new bone.

• Increases HDL levels (the good cholesterol).

Most women think of testosterone as being a strictly male hormone. But women need testosterone, too. They just need much less. This comparatively small amount of testosterone, however, does the same thing for women that it does for men. Remember how you felt when you were 20 or 30? Testosterone was largely responsible. Testosterone makes your sex drive strong, and keeps your moods stable. It helps you build muscle, and control fat. It even makes your mind sharper, and your energy level higher.

Benefits of Testosterone

Testosterone does wonderful things for a woman’s body. In addition to improving sex drive and the ability to build muscle, testosterone can:

• Improve mental acuity.

• Increase energy.

• Improve mood (by lifting depression).

• Improve the ability to burn fat.

• Strengthen bones.

But without the right dose, these results won’t be maximized. To get optimal positive results (like increased energy and increased sex drive) without negative side effects (like oily skin and acne) dosage needs to be individualized just for you.

The thyroid gland and its many associated hormones can be thought of as the “traffic center” for your endocrine system. Thyroid hormones are important in their own right, especially for regulating metabolism. But healthy thyroid function is also critical to the balance of your other hormones. When something is out of whack elsewhere in your endocrine system, the thyroid gland will work hard to compensate.

The Facts about Thyroid

1. Being low thyroid frequently goes hand in hand with imbalances in other hormones.

2. There is a symbiotic relationship between the thyroid and other hormones. Treating other hormones without checking the thyroid is not an effective way to balance hormones.

3. Many symptoms of low thyroid overlap with symptoms of other hormone imbalances, including fatigue, weight gain, irritability, depression, anxiety, insomnia, and brain fog.

DHEA is produced by your adrenal glands and is the most plentiful sex hormone in the body. Without it, your body can’t make other important hormones. It has the added benefit of keeping your hormones balanced and functioning well.