Understanding the answers to many questions about bioidentical hormones is easier when the terminology is explained. These doctor prescribed replacement supplements have been around for a long time. However, there is a renewed popularity in these natural substitutes as more women learn of their beneficial side effects.
What does bioidentical mean? The term implies that the product is chemically identical to those a body produces. They’re derived from plant substances, not synthesized in a laboratory. Hormones that are not identical to those found in humans are not taken from animals or created in test tubes.
What does hormone mean in this context? The word itself is from a Greek term to impel, or make something go forward. In our body’s complex system, it refers to the substance we produce and carry in tissue fluids such as cells, to promote action. Men and women have these chemical messengers that affect day-to-day well-being and moods.
This plant-derived treatment is not designed to put something in a person’s body that was not there before. It is meant to return levels to the degree that they existed before negative symptoms of menopause or andropause (in men) appeared. Identical hormones derived from plant sources are like those produced by the human body, unlike those used in many man-made replacement products.
What are some symptoms of hormone irregularity? As people enter middle age around the age of 35 years-old or later, decreasing levels may affect their quality of life, could negatively affect certain body functions and may even contribute to an assortment of diseases. Some levels can increase including cortisol and insulin. Sleep and energy level are just two of the areas that may suffer.
Doctors often refer their patients to a growing number of specialists in this field. Simple blood tests can determine whether replacement treatment is needed. Levels that are most often checked include estrogen in women and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) and testosterone in both men and women.
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