Cortisol, Testosterone, Thyroid, Estradiol, and Aging!

It has been more than six decades since the first pioneers dared to challenge menopause and initiated hormone replacement therapy. In those days, things were done empirically and almost heroically, as the phenomenon of menopause was not very well understood, and was even accepted by medical science as a “normal” phase of life. On the other hand, there was no way to ascertain the exact moment a woman entered hormone deficiency, and no laboratory controls existed to evaluate the clinical response to hormone use. To complicate matters further, the hormones used in those days were artificial and administered in literally massive doses. This context, as one might expect, produced benefits but also adverse effects, among which the most feared of all: an increased risk of cancer. Throughout this time, significant advances have been made, and contrary to what many still persist in believing, hormone replacement is far from being a beauty treatment for rejuvenation that can cause cancer. Hormone replacement means consistently delaying the processes of human aging, in addition to contributing to the maintenance of quality of life. The big puzzle is that we are achieving increasingly longer life expectancies in a short period, such that our glandular systems that produce hormones have not yet had the necessary time to adapt, falling into failure and exhaustion many decades before the end of life. It is curious to observe that nature has very strict rules for all animals. Living beings do not live much beyond the phase in which they exhaust their reproductive capacity, with humans being one of the few animals that can break these rules. We pay a very high price for such insolence, since, from the moment hormone production begins to decline, the entire process of protein manufacturing in our body also undergoes a sharp decline, intensely accelerating aging. Studies from the last decade in the area of hormones not only confirm but consecrate a new and much more comprehensive concept: hormone modulation. Contrary to what was believed, we humans actually have not just one major pause, but numerous different pauses, which affect men and women indiscriminately, establish themselves uniquely in each person, with varying intensity levels and at completely different ages for each of us. The idea that merely replacing estradiol during menopause would do much for our clients has been abandoned. What truly exists is the pursuit of a balance in the production of a vast array of hormones, with markers already available to assess the exact moment each of them begins to decline, allowing replacement to be promptly initiated for both men and women. It is highly pertinent to remember that the multiple deficiencies of these hormones in conjunction can cause aging to occur at a much faster rate. It is important to understand that hormones do not decline because we age. We age because our hormones decline… From the currently available arsenal, the main hormones used in modulation, with some of their key functions, are briefly described below.

Estradiol – is the major hormone of menopause. It performs countless and extremely important functions: collagen synthesis, cardiovascular protection, reduction of osteoporosis risk, reduction of Alzheimer's risk, reduction of colorectal cancer risk, reduction of blindness risk, tooth preservation, maintenance of urogenital trophism.

Human Growth Hormone (HGH) – used in men and women, dramatically reduces body fat, increases muscle mass, stimulates sexual desire, boosts immune response, improves energy levels and brain performance, and reduces the skin wrinkling process.

Testosterone – primarily used in men, significantly increases cardiac output and resistance to physical effort, restores sexual function and desire, and has a hypoglycemic effect, decisively contributing to the normalization of blood glucose in type II diabetes.

DHEA – used in men and women, stimulates the immune system, sexual desire, acts as a powerful antioxidant, and regulates the functions of cortisol, the stress hormone responsible for several harmful effects on our body.

Melatonin – a powerful antioxidant, reduces oxidation processes and cellular aging, in addition to being an inducer of serotonin production, a protein responsible for inducing deep and natural sleep. Used in men and women.

Natural Thyroid Hormone Extract – used in both sexes, prevents the inadequate conversion of active thyroid hormones, and, in cases of hypothyroidism, shows superior clinical results to any other synthetic product. Finally, it is important to emphasize that all these hormones are biologically identical to those produced in our own body, allowing their supplementation to be carried out safely and physiologically. Dr. Ítalo Rachid - Prof. Dr. Introducer of Anti-Aging Medicine in Brazil ---

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