In both men and women, estrogen and androgen receptors are found all over the body and can regulate several genes that impact heart health, muscle mass, bone density, cognitive abilities, and more. As you age, your body produces fewer reproductive hormones, leading to a cascade of negative effects on your overall health.
Curious about what symptoms hormone therapy can address? Our team at Southern Nevada Bariatrics put together a list of the top benefits that come with balancing your hormones.
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1. Fights tiredness and fatigue
Sudden tiredness and fatigue affect women more than men, as men’s testosterone levels don’t decline as abruptly as women’s estrogen and progesterone levels. Although specialists are still debating how hormones impact energy levels, research suggests that menopause is associated with poor sleep quality, which contributes to tiredness and fatigue.
Hormone replacement therapy can address your body’s hormone imbalance, helping you feel more like yourself again.
2. Boosts working memory
Mild memory loss and forgetfulness are difficult to measure, but studies suggest that there’s a link between low estrogen levels and a decline in women’s ability to retain new information. So if you have a hard time finding your keys or remembering a request someone just made, your hormones may be to blame.=
Fortunately, hormone replacement therapy can help. A five-year study found that estradiol supplementation improved memory.
3. Promotes weight loss
Weight gain is a common symptom of hormonal changes in both men and women. As testosterone and estrogen levels drop, muscle loss occurs. Muscle increases your daily caloric requirements, so if you lose muscle, you’re more likely to gain weight even if you eat less.
Exercising and dieting can help with weight loss, but so can focusing on maintaining your muscle mass by balancing your hormones. With your hormones balanced, you may be able to preserve more muscle, which helps you burn more calories at rest and keep your weight in line.
4. Reduces risk of osteoporosis
Estrogen plays a big role in maintaining bone density in women. During the first five to seven years after menopause, women can lose up to 20% of their bone density.
Men with low testosterone also experience bone density loss. Hormone replacement therapy is one of the first-line treatments for preventing bone loss in aging adults, along with calcium/vitamin D supplementation and resistance training.
5. Improves mood
Both men and women may experience depressive episodes when their hormones fluctuate. About 20% of women experience depression at some point during menopause. In aging men, lower testosterone levels are associated with depressive moods and are exacerbated by factors such as smoking and high blood sugar levels.
Learn more about hormone replacement therapy
At Southern Nevada Bariatrics, we offer two types of hormone therapy: pellet implants and injection therapy.
Pellet implants placed under your skin are a precise way to release a hormone into your bloodstream. The biggest advantage of this approach is that it eliminates the fluctuations associated with taking an oral dose. You also have the option of coming to our clinic for weekly hormone injections.
Hormone replacement therapy isn’t for everyone. However, if you’re in overall good health, it can bring relief to many of the symptoms caused by hormonal decline. If you want to find out more about the benefits of hormone therapy, contact us to schedule an appointment either by phone or through this website.