Your Guide to Hormones with Dr. Erik Natkin
In his first column for Cherry Creek Fashion, DR. ERIK NATKIN talks about the effects of hormones on women’s bodies. Dr. Natkin was born in Berkeley, California, and lived and traveled throughout Europe during the peak of the Cold War from the sixth grade through the first year of college, and eventually ended up at the University of Colorado in Boulder. While studying in Boulder he began an early career as an Environmental Chemist and eventually went back to school, completing Medical School with Medical Resident training in orthopedic surgery.
Dr. Natkin began with regenerative medicine treatments in 2014. His passion for regenerative medicine has transitioned to a focus on anti-aging and health and wellness, a true preventive approach to one’s health. He is the founder as well as one of the Physicians/Providers at R2 Medical Clinic. The moto: “A Healthier Today for a Better Tomorrow” is the fundamental backbone of R2’s health and wellness perspective.
Did you know women now live over a third of their life, 30 or so years, in menopause that results in needless suffering from reduced energy, night sweats, weight challenges, insomnia, reduced exercise tolerance/progress, dry skin, hair loss, forgetfulness, and reduced libido to name a few symptoms? Often these symptoms are due to hormone imbalance and an overall reduction in health and wellness optimization. Significant scientific advancement has led to an improved approach to health and wellness and hormone balance. We have all heard of the evil menopause, but often symptoms develop slowly over time and prior to reaching menopause. We dismiss these symptoms as “normal aging”. Well, I say baloney to this thought process and don’t sell your well-being short!
Hormones are protein and cholesterol chemical messengers that circulate in your blood. They originate from one organ and travel in your blood to a destination to another organ to release yet another hormone or to a cell that alters its function. Examples of some hormones are thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, cortisol, and Vitamin-D. These hormones are monumentally important in proper body function. As we age these decrease and with this decrease, we propagate the aging process. Again, this aging process is often slow and missed among many of us and dismissed as being normal. Long-term consequences of hormone deficiencies include high blood pressure, insulin resistance (diabetes), high cholesterol, heart disease, osteoporosis, some cancers, and dementia.
The negative effects of thyroid deficiency including decreased energy, hair loss, dry skin, and weight gain are well appreciated. Estrogen and symptoms associated with deficiency such as hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, insomnia, depression, mood swings, and forgetfulness are also well appreciated. Progesterone is extremely important in peri-menopausal women with a uterus to decrease the potential for uterine cancer in addition to negative symptoms associated with progesterone deficiency. When we think about testosterone, most women think that’s the “male hormone”. Absolutely not true. Testosterone plays a major role in women’s health and well-being. Men have a testosterone: estrogen percentage ratio of 97:3 compared to women of 40:60 percentage ratio. When a women’s ovaries shut down, whether it be via menopause, surgery, and/or birth control then by definition they will be hormone deficient. Women on estrogen birth control will have normal estrogen and significantly reduced testosterone. Symptoms of testosterone deficiency include low libido, weight gain, loss of focus, anxiety, depression, muscle pain, mood swings, memory loss, fatigue, and belly fat. Hopefully, this illustrates the importance of some of our hormones and, as you can see, some with overlapping symptoms. These hormones are not stand alone and have appreciable interactions that need to be optimized to reach your Health and Wellness needs.
The concept of the Health and Wellness approach has gained momentum and significant acceptance due to an explosion of research over the last ten plus years. Unfortunately, many traditional medical providers continue to treat lab numbers rather than a combination of lab numbers and symptoms. Patient-specific treatment plans should be the core objective of any Health and Wellness Provider. Women’s bodies are like fingerprints, they are unique on to themselves and should be treated as such.
Unfortunately, a data-flawed, front cover, Newsweek Magazine article of 2002 stated that hormone replacement, specifically estrogen and progesterone, in women increased the risk of both cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. This article’s misinformation is responsible for the under-treatment of millions of women yesterday, today, and likely tomorrow. We are still crawling out of this women’s health hole today with many medical providers that continue to believe and propagate this false narrative in addition to spreading fear to women that would truly benefit from hormone replacement therapy. The fact is that appropriate hormone replacement not only helps with symptoms but decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease in women 50-59, decreases the risk of osteoporosis, and can decrease the risk of breast cancer.
The average age of menopause is 51 years old with symptoms that typically start 5 years prior and can continue for 5 years after and some women undergo early menopause. One Provider that I have had the privilege to train with reached menopause at the age of 35. This was during her medical training and dismissed as being over-worked, stressed, and depressed.
So, why sell yourself short and fall into the “normal aging” paradigm? We can turn back the hands of time, a bit, and slow-down the clock going forward to feel better today and more importantly feel better tomorrow and for the rest of your life. It all starts with a health and wellness consultation and a comprehensive health and wellness lab panel to tailor a patient-specific treatment plan.
Editor’s Note: This article is for information purposes only. Please check with your medical provider before beginning any treatment.
Dr. Erik Natkin R2 Medical Clinic // 7447 East Berry Ave, Suite 150 Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Tel: (720) 640-2333 // www.r2medicalclinic.com