HORMONE SEMINAR FEB 7, 2009

If you are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired you cannot miss this seminar!
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Come learn how you can take control of your hormones, revitalize energy levels and improve quality of life!

WHERE: BCIT Burnaby Campus,
Building South East (SE2 214) in Town Square D

DATE: Saturday, February 7th, 2009

TIME: 10:00AM – 1:00 PM

Light menu included

$20 Pre-ADMISSION FEE…or $25 at the door
Please call 604-323-3368 or (604) 922-3997 to pre-register
preregistration required to receive light lunch!

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Seasonal Affective Disorder (aka SAD) is a common emotional disorder in which numerous people suffer from a depressive state in the winter months due to winter weather conditions.
With the seasonal change, come shorter days and longer nights, colder weather, and less sunshine – these factors can affect our levels of melatonin.

Melatonin is the hormone responsible for causing us to sleep, produced by the pineal gland deep within the brain. Melatonin doesn’t seem to turn off adequately at dawn, causing morning drowsiness and oversleeping. Cortisol doesn’t seem to rise adequately in the morning which may contribute to lethargy during the day. Melatonin and cortisol influence serotonin function, and low serotonin levels are linked to depression in general.

The duration of melatonin secretions increase with the length of the winter nights because of more darkness, causing an increase in sleeping habits, and the culprit for SAD patients.
SAD patients suffer from mood swings, often feeling “sad” or depressed. There are several factors implementing this mood change, but some common ones include sleeping too much, having less energy, and a change in diet involving an increase in appetite for sugar and starches.
So gaining control over Cortisol and Melatonin is key to feeling better.

Symptoms of SAD

Perhaps, the most important symptom of SAD is that all SAD sufferers feel depressed. They feel guilty for the lack of energy and the overeating. They sense a loss of self esteem, hopelessness and despair. Many find it hard to work. The number of "sick days" taken by the SAD sufferers in winter goes up dramatically. Many SAD sufferers will withdraw from the world and avoid social contacts.

The following are common symptoms:

• Anxiety: Tension, inability to tolerate stress, phobias.
• Social problems: Irritability, loss of pleasure in being with others and a desire to avoid contact, which could even turn to unwillingness to leave the home or bed.
• Loss of libido: Decreased interest in sex.
• Sleep problems: Tendency to sleep for longer periods. The sleep is restless and less satisfying. They wake up during the night.
• Mood swings: In the spring when SAD lifts, some sufferers experience a dramatic swing in mood and a short period of hypomania, a sudden surge of energy and enthusiasm which brings problems of its own.
• Menstrual difficulties: During the winter premenstrual tension may be worse than in other seasons, bringing irritability, sleep problems, appetite changes and low energy levels.
• Hopelessness: Feelings of desperation and hopelessness, which sometimes lead to over-dependence on relationships, work, home.
• Excessive eating and drinking: Carbohydrate foods, alcohol, coffee.
• Increased sensitivity to pain: Headaches, muscle and joint pain.
• Constipation, diarrhea, palpitations.
  

Preventing the Effects of SAD

Although the effects of SAD generally only last for the winter months, no one looks forwards to the days of scheduled depression on top of our scheduled PMS!!!

Here are a few ways to steer clear of the “dark ages”:

MAGNESIUM
Magnesium improves energy production. A deficiency in magnesium can include low energy and fatigue by assisting several vital enzymes to convert carbohydrates, proteins, and fats into energy. It also is extremely important in regulating potassium levels and maintaining the adrenal glands – both important factors in energy levels. Some sources of magnesium include almonds, green leafy vegetables, wheat germ and whole grains, shellfish, and dates.

OMEGA-3
Get more Omega-3 – Animal-based omega-3 fats like fish oil and krill oil are linked to better emotional health. One study showed that people with lower levels of omega-3s were more likely to have symptoms of depression.

VITAMIN D
Vitamin D is synthesized by humans in the skin when it is exposed to UVB rays from sunlight. Because the sun contributes significantly to the production of vitamin D, as little as 10 minutes a day of sun exposure is enough to prevent deficiencies! If you live in the United States or Canada your vitamin D levels are probably too low. Supplementation with a good Vitamin D3 year round.

EXERCISE
Research suggests that exercise helps raise the levels of certain mood-enhancing neurotransmitters in the brain and boosts the ‘feel good’ endorphins. Exercise also reduces cortisol, which is responsible for stress and anxiety. Furthermore, exercise obviously improves your physical appearance so with all of these changes in your mind and body, there’s no wonder why the feeling of sadness, anxiety, stress, anger, and hopelessness vanish!

DIET
Insulin and sugar are strongly related to depression. The cortisol connection may explain why SAD sufferers crave carbohydrates and gain so much weight. Eating quality fats when wanting 'carbs' may help suppress the cravings. It is so important to reduce the intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates.

BRIGHT LIGHT THERAPY
Studies have shown that light therapy has been effective for treating SAD.
It is basically a type of fluorescent light emitted from a small box, but the type of light and the intensity is unlike any other found around the household. It mimics natural outdoor light, and has the ability to cause a biochemical change in your brain that relieves symptoms of SAD and lifts moods.

Hormonal Balance Self-Assessment

If you have or have ever had 5 or more of these symptoms, there is a strong possibility that your body is not making enough progesterone to balance the amount of estrogen in your body and you may be “Estrogen Dominant”… a condition which can contribute to PMS, perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms.


o Aching joints and muscles ○ Breast tenderness
o Chronic fatigue ○ Crave sweets, carbs &/or coffee
o Depression ○ Mood swings
o Anxiety ○ Endometriosis
o Facial hair growth ○ Fibrocystic (lumpy) breasts
o Lowered sex drive ○ PMS
o Decreased memory ○ Lack of concentration
o Night sweats ○ Hot flushes
o Irregular periods ○ Stress
o Foggy thinking ○ Uterine fibroids
o Vaginal dryness ○ Weight gain or inability to lose wt
o Bloating
o Have taken or are taking BCP or synthetic HRT
o Insomnia or other sleep disturbances (tired but wired)

If you have 5 or more of these symptoms, give us a call to see if hormone saliva testing is right for you!


604-936-1156 (Port Moody) or 604-738-3999 (Vancouver)

How To CAREFULLY Collect Saliva Samples

SALIVA TEST INSTRUCTIONS:

Also review Helpful Hints in the test kit instruction pamphlet.

Menstruating Women:
Saliva samples should be collected on day 19, 20, or 21 of your cycle, counting the first day of your period as day 1.

Menopausal Women:
Women who are no longer having periods can collect saliva samples any day.

Complete all the highlighted areas on the requisition form. The instructions regarding collection are in the saliva test box. Don’t forget to provide symptoms.

For those of you already on progesterone cream, make sure not to contaminate the specimen tubes with the cream.

• Change your pillowcase the night before testing
• Wash your hands thoroughly
• Do not apply any creams or lotions to neck region, etc. as many products contain ingredients that can affect the results.
• Handle the test tubes with a Kleenex to prevent cross-contamination
• Refrain from using cream for 12 hours prior to testing and during the testing day, but no longer than 24 hours. You can start your cream following the collection of the last sample of the day.
  

Oral Hormones:
Oral hormones or topical patches should be used as prescribed without change.

Mailing Saliva Kit:
Please remember to put specimens in the freezer if there is more than a day delay in mailing them. The kit must be received by the lab within 14 days of collection.

The saliva test kit must have postage added when mailing from Canada. Send by regular mail, not FedEx or UPS.

Please call if you have any further questions (604) 738-3999 (Vancouver) or (604) 936-1156 (Port Moody).


*Failure to collect samples as per these directions may require retesting and thus, additional charge for another saliva test kit.

ADRENAL FATIGUE

ADRENAL GLAND BASICS, CORTISOL & ESTROGEN DOMINANCE

The adrenal glands are two small glands about the size of a large grape and are situated on top of the kidneys. The adrenal glands help the body cope with stress.

The adrenal glands have 2 compartments:

Medulla or inner portion – modulate the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) through secretion of two hormones called epinephrine and nor epinephrine

Outer adrenal cortex – comprises 80% of the adrenal gland and is responsible for producing over 50 different types of hormones in three major classes – glucocorticoids, mineralcorticoids and androgens.

The most important glucocorticoid is cortisol. When this is lowered, the body will be less effective in dealing with stress.

Mineral corticoids such as aldosterone modulate the delicate balance of minerals in the cell, especially sodium and potassium. This in turn, helps regulate our blood pressure. Stress increases the release of aldosterone, causing sodium retention (leading to water retention and high blood pressure) and loss of potassium and magnesium. When the body lacks magnesium, it will suffer from a variety of pathological conditions such as cardiac arrhythmias (palpitations), uterine fibroids, and osteoporosis.

The adrenal cortex is responsible for producing all sex hormones, although in small amounts. However, there is one hormone called DHEA that is made in large amounts in both sexes.

CORTISOL

The most important anti-stress hormone in the body is cortisol. Cortisol protects the body from excessive stress by:

Normalizing Blood Sugar – cortisol increases blood sugar levels in the body, thus providing the energy for the body to physically escape the threat. Cortisol works with insulin from the pancreas to provide adequate glucose to the cells for energy. In adrenal fatigue, more cortisol is secreted in the early stages. In later stages (when the adrenal glands become exhausted), cortisol output is reduced, and blood sugar balance becomes a problem.

Anti-Inflammatory Response – cortisol is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. Its objective is to remove and prevent swelling and redness of nearly all tissues. These anti-inflammatory responses prevent mosquito bites from enlarging, bronchial tubes and eyes from swelling shut from allergies, and swelling from becoming too intense.

Immune System Suppression – people with high cortisol levels are much weaker from the immunological point of view. Cortisol suppresses white blood cells, natural killer cells, monocytes, macrophages and mast cells. It also suppresses the autoimmune system response to foreign insult.

Vasoconstriction – Cortisol contracts mid-size arteries. People with low cortisol (as in advance stages of adrenal fatigue) have low blood pressure. Cortisol tends to increase blood pressure.

Physiology of Stress – people with adrenal fatigue cannot tolerate stress and will then succumb to severe stress. As their stress increases, progressively higher levels of cortisol are required. When the cortisol level cannot rise in response to stress, it is impossible to maintain the body in optimum stress response.


COMMON CAUSES OF ADRENAL FATIGUE

Chronic stress is very common in western society. The most common cause of stress are work pressures, death of a love one, moving house, changing jobs, illness and marital disruptions. Adrenal fatigue occurs when the amount of stress overextends the capacity of the body to compensate and recover from stress.

Stressors that can lead to adrenal fatigue include:

Anger
Chronic fatigue
Chronic illness
Chronic pain
Depression
Excessive exercise
Fear and guilt
Gluten intolerance
Low blood sugar
Chronic or severe infection
Malabsorbtion
Excessive sugar in the diet
Excessive caffeine intake
Toxic exposure
Severe or chronic stress
Surgery
Late hours
Sleep deprivation

HOW STRESSORS AFFECT THE BODY

When a person is stressed, the body reacts by mounting a stress response – fight or flight! When a person experiences chronic stress, the cortisol levels may rise to such a high level that its production reduces as the adrenals become exhausted.

When cortisol is at extremely high levels another hormone called DHEA, starts to drop. The result is a high cortisol to DHEA ratio resulting in:

Reduced insulin sensitivity, reduced glucose utilization and increased blood sugar (can lead to weight gain and diabetes)
Increased chances of getting infections such as Herpes, yeast overgrowth, and viral infections
Increased loss in bone mass as calcium absorption is blocked and demineralization of bone occurs – leading to osteoporosis
Increased fat accumulation around the waist and protein breakdown, leading to muscle wasting and an inability to reduce weight
Increased water and salt retention leading to high blood pressure
Estrogen dominance, leading to PMS, uterine fibroids, and breast cancer

ADRENAL FATIGUE PROGRESSION

As the adrenals are constantly being signaled to produce more epinephrine, cortisol output is increasing in response. After some time, the adrenals will experience difficulties in meeting the body’s increasing demand for cortisol. The adrenals which make other hormones such as pregnenolone, DHEA, testosterone and estrogen, are too busy trying to make cortisol and the production of these other hormones decline.

Usually over a few years of constant stress, the cortisol production is reduced as the adrenals are too exhausted. Severe sex hormone imbalances (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) occur at this point.

The adrenal glands are responsible for producing about 35% of female hormones premenopausal and about 50% in menopause. Today, women often have exhausted adrenal glands by the time they reach their mid-thirties or early forties due to a stressful lifestyle.

ESTROGEN DOMINANCE

When too much cortisol is being produced, it will have multiple undesirable effects. For example, cortisol blocks progesterone receptors, making them less responsive to progesterone. Progesterone normally produced by the adrenal glands comes to a halt in favour of cortisol. Insufficient progesterone production leads to an imbalance of estrogen to progesterone. With reduced progesterone to offset estrogen, the body may experience undesirable effects. It is no coincidence that we see a proliferation of conditions associated with excessive estrogen (see estrogen dominance symptoms on website). Balancing hormones is much easier once adrenal function is improved.

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue are not always clear and can often be confused with many other problems. But by far the most common symptom is exertional fatigue. People often say, “I’m tired, I’m weak, I don’t have the energy I used to have, or I have to nap in the afternoon”.

There are other symptoms of adrenal fatigue:

Weakness after not eating for a while
Dizziness
Headaches of different kinds
Trouble thinking clearly
Dizziness when you get up too quickly
Low blood pressure (more common in women)
Heart palpitations (irregular heart beat)
Trouble getting out of bed in the morning
Tender spots in muscles, particularly the neck and lower back
Generalized aches and pains
Cravings for sugar, carbohydrates, and/or coffee
Weight gain in the waist
Nervousness / Anxiety
Cold extremities
Vertical nail ridges

Why Saliva Testing?

How accurate is saliva testing compared to blood and urine testing?

Saliva testing has been used in scientific testing for decades and has been shown to be highly accurate. It is the most reliable way to measure free, bio-available hormone activity (Hormones actually doing their job at the cell level). Standard blood and urine tests do not measure bio-available hormone levels. Numerous scientific studies have shown a strong correlation between the levels of steroid hormones in the blood stream and the bio-available levels of steroid hormones in saliva. The World Health Organization has used this method of hormone testing in worldwide comparisons of hormone levels among women living in industrialized vs. non-industrialized countries. In addition, saliva hormone testing more accurately reflects tissue uptake and response of hormones delivered through the skin in creams, gels, or patches than blood or urine tests. http://www.zrtlab.com/Page.aspx?hid=490

In Dr. John Lee’s book, “Hormone Balance Made Simple”, he states that, “At any given time most of the hormones in your body are unusable—tightly bound to proteins in the bloodstream. Only 1 to 2 percent of hormones escape the binding proteins and are free, or bio-available, to enter tissues throughout the body.” He goes on to say, “conventional blood tests measure only the total level of hormones in the blood stream. This is like trying to balance your cheque book without knowing what cheques have been paid out”. By collecting saliva (one of the tissues that bio-available hormones enter is the saliva gland), and measuring its level of hormones, it is possible to determine how much hormone is available to other tissues.

Saliva testing is an easy and non-invasive way of assessing hormone status and balancing needs and is proving to be the most reliable medium for measuring hormone levels.

Appreciating the reliability of saliva testing is based on understanding the difference between steroid hormones in saliva and serum. This difference is based on whether or not the hormones are bound to proteins in the medium used for testing. The majority of hormones exist in one of two forms: free (5%) or protein bound (95%). It is only the free hormones that are biologically active, or bio-available, and available for delivery to receptors in the body. Those which are protein bound do not fit those receptors and are considered non-bioavailable. When blood is filtered through the salivary glands, the bound hormone components are too large to pass through the cell membranes. Only the unbound hormones pass through and into the saliva. What is measured in the saliva is the bioavailable hormone, the clinically relevant portion which will be delivered to the receptors in the tissues of the body.

Salivary hormone levels are expected to be much lower than serum levels, as only the unbound hormones are being measured. When health care providers measure serum hormone levels and prescribe hormone replacement therapy based on those results, patients are often overdosed. If the patients are then tested using saliva, the results are extraordinarily high, and confusion results from a lack of correlation between the two methods.

This discrepancy becomes especially important when monitoring topical, or transdermal, hormone therapy. Studies show that this method of delivery results in increased tissue hormone levels (thus measurable in saliva), but no parallel increase in serum levels. Therefore, serum testing cannot be used to monitor topical hormone therapy.

Hormone Balance Made Simple: The Essential How-to Guide to Symptoms, Dosage, Timing and More, John R. Lee, M.D. and Virginia Hopkins, Aug. 2006

Saliva Measures the “Unbound" Biologically Active or Free Hormone Levels in the Body:

When blood is filtered through the salivary glands, the bound hormone components are too large to pass through the cell membranes of the salivary glands. Only the unbound hormones pass through and into the saliva. What is measured in the saliva is considered the “free", or bioavailable hormone, that which will be delivered to the receptors in the tissues of the body.

Serum Measures the “Protein Bound" Biologically Inactive Hormone Levels in the Body:
In order for steroid hormones to be detected in serum, they must be bound to circulating proteins. In this bound state, they are unable to fit into receptors in the body, and therefore will not be delivered to tissues. They are considered inactive, or non-bioavailable.

Only Saliva Testing Measures Topically Dosed Hormones:
The discrepancy between free and protein bound hormones becomes especially important when monitoring topical, or transdermal, hormone therapy. Studies show that this method of delivery results in increased tissue hormone levels (thus measurable in saliva), but no parallel increase in serum levels. Therefore, serum testing cannot be used to monitor topical hormone therapy.
https://www.labrix.com/reporting

Vitamin D: Making the Most of the Sunshine Vitamin

Vitamin D: Making the Most of The Sunshine Vitamin by Debbie Williams
note: the full version can be found on our website at www.alternativehormonesolutions.ca

Vitamin D is often called the sunshine vitamin, but a more accurate nickname might be the bone-enhancer vitamin. That’s because its primary function is to assist with the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, which ultimately helps build healthy bones and teeth and maintain bone density. It also has hormonal-like effects on mineral absorption, bone mineralization, and secretion.

But like most other vitamins, this one offers plenty of other benefits. Most recently The Globe and Mail had a front page article that recited recent medical research, “Vitamin D Casts Cancer Prevention in New Light”. It goes on to say that for decades, researchers have puzzled over why rich northern countries have cancer rates many times higher than those in developing countries – and had laid the blame on dangerous pollutants spewed out be industry.

But research into vitamin D is refuting this belief and is now pointing the finger towards a vitamin deficiency known to be less acute or even non-existent in poor nations. Those trying to brand contaminants as the key factor behind cancer in the West are “looking for a bogeyman that doesn’t exist,” argues Reinhold Vieth, professor at the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and one of the world’s top vitamin D experts. Instead, he says, the critical factor “is more likely a lack of vitamin D.”

In June, 2007, U.S. researchers will announced the first direct link between cancer prevention and the sunshine vitamin. Their results are nothing short of astounding!

A four-year clinical trial involving 1,200 women found those taking the vitamin had about a 60-per-cent reduction in cancer incidence, compared with those who didn't take it, a drop so large — twice the impact on cancer attributed to smoking — it almost looks like a typographical error.
What’s more, researchers are linking low vitamin D status to a host of other serious ailments, including multiple sclerosis, juvenile diabetes, influenza, depression, osteoporosis and bone fractures among the elderly.

Other Research:

The Institute of Medicine brought experts together recently to explore the question of whether the recommended daily allowance, of vitamin D has been set too low. The impetus for the occasion was the mounting evidence for this vitamin's role in preventing common cancers, autoimmune diseases, type 1 diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis. Furthermore, studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency is common in the U.S. Because the typical symptoms are aching bones and muscle discomfort, vitamin D deficiency is often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, according to Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD, of the Boston University School of Medicine.

Research with mice at Pennsylvania State University has demonstrated a connection between vitamin D deficiency and two bowel diseases that occur in one out of every 1,000 people in North America and Europe. Margherita T. Cantorna, Ph.D., assistant professor of nutrition and director of the research project, says, "Our experiments show that vitamin D deficiency worsens the symptoms of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Treatment with vitamin D for as little as 2 weeks lessens the symptoms of these inflammatory bowel diseases in mice."

"Vitamin D deficiency is more common in people who have inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, the anti-inflammatory drugs often used to treat IBD can cause bone loss as a side effect," Dr. Cantorna says. "Vitamin D taken in combination with these drugs may be able to reduce the effective dose of anti-inflammatory needed to treat the disease and decrease bone loss as well as treat the vitamin deficiency."

Why the Deficiencies?

Vitamin D levels in Canada are also being compromised by a lifestyle change. One survey published in 2001 estimated office and homebound Canadians and Americans spend 93 per cent of waking time in buildings or cars, both of which block ultraviolet light. Unlike previous generations that farmed or otherwise worked outside, most people now spend little time outdoors.

Consequently, by mid-winter most Canadians have depleted vitamin D status. "We're all a bit abnormal in terms of our vitamin D," said Dr. Vieth, who has tested scores of Canadians, something done with a simple blood test.

Canadians have drawn the short straw on the world's latitude lottery: From October to March, sunlight is too feeble for vitamin D production. During this time, our bodies draw down stores built by summer sunshine, and whatever is acquired from supplements or diet. To achieve the vitamin D doses used for cancer prevention through foods, people would need to drink about three litres of milk a day, which is unrealistic.

If health authorities accept the new research, they would have to order a substantial increase in food fortification or supplement-taking to affect disease trends. As it is, the 400 IU dosage included in most multivitamins is too low to be an effective cancer fighter.

Dr. Vieth said any new recommendations will also have to reflect the racial and cultural factors connected to vitamin D. Blacks, South Asians and women who wear veils are at far higher risks of vitamin D deficiencies than are whites. Those with very dark skin, whose ancestors originated in tropical, light-rich environments, have pigmentation that filters out more of the sunshine responsible for vitamin D; in northern latitudes, they need more sun exposure — often 10 times as much — to produce the same amount of the vitamin as whites. Dr. Vieth says it is urgent to provide information about the need for extra vitamin D in Canada's growing non-white population to avoid a future of high illness rates in this group.

In the body, vitamin D is converted into a steroid hormone, and genes responding to it play a crucial role in fixing damaged cells and maintaining good cell health. "There is no better anti-cancer agent than activated vitamin D. I mean, it does everything you'd want," said Dr. Cannell of the Vitamin D Council.

Some may view the sunshine-vitamin story as too good to be true, particularly given that the number of previous claims of vitamin cure-alls that subsequently flopped. "The floor of modern medicine is littered with the claims of vitamins that didn't turn out," Dr. Cannell allowed.
But the big difference is that vitamin D, unlike other vitamins, is turned into a hormone, making it far more biologically active. As well, it is "operating independently in hundreds of tissues in your body," Dr. Cannell said. Referring to Linus Pauling, the famous U.S. advocate of vitamin C use as a cure for many illnesses, he said: "Basically, Linus Pauling was right, but he was off by one letter."

What to Do?
Our bodies are remarkably efficient. During the summer months, even as little as 15 minutes in the sun (without sunblock!) in the early morning and late afternoon is enough for most light-skinned individuals to create an ample supply of vitamin D. Skin with more pigment (melanin) may require up to 40 minutes. When your skin is exposed to ultraviolet light, your body responds by manufacturing vitamin D.

The best dietary sources of vitamin D are eggs, liver, fish liver oils, and oily fish such as salmon, sardines, trout, and tuna. But by far, the best source of vitamin D is through sunexposure.
Take a top-quality multivitamin every day to fill in any nutritional gaps, preferably one that includes fish oil.

In June 2007, the Canadian Cancer Society said that based on current research adults should consider increasing their daily dosage of vitamin D. The society said Canadians should now consume 1,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily during the fall and winter months, in consultation with a health-care provider.