Bioidentical Hormone Therapy for Weight Loss

Losing weight is not easy to do in the best of circumstances, but if your own body is working against you because of a hormone imbalance, how can you win? Fortunately, the medical community has realized the need for bioidentical hormone therapy. Traditional hormone replacement therapy has relied on synthetic hormones or animal-derived hormones. These are not always correctly assimilated in the human body and can even cause problems.

The Need for Balance

Our bodies are designed to work in a delicate balance. If you have a deficiency or overabundance of one hormone, the other hormones won't be able to contribute their fair share to your well-being. If you have a lot of difficulty losing weight, you may want to ask your health care provider to test you for several hormones to see if you have an imbalance.

Your thyroid produces the hormones most commonly known as T3 and T4. These affect how you metabolize the calories you consume. If you are low on these hormones, your doctor may prescribe them or you can find over-the-counter products that contain desiccated (freeze-dried) thyroid.

Testosterone is a hormone that is present in both males and females. Though it is usually associated with causing male characteristics, testosterone also helps your body burn fat more efficiently and prevents fat storage in the abdomen. Men and women can suffer from a condition called estrogen dominance as they get older. Testosterone levels and progesterone levels can decrease, leaving estrogen to be the dominant hormone of this group. When this happens, you may experience a myriad of unpleasant symptoms, including weight gain and fatigue. Men can get a prescription for testosterone from their doctor. Women are often prescribed progestin, which is a synthetic progesterone. A safer option, and one that does not require a prescription, is progesterone cream. This is formulated from plant sources, and your body synthesizes it just like your own progesterone. Make sure you get a product that contains at least 20 mg of USP progesterone per dose. Men and women can use progesterone because it helps the body decide to use fat for energy.

Pregnenolone is also a hormone that both men and women can benefit from. It's made from cholesterol, and it is the precursor to the other steroid hormones: estrogen, testosterone, DHEA and progesterone. It helps relieve stress, lifts your mood, improves memory and brain function and increases testosterone levels, which improves metabolism. Pregnenolone supplementation should only be done under doctor supervision because of its potency.