I have practiced hormone, weight, health, and mind optimization for over forty-three years. As we age and or become chronically inflamed, our hormones become disrupted, making us feel out of sync, overweight, sickly, and negative. Our internal chemistry, our hormones, governs the way we feel and look. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter on how to optimize our lives by optimizing our hormones.
The Brain Course: The Brain on Progesterone
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THE PAUSE A NEWSLETTER TO MAKE US PAUSE-AWESOME Make Your Brain Younger We've reached that age where our hormones are pausing due to menopause and andropause. With age comes brain dysfunction. If you are like me and want to age with a mind as sharp as a tack, read this fourth course within our Brain Optimization Protocol. If you asked me if there was an elixir for menopause and you twisted my arm to name one tool, it would have to be progesterone. I have written extensively about how the first hormone condition women and men experience once they become paused is called estrogen dominance. You have also read that I believe that this condition was misnamed. “Estrogen dominance should have been named progesterone deficiency when it comes to women and testosterone deficiency when it comes to men.” As we age and our hormones become deficient and lose their ability to harmonize, we begin to see changes within our mental capacity. The Brain Optimization Course is all about slowing, stopping, and reversing our brain’s aging process. MENOPAUSE AND DEMENTIA The complaints I hear from my "paused" clients when it comes to their brains are very similar to the early symptoms of dementia. Once you start researching dementia, you see that there are three critical factors in acquiring dementia.
Most of us have been touched by someone who has had dementia. It hurts our hearts, and we all should do everything we can to avoid this terrible disease, not only for our sake but for our family’s sake. "I know it’s unimaginable, but what if you can’t recognize your children?" The first section of this course is dedicated to how having paused hormones affects our brains and what we can do about it. The courses that have come previously were:
Here is a quick reminder of what you learned in those courses.
"To have a healthy brain, we must have optimal levels of cholesterol, pregnenolone, and DHEA." Remember, your hormones will most likely be deficient if you have too little cholesterol. Research shows that your hormones will be adversely affected if you are on cholesterol-lowering statins. I will not go over every brain symptom associated with being paused. But you will see the uncanny connection between being paused and the initial signs of dementia. The first and most noticeable symptom of both is memory loss. MEMORY LOSS It’s perfectly normal to forget occasionally. Thank goodness! The tell-tale sign that memory is a problem is when someone tells you that you forgot your appointment and that they had reminded you, but you don’t remember them reminding you, or you can’t even remember making the appointment. The hormone that positively affects the brain and memory when levels are high and adversely affects the brain when levels are low is progesterone. "Progesterone protects our brain; the part of the brain we are concerned about regarding memory is called the hippocampus." The hippocampus is a seahorse-shaped structure located on the underside of each temporal lobe (behind your ears). The hippocampus plays a significant role in learning and memory and is also involved in navigation and spatial perception. The brain and its associated neurons need progesterone so severely that they make progesterone. Imagine your car’s engine making oil when you run low. That’s precisely what the brain and nervous system do with progesterone. But as we age, our brain's ability to make progesterone decreases. And as we already know, women's ovaries fail to make progesterone after ovulation ceases. …progesterone has also been documented as playing an important role in cognition since it influences brain regions involved in memory.” Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews DISTRACTION Men and women who are paused and those with the initial signs of dementia find that they are distracted easily. As we age, our ability to pay attention decreases. Do you find that when someone is talking to you, your attention drifts, and you miss the gist of the conversation? Your family may think you’re suffering from memory loss or that you have become hard of hearing, but in reality, you didn’t hear what they said because your attention was elsewhere. “This increase in distractibility with age is thought to arise from deficits in selective attention…These processes have been associated with the frontoparietal network, which controls responses to incoming stimuli and minimizes the effects of distraction on performance.” As you age and combined with hormone deficiencies, the frontal-parietal network that controls attention shrinks, causing attention deficit. “...the postmenopausal period is associated with smaller volumes of brain regions associated with memory and executive function. These areas include structures in the frontal, temporal, and hippocampal regions, which are associated with poor cognitive performance.” “Progesterone and its neuroactive metabolites have…protective effects in neurons and glial cells including reduction of inflammation…promoting neuroprotection and neurogenesis and myelin repair.”
International Journal of Molecular Science Progesterone protects the different parts of the brain associated with attention deficit. Progesterone not only protects the brain but is necessary to repair the damage caused by age and trauma. Other symptoms associated with progesterone deficiency and dementia are:
THE PROGESTERONE TEST When testing progesterone, it is best to test both estradiol and progesterone. I have learned that once paused, it's all about balance, not levels. According to science, the minimal ratio between Progesterone and Estradiol is 200 moles of progesterone to 1 mole of estradiol or simply a 200 to 1 ratio. "The lower your Progesterone to Estradiol Ratio is, the more your brain will suffer." After testing thousands of women, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the progesterone to estradiol test is the most essential hormone test a woman can take, especially for pre and post menopausal women. These tests are inexpensive and convenient. Your insurance company will not pay for a salivary assay because it’s an anti-aging test. Don't waste your time trying. HRA accounts, in most cases, will pay for it. "Every woman on the planet should know her P/E Ratio!" The main reason I prefer a salivary assay over a serum test is… "When you use saliva, the test measures where your hormones were over six to twelve hours. Serum tests measure where your hormones are at at the current time." Below are two of the kits my clients purchase and use the most. Verisana If your man is becoming a grumpy old man, have him test his testosterone level. Below is a link to test testosterone. Testosterone Test Kit for Men PROGESTERONE APPLICATION Since my wife is post-menopausal, she applies 20 mg (¼ teaspoon) of progesterone cream before going to bed for 28 days straight. She does not apply progesterone cream on days 29 to 31. She must apply the cream on thin skin (Inner arm, thigh, or ankle) for proper absorption. She must also rotate applications every month because progesterone thickens the skin, causing absorption to be less. If you are worried about passing progesterone to your loved ones as you sleep, wear clothing over the location of the application. If my clients plan on being intimate, they apply the cream on the inner ankle and cover it with a sock. Do not bathe after application. If my wife were premenopausal (still having periods), she would apply one-half the dose (10 mg) for the first fourteen days of her cycle and a full dose (20mg) for the next fourteen days, then pause for three days during her period. "To be transparent, my menopausal clients do not like taking a three-day break because they claim that they crash. (Their Estrogen Dominant symptoms return.)" Never supplement with any supplement without first acquiring approval from your healthcare provider. There are many different brands of progesterone cream you can purchase online. Here is an Amazon link to the progesterone cream my wife uses, In the next course, I will move into the next hormone that may help the brain more than any other. BE COACHED FOR FREE! I only accept new clients through referrals from current and past clients. But... Each week, I coach two readers of this newsletter FOR FREE! I coach you for a week so you can see how easily and quickly you can lose weight and feel great while being paused. Once you are trained, you can take it from there. We will have a QuickStart Consult at the beginning of the week and a What To Do Now Consult at the end. "The key to a healthy brain is a healthy body." The Features of our FREE-WEEK program include:
The Benefit
CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE YOUR FREE QUICKSTART CONSULT Don't hesitate; I only have room for two of you! THIS WEEK'S US-IE This weekend we went to a game party, playing cards, board and other games. There were lots of dollar bills involved, too. Vicky and I won every game and came home with our pockets filled with dollar bills. We even won the pool tournament, and we don't even play pool. It was one of those nights. Maybe it was because our hormones were spot on that night. And remember... "IT'S ALL ABOUT YOUR HORMONES!" "Because when your hormones are sound, your weight, health, and mind will follow." 🎱 Doc © 2024 | Doc Mac Coaching The FDA has evaluated none of the statements on this website. Furthermore, none of the statements within this post should be construed as dispensing medical advice or making claims regarding the cure of diseases, nor can these products prevent disease. You should consult a licensed healthcare professional before starting any supplement, dietary, or exercise program, especially if you are pregnant or have any pre-existing injuries or medical conditions. The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated these statements. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent diseases. |
Hi! I'm Doc Mac.
I have practiced hormone, weight, health, and mind optimization for over forty-three years. As we age and or become chronically inflamed, our hormones become disrupted, making us feel out of sync, overweight, sickly, and negative. Our internal chemistry, our hormones, governs the way we feel and look. Subscribe to my weekly newsletter on how to optimize our lives by optimizing our hormones.
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THE PAUSE "MAKING OUR THIRD ACTS THE BEST YET" GUT 102 You've heard about Leaky Gut. But what is it? And how does it affect you? This week's newsletter discusses how your gut affects your hormones. You'll be amazed. Download the newsletter below. But First, This week's success pre and post Meet Leslie, a current client. Are you next? BE COACHED FOR FREE! I only accept new clients through referrals from current and past clients, and my roster is always full. But... Each week, I coach two...
THE PAUSE "MAKING OUR THIRD ACTS THE BEST YET" GUT 101 “Doc, you keep writing about our guts and microbiomes being so crucial for health optimization, but then you say we will optimize our guts in Phase Two of HOPE. Shouldn’t we be doing something now? You are. Let me first educate you on what we mean when we write about guts. Click on the link below to download our course, Gut 101. GUT 101 THIS WEEK'S US-IE Vicky and Grandchildren, Aluna and Rojelio, on the Fourth of July. Our youngest...