Our hormones play a critical role in how we feel; from sleep to temperature regulation to clarity, if they are out of balance you won’t feel your best. 

Dr. Valerie Bonnett uses functional medicine to treat patients so that your whole self is feeling its best rather than masking other symptoms.

This week I talk with Dr. Valerie Bonnett about balancing hormones in all stages of life, particularly mid-life and beyond.  Younger women’s bodies often naturally self-correct hormone imbalances, but around mid-life, progesterone biologically begins to decrease. She shares how taking a tissue-level test is the ideal way to measure hormones in your body and some indicators as to what an imbalance of estrogen and progesterone and testosterone in your body may look like. See below for those indicators.

Highlights & links below from the interview.

Highlights:

Indicators of low estrogen:

• Brain fog
• Joint pain
• Urinating more frequently
• Rapid aging—wrinkles, thinning skin

Indicators of Progesterone Deficiency:

• Sleep disturbances
• Feeling cold
• Mood issues – anxiety, nervousness, anger easily

Role of Testosterone in women:

• Bone density
• Muscle support
• Aid in memory
• Mood

2:27      Dr. Valerie’s Background

6:28      Single Parenting as a Dr.

9:06      How Val got into hormone work

11:07    Why medications may not be the answer

12:12    Discovering Functional Medicine

14:06    Functional Medicine defined

15:23    The role of sleep in body functioning

17:36    Hormones and sleep

18:43    Estrogen and health

20:41    Progesterone and health

21:31    Testosterone in women

23:33    Why you may be losing sleep

24:42    Correcting hormonal imbalances at various ages

25:24    Key indicators to hormonal imbalance and loss of estrogen

26:26    The role of estrogen receptors

27:01    Progesterone and mood

28:00    Postpartum hormones

30:46    Treating hormone imbalance

40:30    Hormone regulation and Health Harmony and Happiness

41:44    Val’s contact info

Resources:

Connect with Dr. Valerie Bonnett

“Functional Medicine is a scientific way to view the human body for the whole body to function at optimal health.”

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