A big thank you and shout out to Eat This, Not That for featuring Dr. Vedamani in their article entitled, “50″Unexpected Health Problems After 50.“

Many SDBody clients come in wanting to address signs of aging like improving energy levels, improving memory, controlling anxiety and more. Your body’s hormone production can change and decline as early as in your 30s, leading to health problems associated with aging.

We like to work with our clients on a holistic approach to their health as they age, looking at all lifestyle factors including diet, exercise, medical conditions, family history, stress levels and hormone levels. Often, clients find that this combination of lifestyle improvements with hormone replacement therapy can improve their quality of life as they age.

With 50 different tips from physicians around the country, the article is a great read. It includes these three tips from our very own Dr. Shawn Vedamani:

On Energy Loss with Aging

“Everyone suffers from signs of aging eventually. What people don’t realize is how many of these symptoms are due to hormonal decline, which in turn leads to other issues and a decline in health and quality of life,” says Dr. Shawn Vedamani, MD, a Board Certified Physician in San Diego. “Both men and women can experience energy loss with hormone changes. Unfortunately, a lack of energy can set off any number of negative chain reactions as well—poor performance in the gym and in the bedroom, lack of effectiveness at work or school, depression and just an inability to do the things you love doing. It can make it hard to continue to pursue the activities you’ve enjoyed your whole life and maintain progress and motivation at work and at play.”

Eat This, Not That: 50 Unexpected Health Problems After 50

On Anxiety Issues

“Anxiety is a very real psychological disorder that affects many people,” says Dr. Shawn Vedamani, MD. “Some people are more susceptible to anxiety than others and your current physical health can play a role in how anxiety manifests itself in your life. And because hormones play such an important role in the development of anxiety, many people with anxiety feel that their symptoms continue to increase as they age.”

Recommendation: Talk to your doctor and a psychologist or psychiatrist about the proper course of action. “Some anxiety medications attempt to treat the symptoms of anxiety when hormonal imbalance could be causing your anxiety and depression,” says Dr. Shawn Vedamani.

Eat This, Not That: 50 Unexpected Health Problems After 50

On Sleep Problems

“When you think about getting a good night’s sleep, you may not immediately think of hormones,” says Dr. Shawn Vedamani, MD. “Sleep and hormones are deeply interconnected. Your body produces hormones during restful sleep so that we can have optimal energy, immunity and natural drive. Yet, changes in hormone levels can affect our ability to sleep.”

Recommendation: “If you are experiencing symptoms of sleep disorder, difficulty falling and staying asleep and find yourself always tired when you wake up, it’s possible that hormone therapy can get your sleep patterns back on track,” he says.

Eat This, Not That: 50 Unexpected Health Problems After 50

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A big thank you and shout out to Kristine Fellizar for featuring Dr. Vedamani in her article on Bustle.com entitled, “How Do You Use Protein Powder? 7 Shocking Things Doctors Want You To Know.”

Many SDBody clients come in wanting to lose weight and gain muscle and one of the first place we look at is their diet. Many people take a kind of fast-food, drive-through approach to their diet and lifestyle and the same is true of the protein sources they choose. Protein is an essential building block for skin, hair, muscle and more and many people aren’t able to get enough in their diet to support their goals.

We always prefer that our clients get as many of their nutrients from whole food sources as possible, but protein powders can definitely fill in the gaps when you’re too busy to grill a steak or bored with yet another chicken breast.

Kristine’s article covers a lot of ground if you’re curious about protein powders including these quotes from our very own Dr. Shawn Vedamani:

Protein powders aren’t magic. “It’s not going to automatically add 20 pounds of muscle, you have to do the hard work in the gym, too,” Dr. Shawn Vedamani, MD, hormone and lifestyle expert, tells Bustle. In fact, some people might even be better off keeping to organic, nitrate-free chicken or wild smoked salmon for a quick hit of protein.

“Protein powders are a very convenient way to boost your protein intake, especially for athletes who have higher protein needs,” Vedamani says. “I suggest that my clients aim for at least 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. This should go up with age and level of physical activity.”

Bustle.com: How Do You Use Protein Powder? 7 Shocking Things Doctors Want You To Know

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Wouldn’t it be great of your morning coffee fix came with a side of weight loss? According to a new study published by the University of Nottingham, you might just be in luck.

As reported by CNN, the coffee you consume might help your body jump into fat-fighting mode. Coffee seems to do this by stimulating a particular type of your fat reserves known as brown adipose tissue. These types of fat reserves influence our ability to burn calories. Brown fat cells help generate heat while white fat cells store fat as energy — and well, fat.

More research is necessary to fully determine the link, but the results are promising.

“…we now need to ascertain that caffeine as one of the ingredients in the coffee is acting as the stimulus or if there’s another component helping with the activation of brown fat,” Symonds said. “Once we have confirmed which component is responsible for this, it could potentially be used as part of a weight-management regime or as part of glucose regulation program to help prevent diabetes.”

CNN.com: Could coffee help you lose weight? New research suggests a fat-busting effect

Lose Weight Hiking — And Boost Your Mental Health

If you want to get in some extra exercise in a way that also boosts your mental and overall health, consider going for a hike. Exercising outdoors comes with some extra health benefits than other forms of exercise. And according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and reported by Newsday, walking in nature is especially beneficial.

“…researchers found that participants who walked in a parklike environment reported lower levels of rumination — brooding over past negative actions and experiences — than those who walked near a busy street, and that an area of their brains linked to risk for mental illness had less neural activity.

Newsday: Experts say hiking good for exercise, mental health – and losing weight

9 Apps That Help You Lose Weight

Managing your weight is a lot more complicated than simply downloading an app; however, PC Magazine just published a list entitled 9 Weight Loss Apps to Help You Shed the Pounds. They range from diet and calorie trackers to pre-configured workout programs all designed to help you lose weight.

Do you struggle to lose weight?

Have you noticed that it is harder than ever to lose weight? Are you working out harder than ever and managing your diet and still not achieving the success you want? As we get older, our bodies hang onto more and more weight thanks to declines in hormone levels. At SDBody, we look at your entire approach to losing weight, from diet to exercise to hormonal balance so you can look and feel your best.

The post Can Coffee Help You Lose Weight Other Recent Weight Loss News appeared first on SDBody.

Have you ever wished you could have the superhero body of an X-men star? Is it even possible for an average person without a celebrity trainer and bank account to achieve those kinds of muscle gains? Those were the questions that Bobby Palmer at GQ had for celebrity Jack Hanrahan. Hanrahan has trained many A-list celebrities including on the set of the film X-Men: Apocalypse.

According to Hanrahan, if you can create a workout structure with consistency built in, a superhero muscle gains are very accessible to the average gym-goer.

“Consistency is key,” he explains. “You need to create a workout structure you can be consistent with. Someone’s going to get way better results on two days a week in the gym consistently than going five days a week for three weeks then stopping.”

GQ Magazine: Can an average guy get a superhero body?

Hanrahan also suggests following a diet that has a lot of lean protein, even workouts for upper and lower body and aiming for three full-body workouts per week. He even includes four sample exercises anyone can add to their program.

Changing Your Grip Could be a Simple Way to Boost Muscle Gains

Trevor Thieme C.S.C.S. at Men’s Health Magazine reminds us that sometimes simple changes can result in new muscle gains. When you stop seeing new gains from the same exercises, you might think about changing your workout routines and exercises to create muscle confusion and address potential imbalances. But simply changing your grip on your favorite exercise can help you restart some new gains. Why does this work?

Even slight variations in hand position during a lift can totally change which muscles are targeted. Take the dumbbell curl, for example. Using the standard supinated grip targets your biceps, but if you rotate your hands 90 degrees to a neutral grip, the emphasis shifts to a different elbow flexor, the brachialis. If you rotate your hands 90 degrees again (to a pronated grip), you’ll target yet another elbow flexor, the brachioradialis.

Men’s Health Magazine: Get a Grip for Even More Workout Gains

Gaining Muscle with an Apple Watch

Are you an Apple Watch user? Graham Bower at Cult of Mac gives you some app and tracking tips to help you with new muscle gains. You’ll read about ways you can use your Apple Watch to track nutrition, drive muscle overload and track your progress, all things you need to do to create muscle hypertrophy.

How Are Your Gains?

How are your gains going? Are you achieving what you want in the time you can spend in the gym. With age, achieving muscle gains gets harder and harder because of hormonal decline. At SDBody, we look at your entire approach to gaining muscle, from diet to exercise to hormonal balance so you can look and feel your best.

The post Getting a Superhero Body and Other Recent Muscle Gain News appeared first on SDBody.

If you are a man over the age of 30, you may have already started suffering from a decline in testosterone. Testosterone is responsible for more than just sexual development in men. Lower testosterone levels can affect many areas of your life, including a decreased sex drive, fatigue, slower muscle gains or even muscle loss, anxiety, weight gain and more.

Unfortunately, many men are uncomfortable discussing their symptoms with friends and so needlessly suffer alone without realizing there could be a simple, natural hormonal fix to their problems. Men also experience hormonal decline much more gradually than women do, so they are less likely to put up with symptoms they think are inevitable symptoms of aging.

If you are experiencing any of the following issues, you should make an appointment with a trusted physician to have your hormone levels checked.

• Decrease in strength and muscle gains
• Lower libido
• Sudden weight gain
• Inability to focus or keep up with friends and colleagues
• Too much belly fat
• Lack of energy or motivation
• Inability to perform in the bedroom
• Loss of athletic ability
• Depression, anxiety and insecurity

You may not realize that these symptoms could all be interrelated to a drop in your testosterone. In fact, you may feel frustrated that all of these symptoms have been creeping up on you for some time now but you cannot seem to put your finger on the exact cause. You don’t have to suffer frustration any longer.

Aging causes testosterone decline, but that doesn’t’ mean you have to resign yourself to symptoms just because you’re getting older. SDBody has helped numerous clients in San Diego recover the energy, focus, strength and sex life through carefully crafted and medically sound plans for boosting their testosterone.

The post Top Indications of Low Testosterone in Men appeared first on SDBody.

SDBody has just released a new report entitled, “Your Guide to Hormone Replacement Therapy.”

As we age, our levels of hormone production decline causing many symptoms that you may not realize are related to hormones at all:

• Weight Gain
• Lost Muscle
• Lack of Energy
• Insomnia
• Low Sex Drive
• Erectile Dysfunction
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Mood Swings
• Memory Loss

The good news is you don’t have to needlessly suffer from the symptoms of aging and hormone decline. If you are suffering from any of these symptoms or more, you have many options available. SDBody is a leader in hormone replacement therapy in San Diego and has helped many clients lead fuller lives with a holistic approach to hormone replacement.

Our clients — both men and women — have learned how to prevent hair loss and even restore hair growth using these medical advances. You no longer have to sit back while age, genes and stress diminish your hair line.

You may not even realize what a large impact your level of hormones has on your quality of life. We’ve successfully treated men and women in San Diego who now enjoy increased energy, improved muscle gains, and improved overall health. Our experts can help you get the most out of life, regardless of your age.

SDBody can help you craft more than just a hormone replacement therapy plan — we can help you craft a plan to achieve your best life possible.

Get your copy of SDBody’s Guide to Hormone Replacement Therapy. In this 24-page report, you will learn all about how to build a holistic, custom and preventative approach to hormone replacement to help you meet your fitness, nutrition and life goals with confidence.

Download Your Guide to Hormone Replacement Therapy Today!

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With aging comes added responsibility to monitor aging’s new demands on your body. You may feel more sluggish and tired as the years go by. You may also find it harder to function because you are dragging through the day. There are natural ways and habits that may help you raise your energy level. You can also have a professional at SDBody help you monitor your hormone levels to make sure you have the right balance you need to stay energized throughout the day. At SDBody, we take a holistic approach to your lifestyle. Unlike other HRT sources, we don’t just push injections, we look at your entire lifestyle to help you design the best life possible through hormone replacement, nutrition, fitness plans and more.

Diet

As you get older, you may need to watch your diet more carefully. Diet can play a bigger part in maintaining energy levels as you age. Whole foods are as important as we age. Fresh, raw, and unprocessed foods are an integral part of giving your body the antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins it needs.

Lean and unprocessed meats are easier to digest and better for your energy levels. Poultry and fish should be a primary source of protein from meats, as red meat and pork are not optimal for energy levels. If you eat red meat, consume small amounts and limit it to just a few times a week.  

You may find that a supplement helps you achieve more energy because of the added vitamins to your daily diet.

Exercise

Exercise helps everyone with the necessary energy they need in a day. As you age, make exercise a daily priority. While you may not want to do it, the benefits grow as you get older. You will start to notice your lack of energy on the days you forget to exercise. A light workout, or even a brisk walk in the morning, helps keep everything moving and will elevate muscle aches and pains if you tend to be sedentary for work.

Sleep

Good quality sleep is a great way to make sure you have maximum energy for the next day. Limit your caffeine intake and make sure you sleep in a cool and clean environment. If you have a hard time sleeping, try meditation as you fall asleep to keep any mind chatter from allowing you to drift off.

Meditation

Increased energy can be a product of a meditation session. There are many types of meditation and finding the right one can help you clear your mind from concerns for a higher level of productivity.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

If you are healthy and find that as you age you feel increasingly lethargic, considering hormone replacement therapy is an option. Hormone replacement therapy works for those who have an imbalance in hormones that affects their ability to function well on a daily basis.

HRT can give you more energy and help you sleep better. If you have a major hormonal imbalance, you might feel much younger with this type of therapy and maintaining your health in natural ways.

A hormone imbalance can cause many other issues, such as a low sex drive, anxiety, and even weight gain. Getting your hormones balanced can help you resolve many health concerns.

If you think you have a hormone imbalance, a medical professional can give you the answers you need then suggest a treatment based on which hormones you need to increase. Some hormones that work well with HRT are testosterone, progesterone, estrogen, DHEA, and thyroid. Having all of these hormones working well, can help you age at the normal rate and keep your energy levels working well for you.

As you age, you might find that you need to pay more attention to what your body needs. This can be a combination of many things, such as diet and exercise. Hormone replacement therapy can help those that have an imbalance and can’t get the energy or vitality they used to have back in their lives.

The post Natural Ways to Improve Your Energy appeared first on SDBody.

As we age, our bodies undergo natural changes that can affect our quality of life. One of the challenges many of us face is the inability to control or lose weight as we get older. It’s simply a fact of life. 

Aging and Weight Loss

After the age of 40, losing weight can be difficult. Often we find ourselves facing weight-related health problems, or perhaps you were out of commission as you recovered from a procedure over a period of weeks or months and you’ve gained a few pounds after your exercise routine was interrupted.

While the reasons it can be so difficult can vary from person to person due to genetics, other factors can play a role in making it difficult to shed those pounds. Reduced metabolism as we get older is a major factor, as well as changes in hormone levels related to weight. This is particularly true for women going through menopause although men also complain of the sudden onset of “dad-bod,” muscle loss and energy issues.

Lifestyle-related factors can also play a role. Older women and men may be under more stress and may not have the time, or be physically able to exercise the way they did when they were younger. This can affect the ability to lose weight. For many, a viable alternative that can aid in weight loss and reduce many of the symptoms of aging may be hormone replacement therapy.

What is Hormone Replacement Therapy, or HRT?

Hormone replacement therapy is a way to address hormonal imbalances in your body to correct deficiencies that may occur as you age. There are several different types of HRT therapy available to men and women that can address issues like sleep, concentration, sexual desire, regulating moods, and weight loss.

Because everyone is different, before beginning treatment, it’s important to measure your current hormone levels in order to create a customized, comprehensive course of treatment. Depending on your individual needs, hormones are typically administered through intramuscular injection or the implantation of a time-release pellet that gradually introduces hormones into the system. In some instances, hormones may also be available as a pill, patch or topical cream.

Some hormones that can be administered during treatment to help you lose weight include:

• • Testosterone– Testosterone levels gradually decline as we age. Both men and women have testosterone in their bodies, of course, men have higher levels. Testosterone HRT can improve and maintain bone density and fat distribution, red blood cell production and aid in the burning of fat, and the development of muscle.
• • Semorelin– Sermorelin Therapy provides excellent benefits for the overall health of patients undergoing replacement therapy including improving general wellness, and aiding in weight loss. It can directly improve both lean muscle growth and weight loss.
• • DHEA– Produced by the adrenal gland, DHEA levels beginning dropping when we’re in our 30s. A number of studies have revealed that DHEA supplements can improve the skin, treat osteoporosis, and aid in weight loss.
• • Estrogen and Progesterone – As women enter menopause their bodies stop producing these key hormones. Replacement therapy can not only ease the symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes and night sweat, when used in combination, Estrogen and Progesterone can also aid in the prevention of osteoporosis, and help aid and regulate weight loss.

Hormone replacement therapy is a viable treatment that can help to ease the effects of aging in both men and women including weight loss. Before starting any HRT, it’s important to meet with your doctor to discuss the options available as well as the benefits and potential side-effects of treatment. 

The post Lose Weight with Hormone Replacement Therapy appeared first on SDBody.

Are you suddenly struggling to gain muscle? Hormones reinforce optimum health. Your body has these key chemical substances in each gland and organ to ensure your body functions properly. When hormone levels decline, it can have a significantly negative impact on your cardiovascular system, brain, musculoskeletal system and other systems in your body. This hormonal decline only accelerates as we age, leading up to menopause and andropause.

One common result of hormone depletion is the negative impact on exercise routines, which affects your overall general fitness. You may experience this in your 40s or even beginning in your late 30s. You may notice effects such as:

• Fatigue
• Decreased desire to exercise
• Loss of muscle mass
• Diminished results from working out
• Increasing fat storage
• A growing waistline
• Unexplained, continuous weight gain

Research shows that hormonal depletion is related to each of these effects. For instance, estrogen imbalance may result in serious health consequences in both women and men. With unbalanced hormone ratios, you may experience estrogen dominance, which is linked to a greater risk of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. As men age, they may experience an imbalance of estradiol to testosterone, which may lead to sexual dysfunction, breast development, metabolic syndrome, and increased abdominal fat. Excess estrogen in males has been associated with higher risks of stroke, heart attack, and prostate disease. Women essentially lose all of the testosterone and estradiol at menopause, which puts them at greater risks for stroke, heart attack, Alzheimer’s, and cancer.

Bioidentical Hormones and Exercise for Improved Fitness

By replacing depleted hormones with bioidentical hormones and restoring the right ratios, you are more likely to experience the beneficial results from exercise. This is especially true with improving muscle mass. This is especially important as you age. Take a look at the positive benefits of just two of these hormones:

Estrogen

• Supports dopamine production in your brain, which is a neurotransmitter that helps make you feel better
• Supports bone density and strength

Testosterone

• Increases muscle strength and mass
• Increases bone density and helps the marrow manufacture red blood cells
• Increases metabolism by helping your body burn fat
• Increases the levels of growth hormone, which makes exercise more efficient

In fact, using bioidentical hormone replacements can result in sustained weight loss, improved BMI, reduced waist circumference, and better body composition. In addition, some bioidentical hormone replacements, such as testosterone, can make a positive impact on metabolic syndrome. Estradiol can have a positive impact on physiologic levels that result in greater desire to exercise. This is through the regulation of dopamine production, which is key for motivation to complete goal-oriented behaviors. When estradiol is not present, the dopamine cells in your brain will actually die. With proper replacement through bioidentical hormone replacement, exercise becomes the pleasant, gratifying activity you remember it to be.

Getting Back to the Gym!

There is no doubt that a regular exercise routine produces positive benefits as you age. It has been shown that getting back to the gym has a significant effect on fat disposition and helps you gain muscle mass, especially for postmenopausal women.

However, your first step should be getting back to a health hormonal balance with the appropriate hormone replacement therapy. Once your hormones reach a more balanced state, you will likely notice many positive changes in the quality of your exercise and quality of your life – higher energy levels, more mobility, less pain and soreness after workouts, better sleep – these are just the beginning of the benefits.

The post Can Bioidentical Hormones Help You Gain Muscle appeared first on SDBody.

How Declining Hormones Negatively Affect Sleep

Different hormones in the body play different roles in promoting quality sleep. A decline in these hormones can jeopardize your sleep. Here’s just a small sample of how different hormonal imbalances negatively can affect your sleep:

• Low progesterone: Progesterone is a hormone that calms the brain and reduces anxiety. This hormone declines sharply when a woman enters perimenopause. Without its calming effect on the brain, you may experience high levels of anxiety that can cause insomnia.
• Low estrogen: Estrogen is a hormone that helps to regulate blood sugar. When this hormone decreases, your blood sugar can rise, causing weight gain and wakefulness.
• Low melatonin: Melatonin is known as the sleep hormone. It helps regulate other sleep hormones as well as the circadian rhythms. Anything from nutritional deficiencies to overexposure to light at night can reduce this hormone.
• Low testosterone: There’s a link between low testosterone and sleep deprivation in both men and women. Sleep apnea inhibits REM sleep and reduces testosterone, which in turn creates more sleep disturbances along with other symptoms associated with low testosterone. It is especially important to speak to a qualified physician as SDBody if you suffer from obstructive sleep apnea as the incorrect use of Testosterone can worsen the effects of obstructive sleep apnea.
• Low DHEA: DHEA is an adrenal hormone that helps build bone and muscle. Like other hormones, DHEA declines with age. Low DHEA levels are linked to muscle weakness, which includes the pelvic floor, probably causing you to wake up several times at night to go to the bathroom.
• Underactive or overactive thyroid: Thyroid affects cells in the body, including the brain cells for serotonin, which is a brain chemical that affects sleep. When your thyroid is either underactive or overactive, your sleep is likely to be negatively affected.

Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy for Improved Sleep

If hormonal imbalances are negatively affecting your sleep, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) at SDBody in San Diego is probably the best option you have. HRT is a well-known treatment for relief of insomnia and other aging symptoms caused by hormonal imbalance. Many clinical studies have reported improvements to sleep quality in those who use hormone replacement therapy effectively. The benefits of using HRT include:

• It helps you fall asleep faster
• It reduces your nighttime awakenings
• It strengthens your sleep cycles
• It boosts your REM sleep
• It reduces mood swings and levels of anxiety

Researchers cite that sleeplessness, night sweats, joint pains and hot flushes are less common in people on HRT. Besides improving your quality of sleep, HRT can reduce many age-related symptoms such as weight gain, anxiety, muscle loss and sexual dysfunction. Overall, with HRT your quality of life is improved.

The quality of life benefits of hormone replacement therapy are greater in men and women with more severe symptoms due to aging. While there are some side effects to watch out for, the benefits of HRT by far outweigh the risks, especially for women with severe menopause symptoms and men who suffer from loss of muscle and energy.

There are various factors that will be part of your decision to use a particular hormone replacement therapy, including your age, your preferences, the available HRT treatment options, and the cost of the product. Only after undergoing an examination and understanding your own situation and after a thorough consultation with an HRT clinician at SDBody can you make the most ideal choice.

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