Hair Thinning Solutions For Men And Women

As a male surpasses the age of 50, he may begin to notice a decrease in the fullness of his once alluring mane. For some men, as early as 30 they begin to notice a receding hairline, balding at the temples or back of the scalp, or thinning across the entire scalp. While many just attribute this unpleasant change to the natural aging process, there is a bit more to know about the culprits, as well as, preventative measures that can be done. One of the main reasons men begin to lose hair is due to inheriting a gene that makes them and their hair follicles more sensitive to DHT, also known as Dihydrotestosterone. Dihydrotestosterone results when there is too much excess testosterone circulating in the body. During puberty, DHT is extremely important for the development of sexual characteristics. However, when a male is older and has high DHT, the DHT competes for the sites testosterone would have bound to. Unfortunately, this is not just a male issue. In women, while balding may not occur completely, thinning hair can. Some other side effects include: increased body or facial hair, acne, excessive sweating, sleep apnea, and an increased risk for high blood pressure. Monitoring your blood work, and ensuring you have proper levels of progesterone is one way to keep your body from making too much DHT.

Are you a good candidate for PRP Hair Restoration?

However, you may be wondering about the options to treat the damage of the DHT. One treatment that has been around for years is Platelet-Rich Plasma Therapy (also known as PRP). This is a non-surgical procedure that requires spinning down one’s own blood and collecting the plasma from the blood. The plasma contains amazing growth factors that keep your body’s cells healthy and facilitate repair. When the plasma is injected into the scalp where baldness has occurred, the growth factors are able to stimulate growth and repair. Over the course of 4- 6 treatments (or as recommended by the practitioner), hair growth becomes apparent. There are little to no side effects as the procedure utilizes one’s own cells. PRP has been used for years for skin repair and wound healing.

Call AgeRejuvenation today to learn more about how to get started and return to the days of luscious locks! Individual results vary by patient. Ask your AgeRejuvenation practitioner about your specific health concerns.

How You Work Out Effects Weight Loss

Did you ever think that the way you exercise might be working against your fitness and weight loss goals, instead of helping you achieve them? If you tend to forgo strength training for the treadmill or other types of cardio workouts, you may want to reconsider. Strength training coupled with diet and cardio burns more fat than cardio and diet alone!

Muscle building is the number one way to increase your metabolic rate long term. With a cardio workout, you may burn more calories minute-per-minute, but those calories will come from carbs, fat and protein – the building blocks for muscle. If your goal is to reduce your body fat percentage, you actually need to increase muscle, and strength training is the way to do it.

Did you know that you stop burning calories as soon as a cardio workout is over? With strength training, your body continues working to repair and grow your muscles in order to return your body’s enzyme levels back to normal. This increases caloric burn for up to 72 hours after you leave the gym.

Cardio exercises such as running and spinning promote muscular endurance, but shouldn’t replace strength training in your workout plan. Resistance-heavy cardio and strength training target different muscle fibers and both are necessary for optimal health.

In fact, studies have shown that the High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is more effective for burning calories and fat than long-endurance cardio work outs. In this exercise strategy, you alternate short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods.

Finally, if you’re trying to track the calories burned by your workouts, what’s the best way? Don’t rely on your cardio machines like treadmills and stair steppers for accuracy. It’s impossible for most machines to factor in all the variables unique to you for a totally accurate count of calories expended. Luckily, you can have more faith in your fitness tracker, since research published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise suggests that they come a lot closer.

Here are our top tips to help you increase lean muscle mass and lose more fat:

1. Increase your workout frequency. Aim to workout at least 4 to 5 times per week.

2. Vary your sets and reps. Alternate between higher strength rep ranges (6 to 8) and higher endurance rep ranges (10 to 12) in 3 to 4 week blocks.

3. Increase compound movements that target multiple muscle groups at once (e.g. close-grip push ups, overhead presses, bench press, pull ups, bicycle crunches, squats, leg press, etc.).

4. Focus on exercises that isolate weak muscles you may have, such as biceps curls or calf raises.

5. Make sure you are eating enough calories to build up muscle mass.

6. Focus on increasing supplements, such as a daily multivitamin, l-carnitine injections, creatine, glutamine, etc. These have all been shown clinically to improve muscle performance.

7. Eat low-glycemic carbs mixed with protein 1 to 1.5 hours before your workout for energy.

8. Drink a protein shake within 20 minutes of working out. You need to provide your muscles with protein after working out to help build them back up stronger.

9. Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep in each night. Sleep is an essential time where your body recovers from your workouts. Also, be sure to incorporate 1 to 2 rest days per week.

10. Find a gym where you are comfortable working out. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people makes training easier.

11. Work your way up to using free weights rather than machine weights. Free weights improve strength and balance more than exercise machines.

Call AgeRejuvenation today to learn more about how strength training can enhance your weight loss program. Individual results vary by patient. Ask your AgeRejuvenation practitioner about your specific health concerns.

Vitamin C — Why Vitamin C is Good For You

Vitamin C has long been considered one of our foundational antioxidants, essential to immune health and support (humans are unable to produce Vitamin C and must consume it via whole foods or supplementation). All antioxidants work in a similar way by removing damaging oxidizing agents from the human body. That is, when damaging, cancer-causing free radicals are ingested and incorporated into our bodies (through fried foods, alcohol, tobacco, pesticides, pollutants, extreme sun exposure, etc), Vitamin C is one of the nutrients that will scavenge the body to remove and neutralize these damaging particles. Current research funded by the National Institutes of Health is evaluating how Vitamin C prevents, delays, and destroys the development of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, and other diseases caused by oxidative stress. You can see why it’s so beneficial for our health!

In addition to its powerful antioxidant properties, Vitamin C is essential for collagen production—that is, collagen production cannot occur without Vitamin C. Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies and gives our skin, muscles, bones, blood vessels, and tendons strength and elasticity. Collagen production naturally declines with age, and this decline manifests itself as wrinkles, sagging skin, and joint pain. We literally cannot produce collagen without Vitamin C, which is why consumption and supplementation with Vitamin C can prevent and treat UV and free radical damage to our skin and collagen, and reduce and reverse inflammatory joint pain and disorders such as Rheumatoid Arthritis.

One other powerful effect of Vitamin C is its contribution to heart health. We know that your body’s connective tissues, including your blood vessels, are comprised of collagen. As Vitamin C strengthens the collagen in your skin and joints, reversing aging and inflammation, it also strengthens the collagen in your blood vessels. Weak blood vessels are more susceptible to damage from oxidized LDL cholesterol, cigarette smoke, heavy metals, and other pollutants, and the damage can cause inflammation and plaque formation in your arteries and veins. Vitamin C also helps your arteries dilate, or widen, reducing blood pressure and preventing heart disease. It can be as beneficial to your heart as walking in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle!

If you’d like to prevent the onset of cancer and reduce your risk, reverse the signs of aging (e.g. sun damage, hyperpigmentation, and wrinkle formation), treat and reverse heart disease, and strengthen your immune system, consumption of Vitamin C through whole foods and supplementation is highly recommended.

At AgeRejuvenation, powerful intramuscular Vitamin C injections are used in conjunction with a healthy diet to prevent and reverse the signs of aging. Ask your AgeRejuvenation practitioner for more info on this therapy.

Low Testosterone in Women

When most people hear the terms “low testosterone,” they associate the condition as being one that primarily affects men. But did you know that normal testosterone levels are crucial for women to maintain a high quality of life?

Testosterone allows mood, energy levels, sex drive, and bodily functions to work smoothly in women. Testosterone is a form of cholesterol, and causes of low testosterone include the use of cholesterol-lowering medication (statins), low progesterone levels (progesterone is a precursor for testosterone), use of oral contraceptives that suppresses the production of sex hormones such as estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, and general aging.

Symptoms of low testosterone in women include:

● Loss of Libido.

Probably one of the most recognizable symptoms of low testosterone is decreased libido and sexual function. This has been widely studied as a symptom of decreased testosterone levels.

● Weight Gain and Difficulty Losing Weight

Testosterone plays a significant role in obesity, glucose homeostasis, and lipid metabolism. Normalization of testosterone levels may improve insulin sensitivity and have favorable effects on visceral adiposity and lipid profiles.

A decrease in testosterone levels in women can also lead to a loss of muscle mass. Muscle mass burns more calories than fat and keeps the metabolism working well, so a decrease in muscle tissue could lead to additional weight gain.

Increasing testosterone levels and lowering estrogen levels can then, therefore, help to reverse this loss of muscle.

● Fatigue

There is much evidence on the effects of testosterone on circadian activity in both sexes. Studies have been conducted to understand how sleeping increases (and how waking decreases) testosterone levels and how this rhythm can be related to sexual function.

● Mood Swings, Depression, and Anxiety

In addition, free testosterone levels in women, but not in men, are inversely associated with depressive symptoms; i.e., as free testosterone levels in a woman decrease, depressive symptoms increase.

● Difficulty Concentrating and Brain Fog

Data suggests that absolute levels of sex hormones and the balance between estrogen and testosterone and their metabolites may be important for cognitive function in women.

In one study, testosterone improved cognitive performance in the domain of verbal learning and memory of healthy postmenopausal women. Men and women with Alzheimer’s disease also have been shown to have lower brain levels of estrogen and testosterone compared to neuropathological normal subjects.

In addition to the aforementioned symptoms, low testosterone levels are also associated with overall increases in cardiovascular disease and increased risk of coronary incidents in older women. Restoring testosterone levels also aids in increasing bone density and reduces the chance of developing osteoporosis in women.

At AgeRejuvenation, our team of licensed MDs, DOs, and ARNPs employ the use of Bioidentical hormones that are structurally identical to the hormones we produce in our own bodies. Because they are identical, these hormones mimic the exact chemistry occurring naturally in the body so there are much fewer, if any, negative side effects.

Ask how you can get started with Hormone Replacement Therapy!

Individual results vary by patient.

Can Genes Make You Fat?

In the case of weight loss, a person’s genes may be stacked against them. Identification of your genetic profile can help clarify the etiology of obesity and its metabolic consequences.

Recent numbers indicate that 65-80 percent of U.S. citizens over the age of 25 are either obese or overweight. While obesity itself is not considered a disease, it is the primary etiology in most cases of:

– Type 2 diabetes

– Coronary heart disease

– Gallstone attacks

In addition, more than a third of hypertension cases and approximately 10 percent of breast and colon cancers can be attributed to obesity. Given the prevalence of these implications, weight loss can play an important role in preventative health and longevity.

AgeRejuvenation can identify at-risk individuals in terms of his or her genetic profile and develop personalized prevention and treatment strategies. Our goal is to work with your genetic roadmap to create a path to sustained health.

Individual results vary by patient. Ask your AgeRejuvenation practitioner about your specific health concerns.

How Hormones Affect Your Memory

Forgetfulness and cognitive decline are some of the most commonly reported symptoms of menopause. In fact, perimenopausal women were 1.4 times as likely to report forgetfulness compared to premenopausal women. But why?

Your estrogen levels have a direct impact on your brain’s neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin, and GABA. These neurotransmitters help modulate your mood, your cognitive function (thinking and memory) and enable you to manage stress.

In menopause, estrogen levels decline and the brain’s neurotransmitters become out of balance, leading to mood disorders, brain fog, and short-term memory issues. However, with the use of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, AgeRejuvenation is able to reestablish hormonal balance and improve your quality of life!

Individual results vary by patient. Ask your AgeRejuvenation practitioner about your specific health concerns.

Sleep Deprivation Contributes to Weight Gain

Do you eat a healthy diet, take recommended supplements and exercise, but still struggle with weight gain? If you’ve been frustrated by this scenario, take a closer look at how much you sleep. Lack of sleep may be keeping your hormones out of balance and affecting your metabolism.

Leptin and ghrelin are two rarely heard of hormones, but they each play a critical role in the relationship between sleep and your body. With the appropriate amount of sleep, these two hormones keep each other in balance.

Sleep disruption can cause fluctuations that result in appetite and metabolism changes. Without enough sleep, ghrelin levels rise and stimulate appetite. Meanwhile, leptin levels drop, also increasing your appetite and contributing to obesity.

A regular sleep schedule of six to eight hours per night promotes the healthy production of leptin and limits the production of ghrelin, contributing to satiety and regulating your metabolism.

But there can be roadblocks to achieving adequate sleep. An estimated 50-70 million adults in the U.S. have a sleep or wakefulness disorder. For those suffering from insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, or difficulty staying asleep, adrenal dysfunction and neurotransmitter imbalances may contribute, or even cause, weight gain.

AgeRejuvenation can help you identify any sleep disruption that you may be experiencing and create a plan to help you get a good night’s rest.

Individual results vary by patient. Ask your AgeRejuvenation practitioner about your specific health concerns.

Effects of Glutathione in the Body

Glutathione is an antioxidant that is formed by three amino acids; cysteine, glutamine, and glycine. Glutathione can be found in almost every cell in the body but prominently in the liver, pancreas, spleen, and eyes.

Glutathione is important because it aids our metabolism, immune response, skin health, treat infertility in men, and protect our vital organs. As we age our body endures oxidative stress which causes glutathione levels to begin to decrease which ultimately causes aging in our bodies. Oxidative stress is more severe in those who have Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, HIV and AIDS, or cancer sickle cell anemia.

It is estimated that around age 20, the body begins to lose about 10-15% of its glutathione every decade. Other ways that our bodies tend to decline in glutathione levels are through exposure to pollution, pesticides, and stress.

After about age 20 it is critical to have a diet including food rich in glutathione like, asparagus, avocado, spinach, okra, broccoli, and etc.

However, the daily glutathione intake from foods ranges from 100-150 mg and a healthy adult has about 10 grams of glutathione circulating in the body which shows that it can be challenging to boost glutathione levels through diet.

Glutathione has no known negative side effects and is considered to be safe by the Food and Drug Administration. Glutathione can be administered in many different forms to the body.

However, injections are proven to be much more effective than taking a glutathione boosting supplement sublingually. Through glutathione injections our bodies have the chance to slow the aging process, repair the damage done by free radicals, and reduces our chances of the onset of several different chronic diseases. Glutathione can lighten the skin, clear wrinkles and blemishes, and give someone the opportunity to have flawless skin again!

Call AgeRejuvenation today to learn more about glutathione. Individual results vary by patient. Ask your AgeRejuvenation practitioner about your specific health concerns.

Exercise and Menopause…What are the Benefits?

The Benefits of Exercise for Menopause

Going through menopause can often be a very challenging part of a woman’s life. Menopausal symptoms can be severe and disruptive to one’s daily activities and overall quality of life.

Regular physical activity is crucial for menopausal and postmenopausal women. As women age and their hormone levels change, the risk of developing a chronic condition such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, osteoporosis, and cancer, is greatly increased.

According to the Centers For Disease Control, regular exercise helps reduce stress, improves the overall quality of life, and helps to prevent weight gain and muscle loss, which are the most frequently reported side effects of menopause.

An article published by the European Menopause and Andropause Society discussed the benefits of exercise on specific menopausal symptoms. For example, a group of menopausal women aged 55–72 who were involved in an exercise program of 3 hours per week for 12 months, experienced significant improvements in physical and mental health, with an increase in overall quality of life when compared to those who were sedentary.

A study published in the journal Mauritas reported that women who participated in regular physical activity were 49% less likely to report hot flashes than those whose exercise levels had decreased.

They also concluded that sedentary women who were given an aerobic exercise regimen for 6 months reported a decrease in the frequency of hot flashes (Strojanovska, 2014). Therefore, exercise can be considered an important factor in alleviating menopause symptoms.

Learn More: Coping with Menopause

Exercise in Menopausal Women (Mayo Clinic, 2016):

Prevents weight gain
- Women are more likely to gain abdominal fat and lose muscle mass during and after menopause. Being physically active will help prevent weight gain and increase muscle mass.
Reduces risk of osteoporosis
- Exercise can slow bone loss after menopause.
Improves mood
- Physically active adults have a lower risk of depression and cognitive decline.
Decreases risk of chronic conditions
- Maintaining a healthy weight will help prevent the development of chronic diseases such as Type II Diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Exercise Recommendations:

Aerobic training: 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise per week for cardiovascular health
- Moderate intensity aerobic exercise is when you are working hard enough to raise your heart rate, 60-70% of target heart rate, and begin sweating – you should be able to talk, but unable to sing the words to a song
  - Ex: Walking very briskly (4 mph), heavy cleaning (washing windows, vacuuming, mopping), mowing lawn, bicycling (10-12 mph)
- Vigorous intensity aerobic exercise is when you are breathing hard and fast with a significant increase in heart rate, 70-80% of target heart rate.
  - Ex: Hiking, Jogging at 6 mph, Shoveling, Carrying heavy loads, Bicycling fast (14-16 mph)
Strength training: 10-15 minutes, 3-4x per week to build bone and muscle strength to increase metabolism and aid in fat loss.

More Exercise Recommendations at AgeRejuvenation

References:

Stojanovska, L. (2014). To exercise, or, not to exercise, during menopause and beyond. Mauritas, 77, 318-323.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/womens-health/in-depth/fitness-…