Vim & Vigor - Spring 2011 - North Mississippi - (Page 43)

M EARLY ADULTHOOD PHOTOGRAPHY BY VEER BY ALLISO N THOMAS MEN AND WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT, and sometimes these differences are amusing. C’mon, ladies: Who hasn’t joked about a lovable man in her life who refuses to ask for directions or who inexplicably lost the drive to make sane wardrobe choices after a certain age? But when men turn the tables, their humor is frequently hormone-related, from endless PMS jokes to the occasional whispered reference to “a roller-coaster ride.” (Yes, we heard you.) But is hormone humor doing women a disservice? To help answer this question, we must understand how many of the physical and emotional symptoms attributed to hormones are deserved (as well as which are normal and which aren’t). From your ﬁrst mood swing to your last hot ﬂash, we’ll walk through the various life stages to see how hormones affect our bodies, minds and emotions—and ﬁnd out who gets the last laugh. sensation. He also recommends losing weight if necessary. “Obesity contributes to fluid retention by increasing pressure inside the abdomen, making it harder for blood to return to the heart,” Isaacs says. One activity that helps is exercise, yet women often feel lethargic during their period. “Progesterone tends to make you sleepy, reducing your activity level. But working your muscles reduces ﬂuid retention by forcing blood into the heart,” he writes. What’s abnormal: Other PMS symptoms could be a sign of an androgen disorder. Although they are typically considered “male” hormones, androgens (such as testosterone) play an important role in hormonal balance for women. According to Isaacs, excess androgens, or hyperandrogenism, is the most common hormonal disorder in young women, and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause. “We see PCOS in about 10 percent of women, with symptoms beginning around the time that a girl has her ﬁrst period,” Isaacs says. PCOS symptoms include irregular, heavy or painful menstrual cycles, deepening of the voice, and facial hair growth. Insulin resistance, which occurs when the body produces insulin but doesn’t use it correctly, may Vim & Vigor · SPRI NG 2011 What’s normal: Women entering their reproductive years experience signiﬁcant hormonal variations. Margery Gass, M.D., executive director of the North American Menopause Society, likens this ebb and ﬂow to a musical crescendo. “For a woman to be cycling normally and fertile, her hormones are playing an intricate symphony each month: Certain ones go up, other ones go down, there’s a peak in the middle, they drop at the end, and then you have a period. So there’s a pattern that is fairly predictable,” Gass says. Even when things go normally, there are side effects to deal with, such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS). About 60 percent of women experience PMS, according to Scott Isaacs, M.D., an endocrinologist and author. In his book Hormonal Balance, Isaacs explains how progesterone, which teams with estrogen to regulate fertility and menstruation, ﬁgures in. “The high progesterone levels just prior to menstruation are responsible for ﬂuid retention, food cravings, mood swings and premenstrual syndrome,” Isaacs writes. What you can do: To manage PMS, Isaacs suggests dietary changes such as cutting back on or eliminating caffeine; eating small, frequent meals; avoiding excess fat, salt and prepared foods; and limiting fiber if you have bloating issues as it tends to exacerbate the 43

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Spring 2011 - North Mississippi

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2011 - North Mississippi
Table of Contents
Opening Thoughts
Pump It Up
Heart of the Matter
Every Minute Counts
A Workout for Every Mood
Don’t Fail Your Heart
If Your Bones Could Talk
Healthy Travels
Over 40 and Fabulous
Do-It-Yourself Health?
Fighting Words
Balancing Act
Giving & Getting
Brighten Up
Welcome Aboard
Catch the Spirit

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2011 - North Mississippi