Glandular Disturbances

The major hormones produced by the endocrine system including pancreas, thyroid, adrenal, pineal, pituitary, and sex glands are frequently dysfunctional.  Through careful evaluation and laboratory testing we can often correct or augment these malfunctioning glands and improve hormonal balance, which can lead to increased longevity and quality of life.  

New saliva testing is available to evaluate the bioavailability or free-hormone levels of certain hormones in the body.  To help determine functional hormones, standard blood tests for hormones may also be used.  Natural hormones, glandulars, and nutritional precursors of hormones may be utilized as part of a treatment protocol. 

In general, we are opposed to the use of synthetic hormones that differ from the natural hormones produced by the body, as we believe there is strong evidence that the use of these synthetic hormones are detrimental to the body in many ways.  

For example, a study that appeared in a major medical journal at the beginning of 2000 indicated that a woman taking the synthetic hormone—medroxyprogesterone, along with estrogen derived from pregnant mares, had an 8 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer for every year that she took this synthetic hormone combination.  

In other words, a woman who received this treatment for menopausal symptoms for ten years had an eighty percent increased risk of developing breast cancer.  For this reason and many others, we prefer using natural progesterone rather than the synthetic forms.