April 26, 2010

• Aging for Women

  Hormones in your 20's.

  We search for a mate, someone to have our children with. Socially we have fun, focus on our looks, get an education, find a great job, buy fancy clothes, join a health club and become buff. We do whatever it takes to become attractive to the opposite sex. We might be doing all this for cultural reasons, but above it all, it's for reproductive purposes.

  On the outside our social development defines our behavior, on the inside, our hormones are protecting us from harm. Heart disease , cancer and strokes are not part of the 20 year-olds' vocabulary. If they occur, they are rare. This great health is due to the fact that our hormones are watching over us. They have created a protective bubble around us. They keep us immortal. We have a goal: The Perpetuation of the Human Species- to fulfill, and our hormones will make sure we achieve it.

  At this time in our lives, most women get pregnant. This event reveals a clear picture of how hormones operate. When we are pregnant we are protected from harm: our estrogen and progesterone levels are sky high. We don't get sick, we just glow. We gain weight and we don't have problems as a result. Our bones get stronger, our hair gets thicker, and skin is wrinkle free because our increased levels of hormones are protecting us.

  High estrogen stimulates bone production, synchronizes heart function, washes away cholesterol deposits from our arteries, stimulates serotonin production that keeps our spirits high. High testosterone stimulates muscle cell growth, protects our heart cells from toxic damage, and maintains our metabolic rate at a high level where we don't get fat or sluggish.

  Our 20s are a joyous time. Beautifully synchronized, our hormones keep us vibrant, healthy, and ready to reproduce. And that we do. In our 20s most of us start our families and have children. But while we usually sail through childbirth and its aftermath without a hitch, occasional problems arise. When they do, we are left baffled and without answers or worse yet, with the wrong answers.

   

  Hormones in your 30's

  We have found our mate, started a family, and hormonally-speaking are on automatic pilot for the next fifteen plus years. Some of us have no children, others have one or more and our hormones follow the changes set by the presence or absence of pregnancy. While busy raising the family Mother Nature wants our species to thrive and survive. This simple fact translates in a fairly constant hormone balance with rare glitches in the system. Our periods are fairly regular, we maintain our weight, we sleep well and look young and are still full of energy. Because it takes our offspring a minimum of 15 years to become self-sustaining, our hormone balance and the state of our health has to parallel this timeline. Scientifically, hormones will continue protecting us for the 15 years we need to raise the children. Emotionally and economically our society has extended the time our children need our support. But even from that standpoint eventually our children become self-sufficient. They do grow up. By the time they're off to college, starting their own search for a mate, or beginning a career, they leave behind not only an empty nest, but a hormonally drained parent, who is now 40-50 years old.
  
  During our reproductive years, we are healthy. We stay healthy because the high levels of sex hormones we produce, protect us from illness.
  
  Even though most young people are healthy, statistically speaking, and wellness is the rule, the system is not perfect. Identifying the imperfections in our hormone balance that occur during our youth opens the door for us to protect ourselves from aging as we get older.
  
  Hormones do not protect us from ALL harm. Like a computer system, the human body does crash on occasion. The hormone balance gets thrown off even in the healthiest of people at the peak of their youth. When the hormone balance is off, we experience symptoms. Not every young woman will experience symptoms of hormone imbalance, but many women will at different times in their lives. Our ability to manage our own menopause, with its significant hormone deficiencies, requires an understanding of the concept that episodes of hormone imbalances occur regardless of age.

  Hormones in your 40's and 50's

   

  Depressing matter of aging

  Lately I feel old, and perhaps for the same reason, I looked at old pictures back in University.  It has been 6 years since Undergrad.  It seems that life has always been revolving around a dog and a person, and then a cat and a person.  One word for these years would be - simple.  In relationship, more education, job search, gov't, achieved the highest level of stability and guarantees...  I looked at pictures when I was 19, 21.. So young, so happy, yet not knowing it.  Have I changed?  Not really, besides perhaps I can't sleep as late, not as vibrant.  All of a sudden, everyone around me tells me that I am going downhill.  Time is sneaky and cruel.  Time is just - everyone has similar amount of youthful time, and you owe it to yourself if you find it unjust. 

  Over the weekend, it saddened me when I saw celebrities aging and all of us pointed that out.  I hate it when I watched movies on life stages (Up in the Air).  At the hair salon, the stylist told my friend that she needs to grasp the concept - we are losing our youth and the only thing we can grasp is something we can take home.  My cousin and friend both told me repeatedly that I need to eat better, sleep better, and do more exercise because I am going to fall apart very soon.  While I was wondering how people deal with this matter, my cousin and I talked about our mothers' obsession with aging. 

  She doesn't find older people ugly.  They are just at different stages in life. 

  "That look is a look when one is in her 30's, that physique is the physique of a 50 year old." 

  People should all think like that to be comfortable with their age, look, and health.  The world will be a much better and happier place.

  The truth is, youth will always be an indication of reproductivity and ability to care for the young.   A young body will always be more attractive to the society and healthier.  It is up to you as to whether you accept the inevitable aging process - how you look at it, and how you deal with it.  Your 40's can be happier than your 20's, if you have the right attitude.

  • 2:53 am
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