ESTROGEN

• Creates proliferative endometrium
• Responsible for female secondary sex characteristics
• Protects against osteoporosis, heart disease (?), Alzheimer’s disease (?), colon cancer, incontinence, and tooth loss and decay.
• Increases levels of serotonin and endorphins, as well as other neurotransmittors.
• Enhances sleep, emotional well-being, mental acuity and focus, memory, attention span, communication ability, sensory function (vision, hearing, taste, touch, and smell), digestion, libido, and skin tone.
• Relieves menopausal symptoms and depression.
• Increases tolerance to pain.
• Necessary for fertility.
• Creates Progesterone receptors.
• Increases risk of breast, endometrial, and prostate cancers, and autoimmune disorders.
• Increases salt and fluid retention, body fat, and blood clotting.
• May reduce cell oxygen levels.
• Can interfere with thyroid hormone and function.

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PROGESTERONE

• Maintains secretory endometrium
• Necessary to fertility and maintaining pregnancy- allows embryo to survive.
• Has a calming effect
• Enhances mood.
• Regulates fluid balance, acts as a natural diuretic.
• Increases energy and libido.
• Balances blood sugar, thyroid function, and mineral balance (zinc/copper ratio).
• Relieves menopausal symptoms.
• Decrease risk of endometrial cancer and may help protect against breast cancer, fibrocystic breasts, and osteoporosis (stimulates osteoblast bone building).
• Restores proper cell oxygen levels.
• Increases sensitivity of the estrogen receptor.
• Helps utilize fat for energy.
• Helps prevent prostate cancer.

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TESTOSTERONE

• Women make 1/10th the Testosterone of men-ovaries supply 50%, adrenal glands supply 50%- levels slowly decline starting at age 35.
• Increases energy and libido and orgasmic response.
• Decreases body fat, builds muscle and promotes muscle tone.
• Enhances sense of well-being, mood, memory, and structural integrity of the brain.
• Helps strengthen bone.                             
• Increases levator ani support and control of sphincters.
• Protects against plaque in blood vessels.
• Promotes higher nitric oxide, a naturally occurring substance that helps keep blood vessels dilated and open.

DHEA

• Is the precursor to Estrogens and Testosterone in our bodies.
• Helps protect against heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
• Can increase and enhance energy levels, libido, memory, and immunity.
• Protects against the effects of stress.
• Aids weight loss and healing of burns.
• Helps to prevent wrinkles and dry eyes.

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CORTISOL

• Helps in responding and coping with stress, trauma, infection, and environmental extremes.
• Increases energy and metabolism.
• Helps regulates blood pressure.
• Enhances the integrity of blood vessels.
• Reduces allergic and inflammatory response.

MELATONIN

Melatonin is another antioxidant that protects against UV radiation.A group at the University of Zurich has shown that topical melatonin gives excellent protection against sunburn if applied before sun exposure. In another study published in Brain Research Bulletin, melatonin levels rose 6 hours after burn injury, and then fell to normal.

Melatonin is synthesized in the skin and of course by the pineal gland deep in the brain in response to darkness. In low concentrations melatonin causes skin cells to proliferate.(In large amounts, it stops proliferation). People with psoriasis and atopic eczema do not have normal melatonin secretion. Instead of peaks, they have valleys. With psoriasis, melatonin peaks in the day when it shouldn’t, and patients have little at night.


PREGNENOLONE

Although DHEA is our most abundant, naturally occurring hormone in the human body, the real “Mother Hormone” is Pregnenolone, not DHEA. Pregnenolone is a natural hormone made from cholesterol in our adrenal glands. It is the precursor to all steroid hormones, including progesterone, estrogens, testosterone, the cortisones, and DHEA.

Clinical studies have shown that Pregnenolone provides safe estrogen replacement therapy for women, enhances mood and behavior, improves long term memory and mental acuity, assists in reducing the effects of aging, improves sleep quality and reduces night time restlessness, actually aids in repairing degeneration of the myelin sheath, aids the liver and brain in detoxification processes and can reduce fatigue and stress.

A double blind placebo controlled study has shown that Pregnenolone can improve the skin’s quality and elasticity, reducing wrinkles and other symptoms (age spots, etc.) of decreased Pregnenolone production. {Sternberg TH, LeVan P. Wright ET. The hydrating effects of Pregnenolone acetate on the human skin. Curr Ther Res 1961; 3 (11): 469-71} Many people have noticed a “face-lifting” action, which may be due to improved circulation to the skin, and by an actual contraction of some muscle-like cells in the skin.

References:

1. National Institute on Aging, U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, 1996.
2a. Saral y, et al. Protective effects of topical alpha-tocopherol acetate on UVB irradiation in guinea pigs: importance of free radicals. Physiol Res 2002; 51: 285-290, 2002.
2b. Nusgens B, et al. Topically applied vitamin C enhances the mRNA level of collagens I and III, their processing enzymes and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 in the human dermis. J Invest Dermatol 2001; 116: 853-859.
3. Fitzpatrick RE, et al. Double-blind, half-face study comparing topical vitamin C and vehicle for rejuvenation of photodamage. Dermatol Surg 2002 Mar 28 (3): 231-6.
4. Varani J, et al. Molecular mechanisms of intrinsic skin aging and retinoid-induced repair and reversal. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc 1998 Aug; 3 (1): 57-60.
5. Sorg O , et al. Retinol and retinyl ester epidermal pools are not identically sensitive to UVB irradiation and anti-oxidant protective effect. J Dermatol 1999;199 (4):302-7.
6. Lu C, et al. Interactions of lipoic acid radical cations with vitamins C and E analogue and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives. Arch Biochem Biophys 2002 Oct 1;406(1):78-84.
7. Goukassian D, et al. Mechanisms and implications of the age-associated decrease in DNA repair capacity. FASEB J 2000 Jul;14(10):1325-34.
8. Phillips TJ, et al. Hormonal effects on skin aging. Clin Geriatr Med 2001 Nov; 17(4):661-72, vi.
9. Araneo BA, et al. Dehydroepiandrosterone reduces progessive ischemia caused by thermal injury. J Invest Res, Aug 1995, 59 (2) p. 250-262.
10. Lee KS, et al. Effects of dehydroepiandrosterone on collagen and collagenase gene expression by skin fibroblasts in culture. J Dermatol Sci 2000 Jun;23(2):103-10.
11. Bangha E, et al. Suppression of UV-induced erythema by topical treatment with melatonin. A dose study. Arch Dermatol Res 1996; 288(9) 522-526.
12. Ryoo YW, et al. The effects of the melatonin on ultraviolet-B irradiated cultured dermal fibroblasts. J Dermatol Sci 2001 Nov;27(3):162-168.
13. Fischer TW, et al. Melatonin reduces UV-induced reactive oxygen species in a dose-dependent manner in IL-3-stimulated leukocytes. J Pineal Res 2001 Aug;31(1):39-45.
14. Manuskiatti W, et al. Hyaluronic acid and skin: wound healing and aging. Int J Dermatol 1996 Aug;35(8):539-44.