Annapolis Integrative Medicine
1819 Bay Ridge Avenue
Suite 180
Annapolis, MD 21403
More Complementary & Integrative Healthcare Articles
Thriving (Not Just Surviving)
Time and time again I see men and women in their 40s and 50s with a similar story Increasing stress at home and work, raising children, not sleeping well, gaining weight, less energy, less time for pleasure and the list goes on. Along with this come aches and pains, lessened libidos, burgeoning intestinal and abdominal complaints, and often a growing list of medications to combat these.
Fortunately there is a fairly simple approach to dealing with this kind of situation. First and foremost is to make sure there are no serious illnesses either happening or on the horizon. A good history and physical exam as well as appropriate comprehensive testing should be able to sort that out. Once that is handled you can begin to deal with getting well.
First and foremost is getting good restorative sleep. Over time we develop habits and patterns of sleep that do not promote health. Overuse of caffeine, cutting back time allotted for sleep and the development of medical sleep disorders such as sleep apnea (marked by snoring, gasping, daytime fatigue and difficulty with losing weight) are all issues to consider. There are simple non-pharmaceutical methods available to help promote the sleep we need for our bodies to heal
Next is diet. As we get older we become less able to manage sugar and easily digested simple carbohydrates as found in breads, pastas, grains and some fruits. We tend to become somewhat insulin resistant, which creates a vicious circle of obesity causing more insulin resistance and inflammation.
Weight gain and inflammation are often due to food allergies, a phenomenon known as leaky gut, inflammation and insulin resistance.
One way to gauge your body's metabolic activities is to have your doctor check your c-reactive protein level to measure inflammation, and if blood sugar is an issue, consider having a glucose tolerance test and check insulin levels. I have found food allergy testing to be very useful for many.
Evaluating and optimizing hormone status can be instrumental in maintaining youth. Some say our hormones decline because we age. Others say we age because our hormones decline. Areas to focus on are thyroid issues, which can produce fatigue and dulling.
A phenomenon called adrenal fatigue is becoming more recognized as a real issue and testing and treating this can make a big difference for people. Finally optimizing hormone levels in men and women (testosterone, estrogen and progesterone) can afford great changes in energy and vitality.
