What is pregnenolone? It is a steroid hormone but is not a reproductive hormone like estrogen or testosterone.  Pregnenolone is also made from cholesterol, which makes it a steroid hormone. It is also considered to be a pro-hormone,’ because it can convert into other hormones depending on the needs of the body. Recently, it has been discovered that pregnenolone is also produced in the brain and spinal cord, which makes it very potent on stimulating the central nervous system and having an impact on the brain.
Pregnenolone is helpful for memory. It is stimulating to the brain for memory and learning, but at the same time, it is also neuroprotective.  The brain is very complicated, and pages could be written on the process of memory foundation and degradation. What we are trying to say here is, pregnenolone helps with learning and also preserving memory by protecting brain cells.
Other helpful uses for pregnenolone:

Memory: short-term
Brain fog
Mental energy and mental motivation
Helpful for learning new information
Mood
Focus

Pregnenolone, like most hormones declines with age. However, pregnenolone can also drop in response to high levels of chronic stress.  Whether that stress is mentally induced such as dealing with a family member's illness, PTSD or a stressful high paced life. Or physical stress such as intense daily cardiovascular exercise can diminish levels of pregnenolone.  
This is also known as ‘pregnenolone-steal.’  In times of chronic stress, the body will shunt the production away from the other steroid hormones to produce more cortisol.  For women, the body will shunt production away from progesterone to make more cortisol.  
You can test for pregnenolone levels in the blood, but the lab reference ranges are so vast that most everyone will fall in normal ranges.  Quest has a reference range of 22-237 ng/dL, and LabCorp’s is anything less than 151 ng/dL.
Both are broad reference ranges. I like to see pregnenolone 80-100.  If a pregnenolone blood test is less than 80 ng/ dL, I will treat the patient with pregnenolone.  And after being on the pregnenolone for 1-3 months, I will retest the blood work to see where their levels are and how they are feeling.  
As we all know, too much of a good thing' is not-so-good.  Taking too much pregnenolone can have side effects.  There is not a lot of research on pregnenolone.  There are some animal studies but not any real prolific human studies. For the layperson, there is not a lot of information about pregnenolone online. There are some contradictory statements on dosing, side effects, and safety.

What I can tell you from my experience with patients, there are relatively little side effects with pregnenolone, as long as you keep the dosage uniquely prescribed for the patient based on their symptoms and the blood work readings.  
Pregnenolone is available over the counter/online without a prescription.  Many pregnenolone doses are just way too high.  I have had new patients walk into my office, and they are on 100mg or more of pregnenolone per day.  There are a few exceptions based on

Painful intercourse is a very common complaint I get from patients going through or have gone through menopause.  They do feel awkward speaking of vaginal dryness, especially with their male gynecologists.  This is one of the most common symptoms of menopause, second to hot flashes and night sweats.
Menopause is an inevitable course of life that all women will go through.  In menopause, the ovaries are going to reduce and ultimately stop making estrogen and progesterone.  The average age of menopause is 51.5 years of age.  Also, commonly some women have had a complete hysterectomy and oophorectomy which is complete removal of the uterus and ovaries.
This can be due to many health conditions such as Endometriosis, heavy/frequent bleeding, or fibroids.  These women will go through what is called, surgical menopause,’ but either way, menopause can have a variety of symptoms.
Unfortunately, dry, painful sex commonly occurs before, during and after menopause.  A female may opt to take hormone replacement during menopause, or she might not choose to take hormones because she may not be a good candidate.
This can be due to personal reasons, health conditions, family history, physician recommendations.  Whether taking hormones or not for menopause, painful dry intercourse is a common symptom.
It should also be noted that perimenopausal women can also have vaginal dryness.  As we get older, our hormones inevitably decline.  Even women as young as the late 30’s to early 40's can have pain with intercourse due to the slight drop in estrogen.
Why is there painful dry intercourse due to menopause?
Estrogen feeds the vaginal cells.  Immature vaginal cells are called Parabasal cells.  Having estrogen in the system will help convert the parabasal cells into mature vaginal cells.
If you have vaginal atrophy, that means you have mainly parabasal cells in your vagina.  If you have ever gotten the full report from your last pap smear, you will notice the report will say there is predominantly parabasal cells.  The lack of estrogen in menopause is the culprit for painful intercourse and/or dryness.
Options for vaginal dryness and painful intercourse:
Personal lubricants are the first line of choice for painful intercourse, which can be helpful.  However, in vaginal atrophy, the walls of the vagina can become narrow.  You still might experience pain even with the lubricant, or the vaginal tissues are very fragile, and the lubricant cannot protect from the tearing.
The next level of treatment is using estrogen topically.  Your ObGyn may give you estradiol or Premarin cream/inserts for vaginal dryness.  The problem with this is estradiol and Premarin are both very strong forms of estrogen.
They usually enter the bloodstream if you use them vaginally.  Estradiol is ‘bioidentical,’ but it is the most potent form of estrogen we make.  So estradiol may not be appropriate for you or intended to be used long term.
Premarin is made from pregnant horse urine and is not bioidentical. The entire ethical implications behind horse/animal treatment and Premarin is a whole other topic itself.
For the appropriate candidate using estriol (E3) vaginally can help hydrate the vaginal cells and make them more resilient to tearing.  Estriol is the most gentle estrogen that our bodies produce.  Estriol is bioidentical and very helpful for skin and mucous membranes like the vagina.
Unfortunately, your conventional doctor or ObGyn is not going to prescribe estriol for you. Now, this is where I am supposed to tell you: this information is intended for information only.  It does not replace medical advice and it just at the disclosure of the reader.
There is a product I like from the company Bezwecken, which is called

As discussed before, fatigue is a broad topic with many multifaceted causes.  I wish there were a magic pill that would help fatigue and was free from side effects or dependency, but there is not.  Fatigue is commonplace, but a complicated symptom to address due to the many contributing factors.  
In our practice, the majority patients complaining about fatigue are relatively healthy and have no disease states, which is why their doctor has a hard time treating them.  Unfortunately, there is no treatment specifically for generalized fatigue.  
In our practice, a typical triad of symptoms we see with almost every patient is the following:

Low energy
Stressed
Weight gain (especially in the stomach)

From our experience treating patients for the last 14 years, we wanted to share some supplements ideas that we have had success with increasing energy. Below is just a summary of some supplement ideas that have helped our patients.  There are many other possibilities, and each practitioner has their preferred options.  This information is not set in stone, but just some simple ideas that might be helpful to you.  Something to also keep in mind, what works for one person, may or may not work from someone else.  
Liver/Insulin/Blood Sugar Support:
Balancing blood sugar and improving insulin status will your energy.   The better interaction between your liver, insulin, blood sugar, and cortisol, the better your energy and metabolism will be.  The KCCP (keto-carb-cycling program) helps to balance the insulin/glucose/cortisol roller coaster.  
Supplements:

Metabolic Xtra
ChromeMate GTF
Lipoic Acid Supreme
Liver GI Detox
Methyl B12 

Adrenal Support:     

Adrenal support can also help improve energy and reduce fatigue over time.  Restoring your adrenals helps to reestablish the stress response and HPA Axis, which is the brain / adrenal connection.  Note: be careful with products containing glandulars, as they are not always needed.  However, they can be helpful in the right situation.

Supplements:

Cortico B5-B6 (Vitamin B5)
Adrenotone

Fatigue and feeling tired is such a big topic.  This episode is the second part of our podcast of ‘Why Am I so Tired All The Time.’ As we discussed, there are many reasons causing fatigue ranging from medication to having too much caffeine.  Below is a list that with many (not all) of the causes of fatigue.  

Medications: such as antidepressant meds, anti-anxiety, heart meds.
Liver – sugar, alcohol and overall number of medications
Excessive amounts of Caffeine
Anemia/low blood iron
Insomnia/lack of sleep
Stress: adrenal and thyroid
Blood sugar/insulin imbalance
Depression / Anxiety
Stress / Cortisol
Thyroid –hypothyroid, Hashimoto’s,

Of course, fatigue is not just as simple as a list.  We believe that fatigue is the interaction between the pancreas, liver, thyroid, adrenal glands, brain and reproductive organs.  
This interaction can also help explain adrenal fatigue or adrenal-dysfunction, which is such a vague term or concept. When you consider the interactions between the adrenals, pancreas, liver, and brain from outside factors, you can get some SERIOUS FATIGUE.  
Fatigue is one of the most common reasons why people visit the doctor.   However, most of the time your conventional doctor cannot help you because the interactions of the organs/glands do not typically show up on a routine blood test.
The stressful American Diet and lifestyle can make these glands and hormones react in a way that can eventually lead you to be tired.  But in most cases, you do not have a disease.  Because these organs are healthy, but behaving in a way that makes you tired.
It is a complicated process to explain.  To keep it simple here is a short list to explain how it works.  
Adrenals:
High stress will cause an increase in cortisol, catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine: aka adrenaline).  This will cause ups and downs in energy, cravings for sugar and belly fat.  Caffeine from coffee and black tea will also falsely increases cortisol and catecholamines (adrenaline) initially but will fall off over time.  
Pancreas:
High glycemic foods and high levels of cortisol will raise your insulin.  Insulin is the only fat storing hormone. Hence, causing weight gain and ups and downs in blood sugar.  Ups and downs in blood sugar cause your energy to crash.

Liver:
The mitochondria in the liver become overwhelmed with high carbohydrate/sugar ingestion.  This high carbohydrate/sugar will cause insulin elevation. Then you will not work as efficiently.  That means the more sugar you eat, the more congested your liver is.  The more congested your liver is, the less efficient it can work.  An overburdened, congested liver will cause a drop in energy.  Leaving you mentally and physically fatigued.  

One of the most common complaints we hear from patients is fatigue or feeling tired all the time. Unfortunately, fatigue is common, but a complicated symptom to treat.  There are many possible reasons someone can be fatigued.  
Conventionally, when you go to your doctor, fatigue is all the same.  There is no differentiation made; however, we see three different patterns of fatigue.  
Snooze Button:
Are you one of those people who keeps pressing the snooze button in the morning. You are so tired and you just can't seem to get out of bed, so you keep pressing snooze.  Every nine minutes, your alarm keeps going off, and before you know it you have stayed in bed for an extra 45 extra minutes.  
Afternoon Crash:
Many patients mention they get really tired in the afternoon, usually between 2:00 to 5:00 pm. We refer to this afternoon drop in energy as the Thanksgiving Effect, which usually happens 30 to 90 minutes after lunchtime.  
Wire and Tired:
In the evening, after a long day, many patients will mention their minds feel wired, but their bodies are exhausted.  They want to sleep, but their racing minds won't let them rest. The stress from the day sets up this vicious cycle of poor sleep at night and fatigue during the day.  Unfortunately, when we need to sleep the most, we often sleep the worst.  
In addition, this the 3 patterns mentioned above, below is a list of other possible causes of fatigue. This is also assuming that an underlying condition or diagnosis such as cancer or an autoimmune disease has already been ruled out by your doctor.  

Medications: such as antidepressant meds, anti-anxiety and beta blockers. 
Excessive amounts of caffeine and/or alcohol.
Liver burden (meds, caffeine, alcohol, high fructose corn syrup)
Iron Deficiency Anemia
Insomnia
Stress: cortisol
Blood sugar/insulin imbalance
Anxiety/ depression
Hypothyroid, Hashimoto’s
Allergies
Autoimmune disease
Cancer

Of course, fatigue is not as simple as a list. Fatigue is very complicated with many contributing factors.
For additional health resources, you can access our Content library and download the Keto Carb Cycling Program, which is intended to help you lose weight and improve your energy throughout the day.  
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In our practice, one of the most common complaints we hear is about sugar cravings.  Carb cravings are not only common but an obvious obstacle to our weight loss goals.  
How many of you have woken up in the morning and said, today is the day that I am going to eat healthy.'  You start the day perfect. Breakfast is a good source of protein like eggs with some spinach and onions. Or maybe a smoothie with lots of greens, chia seeds, fruit and healthy protein powder.  
Lunch is a salad or yogurt. You drink lots of water because we all know that is healthy for us.  And then BOOM! 3 pm hits.  You feel a little tired, and then the carb/sugar cravings kick in.  You have a little chocolate or a cookie.  And then you have another and another.  
Dinner is protein and veggies and maybe a little carbohydrate like rice.  You might eat a larger portion for dinner than you should, given the snacking before dinner.
You are not alone when I say after dinner, you still want to snack.  Full from dinner, you still want to munch on snacks.  Then this entire cycle repeats itself the next day and the next. You feel like it's groundhog day. Unfortunately, this vicious cycle is about biology and has nothing to do with willpower.   
Sugar tastes great, but it can be addictive. Like little bursts of dynamite on your tongue and in your brain. But why, when we know it is not good for us, we still indulge?  When you eat sugar or any processed carbs, it raises dopamine in your brain.
Raising dopamine provides an instant feeling of pleasure.  Dopamine is why people do drugs, gamble, sex addiction, and compulsively shop.  When you think of dopamine, think of sex, drugs, and food.  It's not called comfort food for no reason.
Sugar and refined carbohydrates have a significant impact on the dopamine reward pathway.  The more you have, the more you want. The best way to stop this vicious cycle is to stop sugar completely.  That means no sweets, no treats, no refined carbohydrates, no processed food.  
Sounds simple, but it is far from easy. Trying to stop eating sugar and carbs can be hard. Again, biology is stronger than willpower.  
The saving grace is that if you can eliminate sugar and processed foods from your diet for two weeks, it gets easier the third week.  If you can get to the fourth week without sugar, you are golden!
Besides going cold turkey, there are some simple things you can do to help minimize cravings.  First, we like to use the mineral chromium, which helps to take the edge off cravings.  Below are a couple of options we have used with our patients.  

ChromeMate GTF
FNX Zone

With ChromeMate GTF, it supports healthy insulin levels and helps to balance blood sugar.  The target dosage to curb sugar cravings is at least 1,200 mcg daily.  With FNX Zone, it also helps to gently curb appetite and minimize cravings, making the evenings easier to handle.
Please let us know if you are struggling with appetite or craving issues.  Feel free to send us an email at [email protected].  You can also access our Content Library for more healthy resources.
The post

The new year is here! And I am sure everyone has their new year's resolutions.  The most common, eating better and losing weight.  With the holiday season (speaking for myself), there has been way too much sugar, treats, alcohol and just too much food in general.  
It has also been wonderful to spend quality time with family and loved ones, but too much wine, dessert and too little/no exercise (again, speaking for myself).  I am more than ready to eat better, exercise and stop wearing yoga pants all the time.We have a program to help you (and me) eat better, feel better, lose and maintain weight.  Specifically belly fat, because that is where we have all gained it. This program is called the Keto-Carb-Cycling Program (KCCP).
First off, caloric restriction is not going to work.  We have all reduced our calories, suffered from hunger, cravings and being a little moody. Unfortunately, you lose a small amount of weight, which is mainly water, and muscle.  Then binge and gain it all back. This program incorporates a keto diet, intermittent fasting with carbohydrate cycling.  The whole point is to increase and balance your metabolic hormones. While at the same time, keeping you satiated and not restricting calories long-term.
Individually, a Ketogenic Diet, Intermittent Fasting, and Carbohydrate Cycling are very popular and do help with weight loss. However, each has its pros and cons. After working with many patients over the last 14 years, we have found that by combining the three approaches together works best. It is more healthy to our systems and maintainable over time.  Finally, you can start losing weight and keep it off.   

What is a Ketogenic Diet?  
A keto-diet is reducing your total carbohydrate intake so that you go into ketosis.  Usually, our bodies run by glycolysis, which is the process of utilizing carbohydrates/glucose for fuel.  By reducing your carbohydrate intake below 30 grams daily, your body cannot run by glycolysis.  It must switch to burning ketone bodies for fuel, which is ketosis.  
When you are in ketosis, you are burning fat. So part of the KCCP is to put your body into fat-burning mode.  Although, it is not ideal to be in ketosis for an extended length of time.  Long-term ketosis is hard on the thyroid, can cause electrolytes/minerals deficiencies and drop neurohormones like serotonin. That is why we have combined intermittent fasting with carb-cycling to work together for weight loss, metabolism, and overall health.
What is Intermittent Fasting:  
Intermittent fasting (IF) is eating your meals in a 6 to an 8-hour window and fasting for 16 to 18 hours a day.  Commonly IF is eating meals between noon and 8 pm. A lot of people tell me they already do this eating style, but they can't lose weight.  They skip breakfast and have lunch and dinner only.  Most of the time, this pattern turns into chronic caloric restriction, which is why we recommend adding in more carbs on a strategic basis.   
What is carb-cycling:  
Carbohydrate cycling is adding starchy carbohydrate to the diet.  The carb-cycling is done on a specific schedule and eaten only in the evening.  A starchy carb might be a sweet potato, beans or rice.  Having the carbohydrate at night will help keep neurohormones up such as serotonin and helps improve sleep quality.  It also fills up your glycogen stores in your mu

Welcome to the new year, 2018! It is going to be a great year.  With the start of any new year, everyone is ready to eat better and lose weight. Since when did my fat jeans' become my regular jeans lol!  With the holiday festivities behind us, it is time to get back on track with our eating and get back into our skinny jeans!  

Over the years there have been numerous diet' programs for weight loss.  As many of us know, diets are not sustainable, which is why we might lose 15 lbs but gain it back and more.  Or we lose a little weight only to plateau and feel like our efforts are fruitless.  

One approach that seems to have spanned the ages is, eat less, exercise more.'  We all have tried it once or many times, even though it always backfires on us.  People still keep trying to rein in their calories and exercise like crazy after the new year. 
Reducing calories is not a good strategy for weight loss. One of two things will happen when you cut calories:

You will lose weight initially, and then you will gain it back plus more.  Either by binging, because your body cannot take the starvation mode.' Or you eventually begin to eat like a normal human.  The intake of normal eating' is too much for your already starved body that the weight come back.  The rebound weight gain is inevitable.  
You initially lose 8-15 lbs, making you super encouraged.  However, after that initial weight loss, it stops.  You frustratingly stop losing weight no matter how little you eat or how much more you exercise.

A few things that reducing calories can do to you:

Caloric restriction will lower your thyroid function. If your body thinks it is starving, your thyroid function will drop, which will reduce your metabolism.’ Lower thyroid function can also cause hair loss, dry skin, and fatigue.  Cutting calories can also force your body to break down muscle tissue, further lowering your metabolism.
Caloric restriction will also Increase cravings for carbs and sugar. There are many hormonal and neurotransmitter changes that occur when you drop your calories. Specifically, a neurotransmitter called Neuropeptide-Y will increase, which makes you want to eat sugar and processed refined carbohydrates.
Caloric restriction stresses the adrenal glands. Reducing calories will cause cortisol to rise.  Elevated cortisol will also break down muscle tissue. Breaking down muscle tissue will raise your blood sugar, which in turn causes your insulin to increase. Insulin will take the blood sugar from the breakdown of muscle and cause you to store fat around your midsection. Essentially, you are trading muscle for fat.

The Ketogenic Diet has been around for decades but is currently trendy for weight loss and overall health.  There are many opinions regarding its viability as a dietary strategy.  It is a low carbohydrate diet, but there are many more aspects to it.  A Ketogenic Diet is much better than just reducing your calories for weight loss.  

What is Ketosis?
When we eat carbohydrates, our bodies run by a process called, Glycolysis. This is the process of burning glucose/sugar is our primary fuel source for energy.  When we dr

Getting rid of stubborn belly fat is one of the main complaints I hear from patients. In particular, the female patients. More specifically, the female patients over 40 years old. Why is it you can eat a cheeseburger, fries and shake when you are 20, but forget it at 40?
Why does it seem that the waistline keeps growing regardless of exercise and diet?
This is where it becomes an issue of balancing metabolic hormones rather than eating less or exercising more.  Our metabolic hormone balance at 20 is vastly different from 40. I know it sounds like age, but it is more about metabolic hormones.
Even in younger women, there can be a metabolic hormone imbalance. It isn't really about age, but more about the chronic stress altering our metabolic hormones causing one of three things:

Weight distribution changes
Waistline enlarges, and legs get thinner
Belly fat, muffin top, and back fat
All of it: back fat, muffin top, spare tire and thin legs

Chronic stress affects all of our hormones. Mainly causing insulin and cortisol to rise. The increase in insulin and cortisol will shift sugar/glucose storage toward fat storing rather than fat burning. What is chronic stress? And why is my insulin elevated because I am a stressed out hot mess?
What is the solution to get rid of belly fat?
If the goal is to get rid of belly fat, then you must reduce/balance insulin and cortisol.
The next million dollar question: how do I reduce insulin and cortisol? Because my stressed out hot-mess of a life isn't going away!
Let’s keep it simple! We have a program called the Keto Carb Cycling Program (KCCP), which we designed to help you lose that stubborn belly fat. You can download the KCCP for free from our Content Library.  Then, all you have to do is follow it.  Of course, this is easy said than done, so be gentle with yourself and take the necessary time to allow it to work.
Visit progressyourhealth.com to gain access to our content library.
 
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