How to Manage Hormones with Age

Keeping your hormones in check is a balancing act, and it doesn’t get any easier with age. Men and women both experience shifting levels of key hormones over time, potentially leading to several uncomfortable physical and emotional changes.As we age, there are important lifestyle shifts, food choices, and supplements that can help us manage hormones and mitigate any unpleasantries.

Hormones Aren't Just for Women

Although we tend to associate phrases like “hormonal imbalance” with women, these changes occur in men, too. Though they present differently for men and women, everyone is at risk for unwanted mood, sleep, and other bodily function irregularities as hormones shift with age.

While we expect certain hormone levels to change with age, there are certain lifestyle choices that can exacerbate these shifts, emphasizing physical discomforts and mental or emotional challenges. For example, studies show that a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of altered metabolic functions, such as reduced insulin sensitivity and weight gain, which are controlled by hormones.^[1] 

What Hormonal Changes can Women Expect with Age?

As women age, they experience certain hormone changes, like lower levels of estrogen and androgen, that alter the metabolic processes in the body that control weight, shape, and muscle tone. Specifically, less estrogen means more visceral fat is stored in the abdomen, rather than being burned as energy.^[2]

By their 30’s, progesterone is also dropping significantly in most women, culminating in the cessation of ovulation and menstruation over time. Once estrogen and progesterone stop being produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands, respectively, women are at a higher risk for bone fragility fractures.^[3] 

Women can also experience more generalized changes such as difficulty sleeping, irritability, and other mood and emotional instabilities. Many women experience a decline in sexual function with age; the self-reported sexual decline rate doubles from pre-menopause to post-menopause female cohort samples.^[4] 

What Hormonal Changes can Men Expect with Age?

While the shift is not as pronounced as it tends to be in women, men do experience a slow and steady drop in hormones as they age. At age 40, 40% of men report sexual decline; at age 70, 70% of men report decreased sex drive. Testosterone levels, for example, have always declined in men over the course of their life; however, recent studies show an even more pronounced change.

Some of this dramatic change in testosterone levels has been attributed to the low-fat diet trend of the past 30 years.^[5] Because higher, historically normal levels of testosterone are associated with healthier lifestyles, we have specific dietary and supplementation suggestions for aging men.

Men are also subjected to an onslaught of general changes to the body and mind as they age, due to these shifting hormones. Commonly, they notice irritability, hair loss, cognitive decline, and lower energy levels, as they also experience changes in thyroid hormone and cortisol levels.

5 Ways to Manage Hormones with Age

Everyone will experience some shifts in hormone levels with age, but we want to minimize the discomforts and annoyances that come with unnecessarily rapid changes or unusually imbalanced hormones. Here are our top five recommendations for supporting your hormones and aging comfortably.

1. Focus on Fats (and Protein!). Keep blood sugar levels in check by avoiding processed foods and sugary, carbohydrate-heavy meals. Instead, ramp up your intake of healthy fats and proteins in the form of real, whole foods (eggs, wild caught salmon, grass-fed beef, etc.).
2. Get Moving. Moderate exercise is crucial to mitigating the negative health effects of the typical sedentary lifestyle. Avoid exercising to the extreme, though, as this increases stress hormones and can age the body prematurely.
3. Reduce Daily Stress. Download that meditation app, practice deep breathing techniques, and get a massage or an acupuncture session. Almost half of Americans have tried complementary and alternative solutions, and studies show they are effective at “reducing stress and bothersomeness of some menopausal symptoms,” among other hormone-related discomforts.*^[6]
4. Reduce or Eliminate Environmental Toxins. Many of the most popular personal care and home cleaning products are full of endocrine disrupting chemicals that can wreak havoc on hormone levels. Many plastics used for storing your food and water also release estrogen-like molecules that make it into your bloodstream and impact hormones.
5. Fortify your Gut. The 3 trillion microflora residing inside your gut have a plethora of impacts that involve your hormones and metabolic functions. Eat fermented foods like sauerkraut, and cut out smoking or excessive alcohol intake, which both harm the delicate gut microbe balance.

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Top Supplements to Support Hormones

Most nutrients can be obtained through high-quality whole foods, but you can also take some targeted supplements to help support hormones as you age.

1. DIMPRO. This blend of vitamin E and phosphatidylcholine may help support a beneficial shift in the balance of estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone in both men and women.*
2. Cortisol Benefits. For those with high stress, consider adrenal support. This supplement supports healthy cortisol levels and stress management, promoting improved focus, energy, and sleep quality.*
3. Black Cohosh. Traditionally used for supporting hormone-related discomforts with aging, this herb is now shown in studies to regulate the estrogen found in the body.*^[7]
4. Vitex. Historically used for a variety of women’s gynecological concerns, one study showed that “using Vitex for 16 weeks was more effective than the placebo in improving sexual dysfunction.”*^[8]
5. Andro Benefits. This complex formula includes a “proprietary maca blend and deer antler velvet to support normal testosterone levels, hormonal balance, and metabolic health in both men and women.”*

Conclusion

It is natural for both men and women to experience hormonal shifts as they age. However, most of these discomforts are due to shifts that are too rapid, too early, or too drastic.

There are plenty of steps we can take to lessen the physical, mental, and emotional annoyances of hormonal shifts. From dietary changes and supplementation, to new attitudes about exercise and stress management, hormonal shifts can be much smoother for most aging people. It’s all about finding the balance.