The Myth of Resolve

How are your New Year’s Resolutions going?  Ready to call it a year, welcoming February as the month of regret?

The new year is a curious thing.  There’s a brief pause between the well-worn 365 days we’ve cozied up to, and 365 more that we have yet to get to know.  We all hold on to this moment in great expectations.  There’s one fact about the new year that everyone has come to believe.

New Year, New You.

A new year is not a new you…you are the same you, you’ve always been.  Turning the page on the calendar doesn’t magically transform us into a better version of ourselves yet we buy into that year after year.  

We put a lot of time and energy into planning our resolve at the end of December, in anticipation of January.  We look back on the year passing and tally up our shortcomings; the donuts for breakfast, the candy bar and Coke for lunch and the trip through the nearest fast food joint.  We see the skinny jeans that never left the closet.  The bank account is made of rubber from all the checks that bounced their way through.  We are overworked, overwhelmed and underpaid and all that is about to change on January 1^st right?  

Maybe…

What might happen if we stop chasing change?  That restless change that drives us to find perfection within ourselves.  What would happen if we just decided that this year, we were okay the way we are?  What if we stopped living our life by the calendar; the decade of age we find ourselves in?  What if we decided to listen to something other than the negative reel about our weight, our looks, our financial report that loops continuously through our head?

This year, live in the moment.  It’s the small and simple things that bring about great change.  If you don’t succeed, start again, on any old day.  If you’re moving forward, the view is going to change and if you’re trying, good things will come. 

Estrogen. The hormone we love to hate

Don’t you just love to hate Estrogen?  Who knew that one little hormone could do so much to ruin a perfectly good day!  Estrogen is the thing that tips the scale and sways the pendulum of a woman’s mood from one extreme to the next in one fell swoop.  Men joke about it and women cry over it. 

Estrogen is perhaps a little misunderstood.  Let’s start a love affair with the hormone as women, we can’t live without.

Did you know that estrogen does more than regulate moods and menstrual cycles?  Estrogen has over a hundred functions in the human body.  Estrogen even has its place in men, albeit in much lower amounts than women.  Here’s a brief rundown of all the good, estrogen does, in addition to its functions we already know and joke about. 

·         Promotes the formation of secondary female sex characteristics

·         Accelerates metabolism

·         Increases fat stores

·         Maintains vessels and skin

·         Reduces bone resorption

·         Increases bone formation

·         Increases platelet function

·         Increases HDL, triglycerides

·         Decreases LDL

·         Improved collagen

·         Balances fluids such as sodium

·         Promotes lung function

·         Critical in fetal development

·         Promotes connective tissue growth

·         Helps prevent cardiovascular disease

·         Has important anti-inflammatory properties

·         Assists in mobilizing white blood cells and neutrophils

·         Has a positive influence on cognitive skills

·         Has a significant role in mental health, sustained low levels can cause problems with post-partum, perimenopause and post menopause depression

·         Balanced levels can decrease OCD tendencies

·         Estrogen replacement may suppress binge eating, as this is typically associated with increased progesterone and decreased estradiol.

So, now what do you think of estrogen?  Not bad for the little hormone that endures a battering from bad memes! 

And, there’s more!  The American University in Washington DC, has found a link between estrogen and its ability to control increased brain inflammation.  This work could provide more insight into the future treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsons. 

As with anything in life, balance is everything!  When estrogen gets out of balance, we can readily feel it’s effects negatively, though we may not associate our discomfort with it.  That’s where your favorite provider at Madison Women’s Clinic comes into play!  Make an appointment today and let’s discuss ways to get you back in the game and determine what role Estrogen plays in your good health.