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Hi! I'm Doc Mac.

The "Pause" - The Brain and Menopause

Published over 1 year ago • 6 min read

“Doc, I recently became peri-menopausal. I noticed I started suffering from brain fog, forgetting words, and finding myself in a room, not knowing why I was there. Since I am peri-menopausal, is this hormonal? ”

YES!

“Some of the most common symptoms (of menopause) are deficits in attention, processing speed, and memory, which subsequently manifest as lack of focus, slow thinking, and forgetfulness.”

​World Journal of Psychiatry​

The combination of aging and entering a paused state provides a wake-up call for women and men.

IT’S TIME TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR BRAIN!

Do you want to slow down, neutralize, and reverse an aging brain?

Read on!

THE PAUSE

A NEWSLETTER TO MAKE US PAUSE-AWESOME

BRAIN HORMONES: AN INTRODUCTION

I love this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt:

“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.”

My God-given purpose in life is to be an aging work of art and then to teach what I have learned about the art of aging well.

The HOPE Protocol is the system I developed to guide us as we age beautifully.

The HOPE Protocol has four strands. I call them strands because they must be intertwined.

The four strands are:

  • Hormone Optimization
  • Organic Sustenance
  • Purification Protocols
  • Enlightenment Coaching

The four strands Haves (goals) are:

  • Optimized Hormones
  • Optimized Weight
  • Optimized Health
  • Optimized Minds

In today’s teaching, we work in the Third Strand, the Purification Strand. But wait! Aren’t optimized minds in the fourth strand?

Yes! But… in the Purification Strand, we optimize health by optimizing different organ systems. There are three different organ optimization protocols we concentrate on.

  1. Liver Optimization
  2. Gut Optimization
  3. Brain Optimization

Today’s course is an introduction to…

BRAIN OPTIMIZATION

Instead of a brain that slowly diminishes as we age, how about making a commitment to slowing down, stopping, and reversing the aging process of our brains?

When I ask my clients what concerns them most about the health of their brains, the answer is nearly always the same.

They want to avoid acquiring the debilitating disease of dementia.

“Dementia is not a specific disease but is rather a general term for the impaired ability to remember, think, or make decisions that interfere with doing everyday activities. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Though dementia mostly affects older adults, it is not a part of normal aging.”

​CDC​

Dementia sure sounds a lot like being paused.

I want you to pay attention to the last sentence from the quote above.

“Though dementia mostly affects older adults, it is not a part of normal aging.”

When you read books about dementia and Alzheimer’s, most will say that it was a disease that was rarely seen in our grandparents' generation.

The books will also say that the primary reason dementia is so prevalent today has to do with us living much longer.

We do live longer.

“...life expectancy has been on the rise in the US: it was 47 years in 1900, 68 years in 1950, and by 2019 it had risen to nearly 79 years.”

​Harvard Health​

If you have been reading my newsletter, you know that my Have in my Me Strand of life is to dance at my grandchildren’s weddings. For that to happen, I must live to be in my 90s.

For you newbies:

There are four strands to life.

  • Me
  • Us
  • Them
  • Him

Within each strand are three states of being

  • Be
  • Do
  • Have

To repeat the Have in my Me Strand, IT is to dance at my grandchildren’s weddings. The key to my Have statement is to dance.

I did not get to meet three of my four grandparents. Three of them had passed before I was born. The one I did meet was in his 90s when I met him. He was still working. He painted the smoke stack of a large sugar factory in the middle of the jungles in the Yucatan. He climbed hundreds of feet in the air to paint this towering smoke stack. He lived to be well over 100 years old.

I have the genes. My mother is still alive in her 90s. I have longevity genes. My job is not to screw them up.

In my 44 years of practicing health optimization, I have learned…

“To have a healthy brain, you must have a healthy body.”

The body is nothing more than a vehicle for the brain. The brain is the driver.

“A comfortable old age is the reward of a well-spent youth.”

Maurice Chevalier

If you have heard of Maurice Chevalier, you’ve reached a mature age and should pay close attention to the rest of this lesson.

The better we care for our bodies, the better our brains will age.

MENOPAUSE, HORMONES, AND DEMENTIA

Dementia is a severe impairment of cognitive function.

Mild cognitive impairment is the space between normal cognitive function and dementia.

Science has found that cognitive changes are higher in women than in men. Because of this, it is believed that hormonal changes brought on by hormonal disruption as they enter menopause contribute to their cognitive decline.

So what would I do hormonally to slow down, stop, and reverse my brain from aging?

Many might blame estrogen as being the hormone that sparks cognitive decline. Lower estrogen levels get all the blame because it is the hormone that brings about menopause. But…to me, menopause isn’t the decrease in estrogen that causes a woman not to ovulate. It’s not ovulating!

When a woman doesn’t ovulate, her ovaries no longer produce progesterone and testosterone.

I can’t point my finger at just one hormone as the culprit to memory loss, brain fog, and losing words. These symptoms are caused by all three of the ovarian hormones going into chaos.

So…let’s take a look upstream. That would be the logical way to examine the connection between our pause hormones and cognitive decline.

THE MOTHER OF ALL HORMONES

DHEA is the mother hormone for our ovarian/gonadal hormones.

What if we ensured that we had plenty of DHEA so that our body turned into estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone?

“Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a hormone produced by the body's adrenal glands. The body uses DHEA to make androgens and estrogens, the male and female sex hormones.”

​Mount Sinai​

The problem with DHEA is that it is controversial. My colleagues and I, who practice anti-aging medicine, disagree. But this is what is being said about DHEA.

“People who have heart problems, liver disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, thyroid problems, polycystic ovary syndrome, and a history of clotting problems should not use DHEA. DHEA may increase the risk of some cancers that are affected by hormones, like cancers of the breast, ovaries, and prostate.”

​WebMD​

THE GRANDMOTHER OF ALL HORMONES

The grandmother of all hormones is also called the Brain Hormone

“Preclinical studies have shown that pregnenolone exhibits antidepressant properties, improves memory and cognitive functions, controls pain and stress, and relieves symptoms of mood disorder.”

​The Journal of Biological Chemistry​

"Pregnenolone can modulate myelination, neuroinflammation, neurotransmission, and neuroplasticity in the brain, implying its importance in cognition, aging, and addiction."

​Science Direct​

The first step to optimizing our brains is hormonal.

In the next newsletter, I will delve into how we may use the precursors, pregnenolone and DHEA, of our ovarian hormones, estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone, to optimize our brain hormonally.

Brain health is important, and its optimization is complex. Be patient because I want you to understand each step thoroughly.

There is no magic pill.

It's a process.

BE COACHED FOR FREE!

I have room to coach a few of you through the "MAKE MENOPAUSE AWESOME PROGRAM" for one week.

The features

  • Daily Accountability
  • Twenty-four-hour availability via texting
  • Customization
  • Two Phone Consults

The Benefit

  • Lose a bunch of weight and feel hormonally better in one week.
  • BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!

​​​CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE YOUR FIRST FREE CONSULT​

Don't hesitate; I only have room for three of you!​​

THIS WEEK’S US-IE

​Vicky and I stayed home this week and watched as one storm after another dropped flooding rains and produced tree-toppling winds. We made the best of the weather by binging television and cooking soups.

And remember...

"IT'S ALL ABOUT YOUR HORMONES!"

"Because when your hormones are sound, your weight, health, and mind will follow."

🌪 Doc
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© 2024 | Doc Mac Coaching

The FDA has evaluated none of the statements on this website.

Furthermore, none of the statements within this post should be construed as dispensing medical advice, making claims regarding the cure of diseases, nor can these products prevent disease. You should consult a licensed healthcare professional before starting any supplement, dietary, or exercise program, especially if you are pregnant or have any pre-existing injuries or medical conditions. The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated these statements. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent diseases.
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Hi! I'm Doc Mac.

Hormone and Weight Optimization Coach

I have practiced hormone and weight optimization for over forty-five years. I retired 10 years ago; at least, that is what I thought. When I retired, my wife and I owned and operated several medical clinics specializing in hormone and weight optimization. We discovered that as a woman enters menopause, her hormones become disrupted, causing many women to gain weight rapidly, and no matter what they do, not be able to lose it. If that has happened to you, text me at 209-345-9799. I have found that those who text me are serious about creating the body they desire. Once I receive your text, I will find a convenient time for you to speak with me. During our conversation, I will customize a gourmet weight loss menu for you, and tweak it until it works. Our menus have no caloric restrictions or frequency of meals. There is no charge! đź‘Ť Doc

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