As people age, fat tends to build up around the midsection. For some, the reason is clear. We sneak one too many brownies at the church potluck, or the only time we spend with our exercise bike is wiping away the cobwebs with an old rag. But there are others who eat a strict regimen of healthy, nutritious foods. They count their calories, and they exercise every single day, but they still can’t seem to lose that belly flab. If the tried and true methods of weight loss are failing, is there hope for ever having that beach-ready body?
There just might be. That’s what C. W. Randolph, MD and his wife Genie James, authors of From Belly Fat to Belly Flat, believe. Dr. Randolph is a world-renown pioneer in the field of bio-identical hormone replacement therapies and specializes in women’s health. He believes that people who have trouble removing that spare tire from their middles may suffer from hormonal issues, specifically estrogen dominance. This does not mean that a woman has excessive amounts of estrogen—although it can—what it really means is that there isn’t enough progesterone being generated by the body to balance out the amount of estrogen.
Estrogen dominance has been linked to a great deal of problems: abnormal menstrual periods, bloating, tenderness and swelling in the breasts, PMS-related headaches, mood swings, thyroid dysfunction, poor metabolism, fatigue, memory loss, trouble sleeping and, of course, weight gain.
It is believed that estrogen dominance impacts body weight in three significant ways. First, excess estrogen can increase body fat, and body fat contains compounds that produce more estrogen which causes the body to sock away more fat which creates more compounds, ad nauseum. Secondly, estrogen dominance may undercut your metabolism, making it harder for you to lose weight by dieting and through exercise. Finally, estrogen dominance impacts fat distribution, making women more likely to store fat around the hips, abdomen, waist and thighs. This is why many women develop a pear-shaped figure during middle-age.
According to Dr. Randolph’s book, there may be solutions to these problems. Unsurprisingly probably to this audience, many of those solutions involve changing your diet. He recommends vegetables containing indole-3-carbinol like spinach, beet root, kale and others as well as insoluble fiber, citrus fruits, proteins, calcium and lingans like flaxseed and sesame seed.
Besides for diet, Dr. Randolph also advocates the use of progesterone. He claims that if you are estrogen dominant that one should try and restore balance by adding more progesterone through natural bioidentical sources. He claims that natural sources of bioidentical hormones like those found in yams and soybeans are superior to synthetic hormones because the body will naturally bind with them. In contrast, the manmade hormones don’t fit as well because they may produce unwanted chemical reactions and biological changes that can result in possible health risks.
According to this line of thinking, by adding progesterone to the body, one may be able to lose weight by eliminating excess estrogen in the body, reducing the amount of calories stored as fat, improving metabolism, aiding in the regulation of blood sugars, and it’s reported to reduce bloating as well.
So if you’re struggling to earn that flat belly or just want to lose a few pounds before your next wedding anniversary or high school reunion and diet and exercise seem to be failing you, it might be time to look into the exciting world of bioidentical hormones!
AIM Nutrition
If you’re interested in adopting a diet tailored toward hormonal balance, The AIM Companies has everything you need. LeafGreens is a good source of indole-3-carbinol as it contains kale, broccoli sprouts and spinach. You can get additional soluble and insoluble fiber through Herbal Fiberblend and fit ’n fiber. Of course, there is protein in ProPeas and calcium in CalciAIM. AIMega is great because it contains healthy oils and is a good source of lingan-based nutrition as well as omega-3 fatty acids.
And then there’s Renewed Balance cream which contains progesterone from yams. AIM Members have been using Renewed Balance cream for decades, and we’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of success stories pass through our doors.
The AIM Companies 