Key takeaway: Hormone prescribing rose 72% in the last year, and naturopathic physician Dr. Renee Young, NMD, says the education hasn’t kept pace. She walked through how to tell a supervised, lab-monitored protocol from the unregulated “not for human consumption” peptide market online, and why she reaches for hormone therapy before peptides for most patients.
Before you start HRT or peptides, ask these questions
In our latest Studio Session, Dr. Renee Young, a naturopathic doctor who runs the Young Naturopathic Center for Wellness in Los Gatos, California, walked through how to sort the signal from the hype on hormones and peptides.
Dr. Young started with a guidance gap she sees in HRT right now, saying that we've had a 72 percent increase in the last year of hormone prescribing, but she doesn't think 72 percent more doctors are better trained in this area. When asked how women should think about this concern, her advice is to look at the practice itself, including how long it has been operating and whether you will be followed over time.
Dr. Young also encouraged regular testing to confirm what’s happening in your body. "If you don't test, you don't know what you're doing,” she said. Her rule of thumb after starting a hormone is to check blood work within three to six weeks. She also noted that thyroid problems can mimic low hormones, with hair loss, weight gain, low libido and fatigue in common, which is another reason she tests her patients to establish a baseline.
On peptides, Dr. Young separated two worlds. Compounded products from a licensed 503A pharmacy, prescribed by a doctor who knows your history, are one thing. Peptides sold online as "research grade" or "not for human consumption" are another, because "there's no guarantee" of purity or dose. She also cautioned that growth hormone secretagogues may be a problem for anyone with an undetected cancer, which is one reason she wants mammograms and colonoscopies up to date first.
Dr. Young said peptides are "synergistic to the endocrine system" and that she would personally choose hormones first for most women, unless a specific risk, such as clotting tendency, makes her cautious.
She also got into how to read body composition beyond the scale, why she uses low-dose oxytocin, and what to bring to your next appointment. Her one-word takeaway for the audience: "Advocacy." She encouraged women to go into each appointment aware of your own goals. As a doctor she has goals for her patients, but it’s good for you to know where you want to land and have that conversation with your healthcare provider.
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