· Dr. Handsun Xiao, MD, CCFP
Why 'Age-Appropriate' Hormone Levels Are a Flawed Concept
Why 'normal for your age' is not the same as optimal, and how functional medicine approaches hormone interpretation differently.
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Thyroid and Hormones: Why You Can't Optimize One Without the Other
How thyroid function and sex hormones are interconnected, and why treating one without assessing the other produces incomplete results.
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How to Read Your Own Blood Work: A Patient's Guide to Hormonal Lab Results
A practical guide to understanding your hormonal blood work. How to read testosterone, estradiol, thyroid, and metabolic markers, and what to ask your physician.
Read more · Dr. Handsun Xiao, MD, CCFP
HRV, Resting Heart Rate, and What Your Wearable Is Actually Telling You About Your Hormones
How to interpret HRV and resting heart rate data from your wearable. What these metrics reveal about hormonal health, stress, and recovery.
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Brain Fog in Your 40s: When to Worry and What to Test
How hormonal changes, thyroid dysfunction, insulin resistance, and sleep disruption cause brain fog in your 40s, and what blood work to request.
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Why You Can't Sleep Anymore: The Hormonal Explanation
How declining progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, and thyroid dysfunction disrupt sleep architecture in your 40s, and what to do about them.
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The Connection Between Blood Sugar and Hormones Your Doctor Isn't Making
How blood sugar dysregulation disrupts testosterone, estrogen, thyroid, and cortisol, and why glucose and insulin are central to hormonal health.
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Why Your Weight Loss Plateau Is a Metabolic Problem, Not a Willpower Problem
Why caloric restriction stops working in your 40s, how hormonal and metabolic changes drive weight loss resistance, and what a physician-led approach looks like.
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