Pursue a healthy lifestyle this month and beyond through new and
personalized solutions for women.
One-size-fits-all solutions for health and
wellness are a thing of the past now. Filipinas have come a long way to
realizing and embracing the unique builds of their minds, bodies, even their
aspirations and priorities in life.
Challenges related to women’s
health and fitness are to each her
own. Current healthcare systems and common wellness
practices ought to develop in more ways possible to service and help women meet
their evolving and exclusive health demands. In the commencement of women’s
month, here are practices to consider and digital tools that can be customized
and convenient to you, to better and sustain your health this season and
beyond.
Personalize your
diet and fitness goals
You might have heard of trendy fitspiration workout and diet plans to stay healthy and fit. But
how sure are you that it suits your unique physique’s needs and capacity? What
works for one individual may not for another, more so for women.
Oprah Daily said hormones influence feelings of hunger and
fullness, metabolism and body fat levels that overall affect women's lifestyle.[1] Hormone
levels differ by age and reproductive or menstrual condition. Filipinas can
pursue the latest intermittent fasting, ketogenic diet and calorie-counting
trends to achieve their body goals, however, these should be done along with a
consultation from your nutritionist or personal health providers. Approaches to
your diet have to be an efficient and targeted program to achieve better and
healthier results.
There are also high-tech fitness gadgets that can
personalize and support your health and fitness journey, especially for
female-body types. These gizmos can monitor one’s activity levels and notify
workout, eating and water drinking schedules, overall helping users sustain
personal diet and fitness programs.
Maximize
women-focused tools and services
Thanks to
technological advancements in modern society, gone are the days when women
manually tracked and tested themselves for health issues. Female-focused
virtual tools, in the form of mobile applications, have innovated primarily
women’s reproductive, menstrual and sexual health
monitoring for awareness and disease prevention. FemTech Analytics forecasted that by 2026, the
Asia-Pacific region will see the world’s fastest growth in women’s health apps.[2]
These can be
period and pregnancy tracking apps available in android and iOS, which also
houses teleconsultations to help women be more knowledgeable about their bodies
and conscious of their hormonal status, equipping them to make informed
decisions in these aspects of their wellbeing.
Meanwhile, women-centered high-tech facilities are also gaining momentum in the
market and are becoming safe spaces for Filipinas to get treatment. These
establishments started from serving women and assisting them through common
reproductive, sexual or pregnancy issues, and has now developed to holistically
address mental health and even dermatological or aesthetic needs of women. You
may find a number of facilities, whether government-funded or privately listed,
in many regions nationwide, especially accessible within metros in greater
Manila areas.
Apotheca Integrative Pharmacy works closely with doctors and customers and considers factors such as patient age and allergy history in the process of customizing medicines to a patient’s needs.
Trust in customized medicines
tailored to your specific needs
Forbes magazine revealed that Personalized Healthcare is
one of the top trends in the industry this 2023, with emphasis on precision
medicines that are tailored to patients based on age, genetics and other risk
factors, rather than a generic approach.[3]
For
Apotheca Integrative Pharmacy (AIP), pioneer specialty compounding pharmacy in
the Philippines, women may require customized dosages or delivery methods for
medications related to their reproductive and hormonal health. Better and more
targeted management of these can lead to stronger immunity and preventive
health.
Through
compounding– the science of customizing medications to a patient’s specific
needs, medications can be tailored to meet their individual requirements. This
process removes problem-causing excipients, adjusts dosage strengths to suit
certain patients, such as infants or the elderly, adds flavors for better taste
and even creates alternative form factors to make medicines easily ingestible
such as lozenges, candies, gels, creams, capsules and liquid.
This
month, AIP encourages Filipinas to explore Bioidentical Hormone Replacement
Therapy (BHRT) and Weight Loss Management solutions, two of their top
categories in service of
female patients.
Women
who suffer from hormonal imbalances caused by polycystic ovarian syndrome
(PCOS) or menopause, common conditions of Filipinas young and old, can turn to
hormone replacement therapy to treat their symptoms. BHRT is the process of
replicating hormones using natural resources to supplement the body with the
hormones it lacks. These can be: Thyroid
Hormones Triiodothyronine (T3) and Thyroxine (T4) that stimulate body
oxygen and energy consumption, increasing basal metabolic rates; Progesterone that increases core
temperature during ovulation, relaxes smooth muscle, reduces gall bladder
activity, normalizes blood clotting and vascular tone, and assists in thyroid
function; Melatonin that improves
the circadian rhythm and induces drowsiness for better sleep; Dehydroepiandrosterone or DHEA that
strengthens the immune system, slows the natural changes in the body that come
with age and provides more energy, improving mood and memory, and building up
bone and muscle strength; Pregnenolone that
improves energy, vision, memory, clarity of thinking, well-being, and libido,
and many others.
AIP also provides prescribed weight
management offerings, including clinically proven prescription medication, Phentermine
Hydrochloride + Topiramate that is used to treat obesity type 2 diabetes,
high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. AIP also offers various nutrients
like Methionine that may assist in the breakdown of fats
to help to lower cholesterol thereby preventing excess fat buildup in the liver
and throughout one’s body’s circulatory system; Inositol that promotes
the health of cell structures and nerve synapses in aid of the metabolism of
fats, helps reduce blood cholesterol, and participates in the action of
serotonin, a neurotransmitter known to control mood and appetite; Choline that
supports the liver in its processing and excretion of chemical waste products;
and Cyanocobalamin (Vitamin B-12) that is has been shown to boost
energy and overall metabolic rates, assisting in the burning of stored body
fat, detoxifies the body, increase of red blood cell production, maintain a
healthy liver, help regulate sleep, mood, appetite and energy, and works
synergistically with other nutrients to improve health, and slow aging.
Women in healthcare supporting Filipina
patients
AIP
has been providing world-class health and pharmaceutical care for custom
medication needs for 10 years. In the last three years, AIP’s study showed more
than 70 percent of their subscribers are female patients, a significant
increase of 72 percent in the number of female patients served from 2021 to
2022. The female patients’ profiles comprise of gen Z adults ages 18 and above
at 53 percent, millennials ages 27 to 42 as the largest generational group at
23 percent, followed by Gen X ages 43 to 58 at 20 percent, and Boomers ages 59
to 68 at 4 percent.
AIP’s
Managing Director Sofia Lista also harps on supporting women empowerment in the
industry which is evident in their operations. “Many women work in the field of
pharmaceutical compounding as pharmacists, technicians, or researchers, and
their contributions are vital to advancing the field and improving patient
care. In AIP, 66 percent of the workforce are women and hold leadership
positions. Let’s celebrate the important role that women play in healthcare and
medicine,” says Lista.
AIP
works with female doctors who specialize in women’s health– gynecology,
endocrinology and dermatology. It advocates for the pharmacy triad or finding
accountability with doctors, patients and pharmacists to provide superior
pharmaceutical care, strengthening patient confidence and compliance. Visit apotheca.com.ph
to know more about their offerings, and follow AIP’s Facebook,
Instagram,
YouTube and LinkedIn
channels.
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About Apotheca Integrative
Pharmacy
Founded in 2014, Apotheca Integrative
Pharmacy™ (AIP) or Apotheca Corp. is the first standalone and largest
specialty compounding pharmacy in the Philippines specializing in customized
medication services. Its long-term vision is to realize a world-class and
progressive integrative pharmacy to improve health and patient care for all
Filipinos.
For over a
decade, AIP has been providing a wide variety of quality, prescribed custom
medication and nutraceuticals, while also retailing local and natural packed
food, personal care, homecare, and novelty goods available nationwide and
online. Its compounding services include Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement
Therapy (BHRT), Thyroid Management, Weight Loss Management, Pain Management,
Dermatology, IV Nutrition, Erectile Dysfunction Medication, Pediatrics, and
Nutraceuticals.
AIP
is located in Makati CBD and to date works with over 2,000 doctors and 20,000
patients and is referred by over 100 hospitals.
[1]
https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/health/a42860701/signs-of-hormone-imbalance/
[2] https://www.biospectrumasia.com/opinion/30/22058/we-would-like-to-see-more-investment-in-womens-healthcare-rd-that-currently-accounts-for-only-4.html
[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/12/06/the-top-5-healthcare-trends-in-2023/?sh=2d31fbe1565b
