Quick Guide to Bioidentical Hormones
Posted by Jeanne Schmit on Tue, Mar 23, 2010 @ 05:18 PM
Bioidentical hormones are composed of the exact hormone molecule your own body makes. Bioidentical hormones are the ones your body easily recognizes. Sometimes called "natural" hormones, a more accurate term is "bioidentical."
Synthetic hormones (premarin, Provera, etc) are not composed of the hormone molecule your body makes, thus creating unwanted side effects.
The conclusions that hormones cause cancer are from studies using synthetic drugs (Premarin and Provera). No studies have shown that bioidentical hormone replacement causes cancer. Instead, literature supports the claim that bioidentical hormones have distinctly different and often opposite physiological effects to those of their synthetic counterparts.
In terms of breast cancer risk, heart disease, heart attack and stroke, sunstantial scientific and medical evidence shows that bioidentical hormones are safer and more effective than synthetic versions.
The rest of the points refer to bioidentical hormones:
They ARE hormones and can cause problems if taken incorrectly.
Should only be used if you have a deficiency. More is not better.
The right hormone balance keeps you brain focused. Hormones affect neurotransmitters.
Bioidentical hormones are maufactured by traditional pharmaceutical companies and are FDA approved. Upjohn has been manufacturing bioidentical hormones for over 70 years. The product is sent as a powder to compounding pharmacies where they make the hormones into the preparation you need, sublingual, cream, suppository, etc.
Progesterone is the first hormone that declines with age. The decline starts about age 35. It can start earlier. Deficiency shows up as PMS, irritability, belly fat, weight gain, agitation, insomnia, anxiety.
While most women (and men too) produce estrogen their entire lives (from fat cells and elsewhere), progesterone production can get close to zero.
Estrogen is a brain booster, a natural antidepressant and mood stabilizer. Estrogen works closely with serotonin, your "feel good" neurotransmitter.
Progesterone helps estrogen work better by assuring the estrogen receptor sites are able to receive estrogen.
Many people never need to take additional estrogen.
Most people benefit from taking additional progesterone.
Progesterone cream is available over the counter. Other hormones and progesterone in other dosage forms require a prescription.
It's best to measure hormone levels and get help from a health care practitioner if you use hormone therapy. You usually won't get the full benefit from hormone therapy by using over the counter progesterone cream on your own.
Depending on the stage of life you are in, your hormones can be a moving target. Just because the hormone therapy is working today, doesn't mean it will work in 6 months. you need to pay close attentions to your symptoms, keep charts for each month, learn about how the hormones affect you, and make changes along with your care provider.
Why do we need to replace hormones? Our ancestors didn't need that. We now have an excess of estrogen-like substances (xenohormones) in our environment...in plastics, car exhaust, pesticides, solvents and adhesives, industrial waste, estrogenic drugs in the livestock we eat, preservatives and emulsifiers in lotions and cosmetics, nail polish and much more.
Exposure to xenohormones mimicks estrogen (in a bad way) and affects the balance of all other hormones. It's impossible to avoid all xenohormones in our environment.
You CAN limit your exposure by avoiding foods containing hormones (meat, eggs, milk...buy these foods without hormones), using cosmetics without xenohormones, avoiding as much plastic as possible (avoid microwaving food in plastic), avoid food sprayed with pesticides.
Tomorrow you'll get a book list for further hormone education and a short list of Twin Cities health care providers who work with bioidentical hormones.