Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) - Safe (and Natural) Alternatives
Clinical Perspective
By
Karen Kaufman, MS, CCN
As a nutritionist Ive recently had to assist a huge number of women whove had their HRT therapy—a combination of the pharmaceutical drugs Premarin (from Pregnant Mares Urine) and Provera (synthetic progesterone)— discontinued cold turkey by their physicians. Suddenly, women ranging from their 50s to late 70s are suffering from hot flashes, vaginal dryness, weight gain, fatigue and worse.
In helping these women I point out that there is no simple, black and white answer, and that researchers dont yet fully understand the role HRT plays in the reported increases in risks of stroke, heart attack, blood clots and invasive breast cancer. I also point out that many experts are convinced that it is the practice of using synthetic hormones, such as Provera and Premarin, that is contributing to the increased risks, not HRT itself.
Additionally, when the actual numbers from the WHI study are put in perspective, the increased risks
for females over the age of 45 years are not that significant. For example, a recently published study (not covered up by the lay www. oddly enough) reported that women on HRT have a better chance of early breast cancer tumors being detected on mammograms, and enjoy a 100 percent survival rate,as opposed to women not on HRT, who suffer a lower tumor detection rate and only an 87 percent survival rate. (1)
The good news for women who decide to discontinue traditional (synthetic) hormone replacement therapy is that there are a number of safe, effective and natural alternatives to choose from. The first option is to switch to a form of estrogen that is biologically identical to the form produced by the body. Many alternative physicians recommend switching to either a bi-est or tri-est estrogen preparation. These are available from many compounding pharmacies, or on the Internet without a prescription
from International Anti-Aging Systems (www.antiaging-systems.com).
Another important approach is to switch to a natural form of progesterone, as opposed to the synthetic
progesterone (medroxyprogesterone acetate) found in Prempro. VRP carries natural progesterone in the form of a convenient cream (Herbalance Cream) that is formulated to the exact specifications John R. Lee, MD, describes in his best selling books What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Perimenopause and What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause.
Additionally, a number of other natural supplements, such as black cohosh, tribulus terrestris, soy
and gamma oryzanol, have been shown to provide effective relief from many common symptoms of menopause. Those are available in VRPs Herbalance II formula.
In closing, there are still a number of unanswered questions about traditional HRT, but the preponderance of evidence points to the use of synthetic hormones, not HRT itself, as the possible culprit. And when deciding to modify or switch ones HRT program, there are a number of good alternative choices available for women today.
References:
1. Cheek J, Lacy J, Toth-Fejel S, Morris K, Calhoun K, Pommier RF. The impact of hormone replacement therapy on the detection and stage of breast cancer. Arch Surg. 2002 Sep;137(9):1015-21.