What is Bioidentical Hormone Therapy?
Natural or bioidentical hormone therapy uses hormones
found naturally in the human body to bring the body back to a healthful
hormonal state.
The hormones are used in amounts and patterns that
reproduce natural healthy physiology. Therapy is tracked through testing,
and is customized and fine-tuned based on each person’s symptoms and health
goals.
What are bioidentical hormones?
Bioidentical hormones are hormones found naturally in the human body.
Examples are estradiol, progesterone and testosterone.
How are bioidentical hormones different from other hormones?
Some prescribed hormones are found in nature, but not in the
human body. An example is Premarin, which is horse estrogen. Other products
called hormones are not found anywhere in nature. An example is
medroxyprogesterone (Provera). These chemicals have hormone-like actions, but
they are not truly hormones. Bioidentical hormone replacement uses only hormones
that are naturally found in the human body.
Where do bioidentical hormones come from - what is the source?
Bioidentical hormones are made from precursors found
in plants, typically wild yam or soy. The precursors are modified in a
laboratory until they precisely match the hormones made by the human
body.
What are the benefits of bioidentical hormone replacement?
For menopausal women, replacing lost estrogen and
progesterone can relieve menopausal symptoms, prevent osteoporosis,
protect cardiovascular health and prevent mental decline. For younger
women, it can restore normal menstrual cycles and correct perimenopausal
imbalances. In men, supplementation with testosterone (along with
improvement of estrogen metabolism) can restore mood, vigor, muscle mass
and sexual function.
To gain these benefits and avoid creating further
imbalances, hormone replacement must be carefully monitored by a
knowledgeable practitioner. Hormone replacement is powerful and in all
cases should be taken seriously.
Don’t hormones cause cancer?
Natural hormones in balance do not cause cancer.
Out-of-balance hormones and hormone-like chemicals not found in nature
do encourage cancers.
It is important to understand that cancers arise in
the body all the time. The difference between a person who gets cancer
(has a cancer large enough to cause problems) and a person who does not
get cancer is that the second person’s body is able to destroy the
cancers that arise before they grow.
Doesn’t estrogen cause endometrial cancer?
Giving a women estrogen without balancing it with
progesterone is known to promote endometrial cancer. This is not a
problem with estrogen, it is a problem with out-of-balance hormones.
Excess estrogen creates an unhealthy state of estrogen dominance.
Estrogen dominance is also common in the 10-15 years
preceding menopause because progesterone production drops rapidly during
these years, but estrogen levels decline more slowly. This can cause a
number of problems including heavy bleeding, uterine fibroids and
ovarian cysts. Natural hormone balancing reestablishes a healthy hormone
mileau and prevents or improves these conditions.
Didn’t the Women’s Health Initiative show that hormone replacement
causes cancer?
The Women’s Health Initiative study arm that used horse
estrogen plus medroxyprogesterone was stopped because this treatment
increased breast cancer. The arm of the study that used horse estrogen alone
did not increase cancer and was not stopped. This shows that
medroxyprogesterone, a chemical not found in nature, was the problem.
WHI did not study bioidentical hormone replacement or
natural hormone balancing. Many feel that the results would have been
very different - significant benefits of therapy would have been seen -
if properly monitored and individualized bioidentical hormone therapy
had been studied.
I have heard that women who have more estrogen exposure in their
lifetime, such as those who start menstruating early, have a higher risk
of cancer. Doesn’t that mean that estrogen causes cancer and that it is
dangerous to supplement with estrogen?
The connection between lifetime estrogen and breast
cancer is a solid statistic, but it doesn’t explain why the highest rate
of breast cancer occurs after menopause, when women no longer make
estrogen. If estrogen causes cancer, shouldn’t the highest rate be in
menstruating women? It may be that the balance of estrogen and
progesterone is the important factor. How estrogen is metabolized may
also be important. Natural hormone balancing reestablishes healthy
hormone balance and metabolism.
I have a cancer that is stimulated by hormones. My doctor says I can
never take hormones of any kind.
Some cancers are fed by specific hormones. The
hormone did not cause the cancer, but it could encourage the cancer to
grow; so persons with certain cancers may choose to avoid hormone
supplementation.
However, healthy, balanced hormones create a
environment that helps the body to destroy cancers. Also, lifestyle
choices such as diet, exercise, nutritional supplements, stress
management and emotional habits powerfully affect whether a cancer
evades the body’s defenses or the body is able to destroy it.
If you have had breast, uterine or prostate cancer,
the decision of whether to supplement with hormones should be made after
considering all the ways you can support your body’s healthy defenses,
and after thoughtful discussion with your doctor. In all cases, use only
bioidentical hormones, and carefully monitor your therapy and results.
|
