HRT Patients Rejoice: Resveratrol is an Effective Replacement to Traditional HRT, Study Finds

Wednesday, December 02, 2009 by: Frank Mangano
Tags: resveratrol, HRT, health news

(NewsTarget) There`s some great news for women who want to decrease their menopausal symptoms without increasing their risk for long term diseases associated with taking hormone replacements: Resveratrol.

Because of the inherent risks associated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), women approaching or in their menopausal years have been at somewhat of an impasse over the past seven years. For instance, should they opt for what the Mayo Clinic calls "the most effective treatment" in estrogen therapy for menopausal symptoms, despite the increased risk for long term diseases? Or should women opt for natural treatments that may not have the same effectiveness track record that estrogen has, but then again that don`t have the same side effects track record either?

Well, thanks to the findings of a study that gives women yet another natural option for treatment, the impasse seems to be, well, passing.

Up to now, natural treatment adherents have sought things like soy and red clover. And as studies in respected journals like Fertility and Sterility can attest, treatments such as these work and work with little to no side effects.

But if the findings on resveratrol are deemed accurate, and there`s nothing to suggest that they aren`t accurate, the plant chemical resveratrol may be even better.

Writing about their findings in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, researchers compared the effectiveness of resveratrol to genistein, glystein and daidzein, all derivatives of soy, to see if any one outperformed the other in killing off tumor cells (cell death, otherwise known as apoptosis).

While the researchers found that the soy derivatives were effective in initiating cell death (particularly genistein and glystein), they found that resveratrol was better than all the rest, mimicking the effectiveness of estrogen in its "proapoptotic effects," minus the side effects.

It may be natural for women to lose the ability to produce the same amount of estrogen in their later years, but this knowledge doesn`t make the side effects of low estrogen production any easier. In fact, because the short term side effects can be so irritating (e.g., hot flashes at all times of the day, even when sleeping; vaginal dryness, etc.) and the long term side effects so life altering (e.g., low estrogen production increases the risk for osteoporosis) synthetic hormone replacement therapy remains a common practice. But after the 2002 report from the Women`s Health Initiative that estrogen plus progestin increases the risk for breast cancer, stroke, heart disease and blood clots, natural alternatives to hormone replacement therapy have become rather commonplace.

Outside of resveratrol supplements, foods and drinks rich in resveratrol include red grapes (the grape skins, specifically), red wine, peanuts (peanuts aren`t as "rich" in resveratrol, but they contain reservatrol nonetheless) and grape juice.

Sources:
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Res...
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hormone-the...
http://www.gi.org/patients/women/menop.asp
http://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/Resveratr...

About the author

Frank Mangano is an American author, health advocate, researcher and entrepreneur in the field of alternative health. He is perhaps best known for his book "The Blood Pressure Miracle," which continues to be an Amazon best selling book. Additionally, he has published numerous reports and a considerable amount of articles pertaining to natural health.
Mangano is the publisher of Natural Health On The Web, which offers readers free and valuable information on alternative remedies. To learn more visit:
http://www.naturalhealthontheweb.com