Originally published July 26 2012
The only safe bioidentical hormones
by Dr. Keith Nemec
(NaturalNews) The words bioidentical hormone have become synonymous with safer hormones because they are made of natural substances that are biochemically identical to a woman's natural hormones. Although they are natural, they are still hormones and taken in too large a quantity can still stimulate cancer growth. The best approach to balance a women's hormonal system is to balance the other systems of the body first, then if hormone replacement is needed, it will be in such small amounts that it will not trigger cancer cell formation.
With the premature termination study by the Women's Health Initiative, which linked hormone replacement therapy with increased breast cancer risk, many women ceased taking hormone medication. And although their breast cancer rate decreased, their quality of life also decreased. Symptoms of estrogen and progesterone imbalances like: irritability, mood swings, anxiety, depression, decreased sex drive, sleep problems, weight gain, fatigue, food cravings, water retention, bloating, headaches, joint pain, acne, PMS, irregular menstrual periods and brain fog once again reappeared. This caused women to seek out possible safer alternatives to standard hormone replacement therapy (HRT). This is when bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) entered the scene as a possible way to get back to a normal way of life again. The bioidentical hormones were made from natural substances instead of pregnant horse urine.
The question arose, if HRT is unsafe then how can someone be certain that BHRT is safe and will not cause cancer like the standard HRT? Estrogen is a growth hormone. This hormone decreases appetite, improves mental capacity, stabilizes mood, acts as an antidepressant, promotes sex drive, keeps skin thick and tight preventing wrinkles, it helps prevent osteoporosis, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. This all sounds good, for a woman to feel like she is 20 when she is 50. There is one catch - when the body is stimulated to do all these at too high a level when it is 50 years old, the risk of increasing cell growth and cancer also increases.
Taking bioidentical hormones without increasing cancer risk
If you looks at BHRT from a physiological standpoint, you can find the answer: Taking supplemental hormones to make a woman feel great and not increasing her risk of cancer. There are five major systems along with the biochemistry and mental/emotional states that control your health and life they are in order:
• Nervous
• Hormonal
• Digestive
• Eliminative
• Reproductive
These five systems when functioning normally along with balanced biochemistry and mental/emotional states promotes total health. Hormonal health is no different from neurological health or digestive health. They are all interconnected and what is done to one is done to them all. So to balance estrogen and progesterone levels does not lie in just taking potentially safer bioidentical hormones, but in balancing your nervous system including the neurotransmitters, hormonal system in order of priority: first the pituitary gland (master hormone regulator), then the thyroid gland (metabolism), followed by the pancreas (digestion and blood sugar), next are the adrenals (stress response) and finally the ovaries which produce estrogen and progesterone. Women need to understand that ovaries are last in order of importance in the hormonal system.
You can see it much more than taking a hormone to feel better, but balancing all systems and states in order of priority. When this is accomplished, if a woman needs to take bioidentical hormones they will be safe and not produce cancer because the need will be a much smaller dose; the body is now in balance, needing just a little help in the female hormonal area.
Sources for this article include:
"Risks and benefits of estrogen plus progestin in healthy postmenopausal women: principal results From the Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial." Rossouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL, et al. (2002). JAMA 288 (3): 321-33.
The bioidentical hormone debate: are bioidentical hormones (estradiol, estriol, and progesterone) safer or more efficacious than commonly used synthetic versions in hormone replacement therapy? Holtorf K. Postgrad Med. 2009 Jan;121(1):73-85.
"What are bioidentical hormones?". Harvard Women's Health Watch (Harvard Medical School). 2006-08-01.
About the author:
Dr. Keith Nemec is a holistic doctor who has been treating patients for the last 30 years. Dr. Nemec is the director of the Total Health Institute, an alternative and integrative medical facility which offers both inpatient and outpatient services. Total Health Institute is a treatment and teaching facility that has both natural physicians and alternative minded medical doctors working together as a team in Wheaton, Illinois. Thousands of people have restored their health at the Institute over the last 30 years. Dr. Nemec has published three books: "Total Health = Wholeness", "Seven Basic Steps to Total Health", "The Perfect Diet From a Macronutrient Perspective". Dr. Nemec also hosts the radio show "Your Total Health" five days a week in Chicago. For more information about Dr. Nemec and the Total Health Institute visit www.totalhealthinstitute.com
Dr. Keith Nemec is a holistic doctor who has been treating patients for the last 30 years. Dr. Nemec is the director of the Total Health Institute, an alternative and integrative medical facility which offers both inpatient and outpatient services. Total Health Institute is a treatment and teaching facility that has both natural physicians and alternative minded medical doctors working together as a team in Wheaton, Illinois. Thousands of people have restored their health at the Institute over the last 30 years. Dr. Nemec has published three books: "Total Health = Wholeness", "Seven Basic Steps to Total Health", "The Perfect Diet From a Macronutrient Perspective". Dr. Nemec also hosts the radio show "Your Total Health" five days a week in Chicago. For more information about Dr. Nemec and the Total Health Institute visit www.totalhealthinstitute.com
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