Are there benefits to taking synthetic or pharmaceutical estrogen replacement therapy (HRT)?
Unfortunately, there have been no conclusive studies on the so-called benefits of HRT. The main source of the most recent information comes from the study of 45,000 nurses over a period of 20 years. A baseline health check was taken and then, nurses were asked to fill out questionnaires every two years. It appeared that the rate of death from heart attack in nurses taking estrogen was 50 percent less than in those who did not take estrogen. The problem was, (as one drug company putting out a competing product pointed out) that the study did NOT take in consideration the exercise or dietary habits of the nurses – and these can be key factors in the reduction of the incidence of heart attacks. The drug company went on to report that women taking HRT were more likely to be slim and exercise regularly than those not taking the drug which could easily account for the difference in the risk of heart disease. As for bone density, a fair indicator of the amount of osteoporosis present, the bon
