People talk about hormone “replacement” therapy. What hormones do I need to replace?
Natural hormone therapy replaces the hormones (e.g. bio-identical estrogen and progesterone) that the ovaries stop making as women age. Conventional HRT uses synthetic estrogen (Premarin) and progestins (Provera) to mimic the hormones the body makes, usually either estrogen alone or an estrogen-progestin combination. Premarin and Provera are NOT the same as bio-identical estrogen and progesterone. “Premarin is a molecule that has been modified from horse’s urine. Premarin contains 9 molecules unrecognizable by the human body, including a hormone called equilinin which we know is dangerous, as opposed to bioidentical estrogen, which is derived from yam or soy, which is exactly the same molecular structure as the human body produces,” explains Dr. Hoffman. According to a US National Institutes of Health study, the risks of blood clotting and strokes that arise with Premarin and PremPro are sharply lower or nonexistent with bioidentical estrogens.
Related Questions
- When people talk about "bio-identical" hormones I don’t understand what they mean. What is a "bio-identical" hormone?
- Do Bio-Identical Hormones have the same danger of breast cancer as other forms of hormone replacement therapy?
- People talk about hormone "replacement" therapy. What hormones do I need to replace?
