Question and answer
Anytime the subject of hormone replacement therapy comes up in the eTips or in Nutrition & Healing, we get dozens of letters and emails from people questioning the recommendation, since findings linking HRT to potentially serious health complications continue to emerge. To be honest, I'm GLAD that so many people are concerned -- it means they're not blindly trusting the mainstream "experts" who have been trying to brush the disastrous results of the Women's Health Initiative study under the rug for years. But what Dr. Wright always explains to these concerned readers is that, despite what los Federales would like us to believe, the type of HRT he and his colleagues in the natural medicine field recommend doesn't carry the same risks as the version used in the Women's Health Initiative study. That version -- which, mind you, has never been formally removed from the market despite the deadly side effects associated with it -- is a combination of two substances that bear absolutely no resemblance to anything present in women's bodies. The first part of the mainstream HRT equation is Premarin, which is made from horse urine. (As Dr. Wright often points out, women aren't horses!) The other part of mainstream HRT is Provera, which is a synthetic, space-alien version of progestin. In stark contrast to this oversimplified protocol that mainstream physicians have been recommending for so many years, the bio-identical HRT (BHRT) that Dr. Wright recommends replaces ALL the estrogens and estrogen metabolites that are critical to women's well being. And it replaces them with versions that exactly mimic what women's bodies produce naturally prior to menopause. And on top of those improvements over the mainstream version of HRT, BHRT also involves regular safety monitoring of hormone levels, so that patients can get theirs "just right." The benefits of BHRT go well beyond "just" being safe. Not only does it help alleviate the symptoms of menopause that drive most women to seek HRT to begin with, but bio- identical HRT actually protects against the very problems caused by Premarin and Prempro, namely increased heart attack and cancer risk. Of course, there's a lot more to BHRT than I could possibly include in one e-letter. Which is why I want to make sure you know about the fast-approaching seminar on this topic, presented by The International Hormone Society, the Bio-Identical Hormone Society, and the American Academy of Anti-aging Medicine. As I said, the seminar is right around the corner, being held from October 23-26. in San Diego, at the Holiday Inn, San Diego on the Bay. Lecturers will include Dr. Wright, Thierry Hertoghe, M.D., Ron Rothenberg, M.D., Pamela Smith, M.D., Mark Gordon, M.D, Eric Braverman M.D., and Wendy Ellis, N.D. The comprehensive four-day seminar will include insightful observations about physical signs and symptoms of hormone insufficiencies given by Dr. Hertoghe and basics of bio- identical hormone use presented by Dr. Rothenberg. Dr. Ellis and Dr. Wright will provide descriptions of safe, natural modulation of hormone pathways, and analyses of clinical and laboratory monitoring of bio-identical hormones for effectiveness and safety. Drs. Smith, Gordon, and Braverman are special guest speakers well-known for their work with BHRT. For further information and to register, call 866-444-9475 or go to www.bioidenticalhormonesociety.com. |
