01 Dec The Role of Bio-Identical Hormones and Menopause
Menopause is defined as the point when menstrual cycles stop and are diagnosed when no cycles for 12 consecutive months. This is a very important consideration since most women will live half their lives without a menstrual cycle. Women produce many native or natural hormones which play a role in normal function. Bio-Identical hormone therapy simply replaces these missing hormones with an exact copy. These hormones play an important role in almost every system in your body. The biggest problem with what we have traditionally done in hormone therapy is that we have not replaced these natural human hormones, but have substituted man-made chemicals with some degree of hormone effect and animal hormones which cause unnatural responses and can have a detrimental effect in females. Replacing these natural hormones helps to prevent disease and play a dramatic role in the overall health. There have never been any studies, not one, that show any harmful effect in bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.
Hormones are messengers that speed up or slow down processes through the whole body. During menopause, these hormone levels drop suddenly in response to the ovaries no longer producing follicles (eggs). The ovaries produce less estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. These declining levels can significantly affect your health for years to come.
Estrogen depletion causes most of the menopausal symptoms which include hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, etc. But in addition to relieving those symptoms, estrogen can help to prevent Alzheimer’s, dementia, heart disease, strokes, and bone loss. But it is not just about replacing estrogen, we must replace progesterone, testosterone and sometimes other hormones. All these hormones work together to bring balance and overall health benefits.
The replacement of hormones during menopause must be individualized to each person. No two people are alike regarding their hormone levels during menopause. The real goal of bio-identical hormone therapy is to replace the missing hormones with the exact human copy and not use any hormones which are not already found in the body. Bio-identical hormones help bring back a natural balance, help prevent disease and bring a quality of life back.