Estrogen Could Have Prevented Almost 50,000 Deaths
Dr Mercola
8 August 2013
This long and informative article contains these two paragraphs of particular interest to HCS:
Ideally use Bioidentical Hormones
Premarin (the most popular estrogen replacement) comes from horse estrogens and is not bioidentical. While it may sound “natural,” I recommend avoiding animal estrogens for hormone replacement, as there are excellent human bioidentical estrogen hormones easily available through any compounding pharmacist. Your body recognizes these as “normal” and virtually identical to the hormones produced in your body, which makes them far safer than synthetic prescription versions.
There are three types of estrogens commonly used in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy: estrone, estradiol, and estriol. A common mixed formulation known as Tri-est includes 80 percent estriol with 10 percent each of estrone and estradiol.
Estradiol is the primary human female hormone found in all premenopausal women, whereas estriol is produced in significant amounts during pregnancy. Estriol is considered the safest of the three and is the most commonly prescribed. It has been used safely for decades, and I believe it’s particularly useful when you’ve had a hysterectomy.
Unfortunately, there is still much unnecessary concern about bioidentical estrogen supplementation. What the FDA, most doctors, and patients do not realize is that bioidentical hormone supplements can actually optimize your health. That said, your hormone levels should ideally be monitored by either blood, urine, or saliva, to ensure they reach a target level that corresponds to the reference ranges for healthy young women. I also believe that menopausal hot flashes that do not resolve with phytoestrogens such as black cohosh, are another valid indication for short-term estrogen use. However, if estrogen is used, it is nearly always wise to use it in conjunction with natural progesterone.
The Best Way to Administer Bioidentical Hormones
Keep in mind that when it comes to administering bioidentical hormones, some delivery methods are clearly superior to others. Oral supplementation is perhaps your worst option, as your liver processes everything in your digestive tract first, before it enters your bloodstream, which will metabolize most of the swallowed hormones to inactive and potentially harmful derivatives. Any method that bypasses your liver will therefore be more effective.
Hormone creams are one common alternative that achieves this. However, since hormones are fat-soluble, they can build up in your fatty tissues and lead to having too much in your body. This in turn can disrupt other hormones. It’s also near impossible to accurately determine the dose when using a cream. Sublingual drops can be a good option, as it enters your blood stream directly and will not build up in your tissues like the cream can. It’s also much easier to determine the dose you’re taking, as each drop is about one milligram.
In the 90s, I prescribed transdermal progesterone cream based on the now deceased Dr. John Lee. That worked well for most of the women but after 3-6 months most started to lose the benefits. However, I now believe the ideal delivery method is via trans mucosal administration. For more information about this, please listen to my interview with Dr. Wright. Administration methods are discussed toward the end of this interview.
Read the whole article at:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/05/hormone-replacement-therapy.aspx
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