First, a brief history…
While bioidentical hormones may seem like a new development in healthcare, they have been used within Western medicine since the 1930s.
Back then, bioidentical hormones were extracted from the urine of pregnant women. Unfortunately, obtaining bioidentical hormones in this manner was more than a little impractical.
During the 1940s, hormones that were bioidentical were replaced by synthetic hormones that could be produced in a lab. However, these synthetic hormones were also designed to be molecularly different from bioidentical hormones. This molecular difference was built in so the pharmaceutical industry could patent them.
Then, in the early 2000s, the safety of synthetic hormones came into question as a result of the Women’s Health Initiative Study. In fact, this study was ended early due to the negative health consequences women were experiencing while on synthetic hormone therapy. It seems the slight molecular difference between bioidentical and synthetic hormones had negative consequences for how synthetic hormones work in a woman’s body.
By the 1980s, scientists had come up with a way to cost-effectively produce bioidentical hormones from plant materials (like soy and yams). But…when issues came to light during the Women’s Health Initiative Study, there was no distinction made between bioidentical hormones and the synthetic hormones that were used in the study.
As a result, bioidentical hormones became the proverbial baby that got thrown out with the HRT bathwater—and most women were taken off of HRT of any kind.
The Women’s Health Initiative Study
More than 20 years later, women and doctors alike are still confused about the Women’s Health Initiative Study and its findings. A particular area of concern has been the study’s claim that a correlation exists between hormone therapy and an increased incidence of breast cancer and blood clots among women on HRT.
The problem is that the Women’s Health Initiative Study was not put together well in the first place. To make matters worse, the results were not interpreted well. Unfortunately, entirely too many women and their doctors are only aware of the initial findings, and they are unaware of the more nuanced interpretations that followed in later years.
On closer examination, researchers discovered that the Women’s Health Initiative Study was poorly constructed, and its results poorly interpreted in the following ways:
- A majority of the women in the study were more than 10 years past the onset of menopause. Those in the study who started hormone treatment at younger ages experienced positive results, including a decrease in breast cancer.
- A majority of the women in the study were overweight (which in and of itself significantly increases the risk for cardiovascular disease and breast cancer).
- The results were skewed by the high percentage of women who dropped out of the study (42%).
- The women in the study took their medication orally, which researchers later found was in part responsible for adverse results.
- And the list goes on.
What Have Other Studies Told Us?
Numerous studies have emerged since the Women’s Health Initiative Study that attest to the safety and health benefits of HRT:
- WHI follow up study on 8,000 women taking estrogen only (without synthetic progestin) for 7.1 years. They were 18% to 31% less likely to develop breast cancer (depending upon the type of breast cancer being looked at) than those on placebo.
- Puget Sound, 25-year study–those on estrogen had no increased risk of breast cancer. Those on estrogen and synthetic progestin experienced an increased risk.
- Scandinavian study–30,000 women over 11 years–results were the same as the Puget Sound study.
- Department of Oncology, University Sweden–30,000 women over 10 years–results were the same as above.
- French study–7,000 women over 8.3 years–no increase in incidents of breast cancer.
- Dr. Alvin Bloom–254 breast cancer survivors over 7 years and counting–no increase in incidence of breast cancer.
- University of Toronto–472 women who tested positive for BRCA1 (a genetic marker that indicates a high risk for developing breast cancer)–42% fewer incidents of breast cancer than those testing positive for BRCA1 not on HRT.
- Finnish study–110,000 women over 10 years–no increase in breast cancer.
- And the list goes on…
What We Know Now
Some conclusions that can be drawn from these and other studies:
- The risks associated with hormone replacement therapy have been overstated, and have failed to take into consideration the different approaches to HRT (e.g. synthetic vs. bioidentical).
- It’s best to start bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) early in menopause.
- Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) needs to be a balanced program including several hormones—it should not include estrogen only.
- When replacing hormones, it’s important to stay as close to natural or bioidentical as possible—not synthetic. Natural or bioidentical is defined as hormones originating from plant sources, that when placed under a comparison microscope, are identical to those produced by a woman’s body.
- Estrogen should not be taken orally.
- Estrogen should be balanced with natural or bioidentical progesterone. Synthetic progesterone (also known as progestin) is dangerous.
Is BHRT Right for You?
To start your journey to a New You through bioidentical hormone therapy, contact Renew Youth at 800-859-7511 or use our contact form to set up your free 30-minute consultation.