Synthetic Hormones vs. Natural Hormones

Synthetic hormones vs. natural hormones. There is so much confusion about hormones these days. I never thought about hormones much until I started having symptoms of menopause. Then it became very important to me to understand what they were and how I was going to feel better.

Hormones are biochemicals that affect thousands of normal health functions in tiny amounts. The purpose of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is to use normal amounts of hormone supplements to return hormone levels to normal ranges.

Hormonal stress first appears as something that is emotional and mental in nature. I understand this because menopause symptoms were making me feel differently than I have ever felt in my life. I actually felt as if my personality had changed! Some things that cause hormonal stress are stress, toxins, missing nutrients, and environmental hazards.

Many women have been dismissed as psychological cases and been prescribed with anti-depressives or anti-anxiety medications. This only adds to their physical stress. If there is a misunderstanding of a woman’s hormonal balance, many unnecessary operations may be performed, such as hysterectomies. I didn’t realize that synthetic hormones existed. Before I started going through menopause, I had heard about the drugs that doctor prescribed for women when their periods stopped. I just assumed that these women had to take them to replace “something” after menopause. Then I started hearing that they were possibly causing breast cancer.

When my time came to decide what to do about hot flashes and all the other symptoms, I chose not to ever take these drugs, which now I know are synthetic hormones. I knew that God created women to have periods and to stop having periods and He didn’t expect us to have to find a pharmacy to get us through this “change of life”. I know that getting through this normal life change today is harder because of processed foods, sugar, polluted air, and many other things that women didn’t deal with 50, 60, or 70 years ago. Natural hormone means that the hormone is chemically identical to the hormone we produce in our body. It is the chemical structure of the hormone, not its actual source, that determines it to be natural or synthetic.

A synthetic hormone is one with a slightly different chemical makeup from the ones found in the body.

If a hormone is found in nature or created in a lab and it is chemically identical to the hormone in your body, it is legally and technically considered natural. If it started out natural but then the structure changed, then it makes it a synthetic hormone. I remember sitting in my doctor’s office and having to keep myself from screaming at him when he asked me if I was depressed. I am very happy and content with my life and I knew that I was not depressed. I was just tired and hot! I felt like sobbing uncontrollably as he tried to come up with something that he thought could help me. All he could do was to write a prescription and tell me if this didn’t work he would adjust it in a month, and it that didn’t work.... you get the picture.

My doctor had given me a prescription for bio-identical hormones. I read a book about women taking them and they said they helped them feel better. I asked, “Can you tell me that there is no risk of breast cancer or other side effects if I take the bio-identical hormones?” He answered no. He said he could not tell me there is no risk with them. I had been taking them for 2 months. Some books were assuring me there was no risk. I decided to take them another month, although I wasn’t having too much relief from hot flashes, tiredness, and I was gaining weight! I woke up in the night after that and the words just came to me – “It’s the hormone pills”. I never took another one after that. I just didn't want to take a chance with anything; synthetic hormones or natural.

Soy protein shakes are what saved me. The soy balanced my hormones and I was able to feel like myself again. I also gave up soda pop, excess sugar, (I try not to eat any sugar at all) and started juicing fresh fruits and vegetables daily. Some say juicing seems like a lot of trouble but I’ll gladly wash my juicer everyday to feel as good as I feel now

Premarin is one of the most popular synthetic estrogen drug. It is made from the urine of pregnant horses. At least 75% of HRT drugs contain Premarin. It was approved by the FDA over 50 years ago. There are many unknown ingredients in Premarin which are unstudied, untested, and unnatural in human tissue. These are probably what causes the abnormally high rates of uterine and breast cancer after taking Premarin. Those rates are from 30% to 600% increase above normal, depending on the study.

In 1992, Wyeth-Ayerth spent $9 million just to advertise Premarin. Their ad execs came up with the phrase"untreated menopause." That same year, Premarin was the #1 drug prescribed in the U.S.

To me, this statement says to women, “You have something wrong and it needs to be treated.” Menopause is a natural part of life. We turn to our doctors for help with health issues and we start to believe everything they say without checking what our body is saying. I am grateful for doctors. But no doctor could help me with menopause. I had to do what I felt was right and safe. And I knew that synthetic hormones were not safe.

Here are some side effects of synthetic hormones:

• Increased risk of breast cancer

• Increased risk of endometrial cancer

• Vastly increased rate of heart attack

• Fluid retention, bloating

• High blood pressure

• Blood clots

• Hair loss or gain in the wrong places

• Breast tenderness

• Vaginal bleeding

• Skin reactions

• Osteoporosis

• Weight gain

• Rashes, acne

• Depression

• Stroke

Recently the National Institute of Health abruptly stopped their major study of synthetic hormone replacement therapy after results showed an increase in these side effects

Even the FDA sent out a notice (featured in the New York Times on January 9, 2003), ordering warning labels on all synthetic estrogen. The warning states that the drugs may slightly increase the risk of breast cancer, strokes, blood clots, and heart attacks. It also stated that they believed the risks did not outweigh the minor benefits of the hormones.

Most of the side effects result from the fact that synthetic hormones are not chemically identical to the natural hormones in your body, and your body can tell the difference.

Drug companies can’t patent something natural. But if they patent a drug, they make tons of money. Once again, it seems to be all about the money.

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