Looking For A Natural Hormone Replacement
Women began looking for a natural hormone replacement when the Women's Health Initiative report caused us to throw everything we thought we knew about menopause treatment out the window. For years, women had taken hormone replacements, thinking that it relieved their menopause symptoms and protected them from osteoporosis and heart disease. It was quite a shock to find out that the conventional wisdom was wrong. Many women felt betrayed by the medical industry, and began to search for alternative ways to deal with the symptoms of menopause.
Option 1: Live With It
One response to the HRT debacle has been to not treat menopause symptoms at all. Menopause is a natural process, and the most natural hormone replacement is no hormone replacement.
Although this is a reasonable approach for many women, some women suffer such severe symptoms that they will accept the risks of HRT if that is the only way to get relief from them.
Option 2: Herbal Natural Hormone Replacement
Several herbal remedies have been used for centuries to manage the symptoms of menopause. Black Cohosh and soy are frequently used, and they provide relief for some women.
Although herbal remedies are a good option for some people, there are some problems with them. It is difficult to get a precise dose of an herbal supplement because the amount of any given substance varies from plant to plant. Herbal remedies contain other substances than the hormone, too. Plant estrogens and progestrogens are not the same as human hormones, either, and an individual woman's body may not be able to use them as well.
Option 3. Bioidentical Natural Hormone Replacement
Most of the time, when someone talks about natural hormone replacement, they are talking about bioidentical hormone replacement. They are called "natural" hormone replacements because they are identical to the naturally occurring human hormones.
Bioidentical natural hormone replacements are usually made from soy and yams, and the plant hormones are changed so that they exactly match human hormones. Because they are identical to the human hormones, they are used in exactly the same way as the hormones your body makes.
Bioidentical natural hormone replacements are available both as over the counter medications and by prescriptions. They can also be individually compounded to match your individual hormone needs.
Each woman has a unique biochemistry, and different options work for different women. Some women can manage the symptoms of menopause with little difficulty. Others do well with herbal treatments. Bioidentical natural hormone replacements are the best option for some women. Each woman needs to decide what treatment works best for her.
