Hormone Heresy, Estrogen's (HRT) Deadly Truth -- Part I

[Guest guest]

Hormone Heresy Estrogen's Deadly Truth --Part 1

by Sherrill Sellman

Extracted from

Nexus Magazine, Volume 3, #4 (June - July 1996)

 

Women are misinformed about their hormones, to the detriment of

their health,while drug companies reap huge profits at their

expense.

 

For over 300 years, beginning in the 13th century and continuing

well into the16th century, the Inquisition was a reign of terror for

the vast majority ofpeople living throughout Europe and Scandinavia.

 

The political, economic and religious forces of that time joined

together to consolidate their power by eliminating those whom they

perceived as impeding their ultimate objectives.

 

The unfortunate target of their efforts were the keepers of the

healing arts and the ancient spiritual and cultural wisdoms.

 

Historians debate the exact toll of such a hellish time - whether it

was several hundreds of thousands or

as many as nine million people - but what is undebatable is that the

vast majority of the victims were women.

 

In fact, the Inquisition is now regarded as a period of genocide

against women, which successfully divested women of their

power, self-respect, wealth, healing arts, and prominence and

influence in their communities.

 

The Inquisition guaranteed that the Church fathers were the

indisputable spiritual authorities. It was also successful in

enshrining medical knowledge securely in the realm of men, since the

Inquisition decreed that only trained medical doctors could now

practice the healing arts and, needless to say,

medical schools were barred to women (for that matter, so was any

form of education).

 

What a relief that such a violent and misogynous era ended long ago.

Or did it?

 

Unfortunately, it appears that some traditions linger on. Women of

today are still prey to vast political and economic interests, with

dire consequences to their health, financial independence and

personal power.

 

Perhaps the Inquisition didn't end at all but just took on a more

subtle and devious form.

Women are certainly big business to the medical and pharmaceutical

interests.

 

According to John Archer, author of Bad Medicine, about 600,000

hysterectomies are performed every year in the USA, and about 45,000

in Australia.

 

(1) In 1994, it was estimated that 45,000 Australian women were

taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT). (2) Many women are

presently encouraged to remain on HRT for the rest of their post-

menopausal lives.

 

According to Dr. Stanley West, noted infertility specialist, chief

of reproductive endocrinology at St. Vincent's Hospital, New York,

and author of " The Hysterectomy Hoax " ,

about 90 per cent of all hysterectomies are

unnecessary.

 

Gynecological consultants to Ralph Nader's Public Health Research

Group reached a similar conclusion in 1991 in their book, Women's

Health Alert.

 

According to Dr. West, the only 100 percent appropriate reason for

performing an hysterectomy is for treating cancer of the

reproductive organs.

 

However, hysterectomies are all too frequently offered as treatment

for a variety of

conditions including endometriosis, fibroids, ovarian cysts, pelvic

inflammatory disease and uterine prolapse.

 

It is no accident that gynecologists happen to be the highest

earners of all specialists.

 

Throughout their lives, women are encouraged to be subjected

continuously to various medical treatments and procedures.

 

Natural female functions, from menstruation through childbirth and

into menopause,

are taken over by medical and pharmaceutical interventions.

 

Barraged by misinformation, myths, propaganda and, in some cases,

downright lies, it's no wonder that so many women are thoroughly

confused about matters relating to their own bodies and their

health.

 

The History of Hormone Replacement Therapy

 

Perhaps there's no topic of greater confusion to women than the

highly publicized introduction of HRT for the menopausal woman. It

is touted as the best thing for liberating women since the discovery

of oral contraceptives -

 

even though the statistics now show that the wide use of the Pill

has given rise to health hazards such as breast cancer, high blood

pressure and cardiovascular disease on a scale previously unknown in

medicine.

 

 

Investigation into the theory of hormone replacement goes all the

way back to the 1930s with the research of Dr. Serge Voronoff. His

research involved implanting fresh monkey's testicles into men's

scrotums, with limited effectiveness.

 

Offshoots of his research led to the grafting of monkey ovaries

in women, with rather dire consequences. After several fatalities

(to both monkeys and women), the search was redirected to the use of

synthetic estrogen. With the advent of World War II, research was

put on hold.

 

Menopause didn't really come into vogue as a topic of concern for

the medical profession until the 1960s.

 

In 1966 a New York gynecologist, Dr. Robert Wilson, wrote a best

seller called " Feminine Forever " , extolling the virtues

of estrogen replacement to save women from the " tragedy of menopause

which often destroys her character as well as her health. "

 

His book sold over 100,000 copies in the first year. Wilson

energetically promoted menopause as a condition of " living

decay. "

 

According to him, estrogen replacement was a kind of long

sought after youth pill that would save poor, fading women from the

horrors of age. He popularized the erroneous belief that menopause

is a 'deficiency' disease.

 

Women's magazines eagerly seized upon his ideas and extensively

promoted his concepts.

 

This pleased Wilson no end, since he had earlier set up The Wilson

Foundation for the sole purpose of promoting the use of 'estrogen'

drugs.

 

The pharmaceutical industry generously contributed over US$1.3

million to his Foundation.

 

Each year he received funds from such companies as Searle,

Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories and Upjohn which made hormone products

that Wilson claimed were effective in treating and preventing

menopause.

 

Pharmaceutical companies jumped on the bandwagon with aggressive

promotions and advertising campaigns.

 

His message hit a receptive chord: mid-life women need

hormone drugs

to be rescued from the inevitable horrors and decrepitude of this

terrible deficiency disease called menopause.

 

Wilson pioneered the use of unopposed estrogen.

 

However, there had been no formal assessment of the safety of

estrogen therapy or its long term effects.

 

Unopposed estrogen went out of vogue when it became obviously

apparent that it shortened the lifetime of its users.

 

In 1975, The New England Journal of Medicine examined the rates of

endometrial cancer for estrogen consumers,

concluding that the risk was seven and a half times greater for

estrogen users.

 

Women who had used estrogen for seven years or longer were 14 times

more likely to develop cancer.

 

As the popularity of unopposed estrogen therapy waned, new

approaches were sought.

 

The focus was also directed away from the false claims of

preserving feminine beauty and youthfulness and towards more urgent

health matters.

The pharmaceutical industry resurrected estrogen replacement therapy

with the new 'safe' hormone replacement therapy -

a combination of synthetic progesterone and estrogen which would

supposedly protect menopausal women not only from

cardiovascular disease but also from the ravages of osteoporosis.

 

While the so-called 'experts' on women's health are reassuring women

that there are no, or at least only very minor, unpleasant side

effects, Dr. Lynette J. Dumble, Senior Research Fellow at the

University of Melbourne's Department of Surgery at the Royal

Melbourne Hospital, believes that " the sole basis of HRT

is to create a commercial market that is highly profitable for the

pharmaceutical companies and doctors.

 

The supposed benefits of HRT are totally unproven. "

 

She believes that HRT not only exacerbates the presenting

health problems but also contributes to the acceleration of the

aging process of women.

 

It either hastens the onset of other medical conditions or

worsens the existing ones.

 

This perspective seems to be validated by the recent findings from a

landmark study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine in

1995, involving 121,700 women, which revealed startling effects from

HRT.

 

It warned that women who used HRT to offset the symptoms of

menopause also increased their chance of developing breast cancer by

30 to 40 per cent by taking the hormone for more than five years.

 

In women aged between 60 and 64, the risk of breast cancer

rose to 70 per cent after five years of HRT. Finally, the study

concluded that women using HRT were 45 per cent more likely to die

from breast cancer than those who chose not to use HRT or used it

for less than five years.

 

 

According to Leslie Kenton, author of Passage to Power, " everybody

who is anybody will tell you that menopause is an estrogen-

deficiency disease and that

you will need to take more estrogen as you approach mid-life. What

may surprise you is this:

 

not only is most of such commonly given advice on menopause wrong,

a great deal of it can be positively dangerous. "

 

Fortunately there is another side to the hormone story - a

perspective that not only can assist women of all ages to attain

greater health but also to reclaim

a greater sense of power, responsibility and dignity in their lives.

 

A Brief Gynecological Tour of a Woman's Body

 

In order to understand the HRT debate, it is important, first, to

have a rudimentary knowledge of a woman's cyclic nature.

 

Until recently, doctors thought that menopause began when all the

eggs in the ovaries had been used up.

 

However, recent work has shown that menopause is probably not

triggered by the ovaries but by the brain. It seems that both

puberty and menopause are brain-driven events.

 

Menstruation depends on a complex network of hormonal communications

between the ovary, the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland in the

brain.

 

The hypothalamus secretes gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH)

which triggers the production of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)

by the pituitary gland.

 

The FSH then stimulates the growth of the egg follicles (a small

excretory sac or gland) in the ovaries to trigger ovulation. As the

egg follicles grow, estrogen is manufactured and released into the

blood.

 

This chain reaction is not just one way.

 

Estradiol, one of the ovarian estrogens in the bloodstream, also

acts on the hypothalamus, causing a change in GnRH. Next, this

altered hormone stimulates the pituitary to produce luteinising

hormone (LH) which causes the egg follicles to burst and

the ovum to be released.

 

After the egg is expelled, progesterone is also

manufactured by the collapsed egg follicle which develops into the

corpus luteum.

 

All the hormones released during the menstrual cycle are secreted

not in a constant, steady way but at dramatically different rates

during different parts of the 28 day cycle.

 

For the first eight to 11 days of the menstrual cycle, a woman's

ovaries make lots of estrogen. Estrogen prepares the follicles for

the release of one of the eggs. It is estrogen which proliferates

the changes that take place at puberty:

the growth of breasts, the development of the reproductive system

and the shape of a woman's body.

 

The rate of estrogen secretion begins to fall off on about day 13,

one day before ovulation occurs.

 

As estrogen falls, progesterone begins to rise, stimulating very

rapid growth of the follicle. Beginning with this secretion of

progesterone, ovulation occurs too. After the egg has been released

from the follicle (known as the luteal stage of a woman's cycle),

the follicle begins to change, enlarging and becoming a unique organ

known as the corpus luteum.

 

Progesterone is secreted from the corpus luteum, this tiny organ

with a huge capacity for hormone production. The surge of

progesterone at the time of ovulation is the source of libido - not

estrogen, as is commonly believed.

 

After 10 or 12 days, if fertilization does not occur, ovarian

production of progesterone falls dramatically. It is this sudden

decline in progesterone

levels that triggers the shedding of the secretory endometrium (the

menses), leading to a renewal of the entire menstrual cycle.

 

Ovarian estrogen and progesterone stimulate the growth of the

endometrium, or lining of the uterus, in preparation for

fertilization.

 

Estrogen proliferates the growth of endometrial tissue, and

progesterone facilitates the secretory lining of the uterus so the

fertilized egg can implant successfully.

 

Adequate progesterone, therefore, is the hormone most essential to

the survival of the fertilized egg and the fetus.

 

At around 40 years of age, the interaction between hormones alters,

eventually leading to menopause. It is still not clear how.

 

Menopause may start with changes in the hypothalamus and the

pituitary gland rather than in the ovaries.

 

Scientists have conducted experiments where young mice have had

their ovaries replaced with those from aged animals no longer

capable of reproducing. The young mice can mate and give birth. This

shows that old ovaries placed in a

young environment are capable of responding. On the other hand, when

young ovaries are put into old mice, these mice cannot reproduce.

 

Whatever the mechanism triggering menopause, as fewer egg follicles

are stimulated, the amount of estrogen and progesterone being

produced by the ovaries declines although other hormones continue to

be produced. By no means do the ovaries shrivel up and cease

functioning, as is popularly believed.

 

With the reduction of these hormones, menstruation becomes scantier

and erratic and eventually ceases.

 

However, other body sites such as the adrenal glands, skin, muscle,

brain, pineal gland, hair follicles and body fat are capable of

making these same hormones, enabling the female body to make healthy

adjustments in hormonal balance after menopause - provided a woman

has taken good care of herself during the pre-menopausal years with

proper lifestyle, diet and attention to mental and emotional health.

 

Menopausal women have the opportunity to enter this phase of life

empowered in their wisdom and creativity as never before. They have

access to profound inner knowing.

 

The renowned sociologist Margaret Mead said, " There is

nothing more powerful than a menopausal woman with zest! "

 

In many cultures around the world, menopause is a transition and an

initiation into the fulfillment of a woman's

power, totally symptom-free. She is held in the highest regard in

her community as a wise, respected elder.

 

The Myth of Estrogen and Synthetic Progestins-

 

The earlier research that led to the synthesis of estrogen made

possible the development of the oral contraceptive by 1960. With

consent of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Pill was

widely marketed as an

effective, convenient method of birth control.

True sexual liberation for women was at hand at last.

 

 

However, the entire basis for the FDA's consent was the result of

clinical studies conducted on 132 Puerto Rican women who had taken

the Pill for one year

or longer.

 

(Never mind the fact that there were five women who

died during the study without any investigation into the cause of

their deaths.

 

By the mid-1970s the death toll of women from heart attacks and

strokes began to attract public notice. A newer, supposedly safer

Pill was then created with a lower dose of estrogen. But, in fact,

there has never been any valid

scientific proof that the Pill is safe - nor, for that matter, that

any of the other forms of contraception presently available are

safe.

 

Women are only now discovering the price they have been paying for

their sexual freedom: by altering their hormonal balance, many

varied and devastating emotional and physiological dysfunctions have

been created.

 

It is now 35 years on from the introduction of oral contraception

and there are presently about 60 million women worldwide who are, in

effect, 'trial-ing' the Pill.

 

Its safety and long term effects have still not been

established conclusively.

 

It is interesting to note, however, that it has

produced a wide assortment of adverse effects and side effects and

has a significant link to breast cancer, high blood pressure and, in

particular, cardiovascular disease -

the major cause of female deaths in Australia.

 

In 1992, 27,833 women died from heart disease and strokes, compared

to 2,438 from breast cancer.

 

Is this merely a coincidence, or do these statistics indicate,

perhaps, the harmful side effects of tampering with hormones?

 

 

While proclaimed also as the primary missing ingredient for the

menopausal woman, estrogen is strongly recommended by the medical

and pharmaceutical industries for the prevention of cardiovascular

disease and osteoporosis.

 

Just about any doctor's surgery you walk into these days will warn

women of the inherent risks of going through menopause and, for that

matter, the post-menopausal years without the protection of estrogen.

 

Women are further reminded, once again, that menopause is a

deficiency disease, which supposedly means that they are lacking

estrogen and therefore must have supplemental doses to maintain

their health.

 

As Dr. Lynette Dumble has noted, " Broadly speaking, cardiovascular

prevention in women has overwhelmingly focused on hormone

replacement.

 

Yet, as Elizabeth Barrett-Connor emphasizes, the Big Trial, the

Coronary Drug Project of 1973 that included two estrogen regimens,

was conducted in men.

 

As part of the Big Trial design, estrogen doses extravagantly in

excess of physiological levels

were deliberately administered to men in order to induce

gynaecomastia [enlargement of male breasts] as an indicator of

successful feminisation.

 

This resulted in thrombosis and impotence and ultimately led to

research failure because of treatment discontinuations amongst the

study's participants. "

 

According to medical practitioner, independent researcher and author

Dr. John Lee, the one notable study (known as the Boston Health

Study, conducted with a

large sampling of nurses) which formed the entire basis of the

positive estrogen-cardiovascular link, was radically flawed.

 

Although there is ample evidence from numerous other studies showing

that, indeed, the opposite is true

- i.e., estrogen is a significant factor in creating heart disease -

these findings have been virtually ignored in the frenzy for

profits.

 

He goes on to say that the pharmaceutical advertisements also

neglected to mention the fact

that stroke death incidence from that study was 50 per cent higher

among the estrogen users.

 

Dr. Lee has compiled a list of side effects and physiological

impairments which result from taking estrogen.

 

They include increased risk of endometrial cancer,

increased body fat, salt and fluid retention, depression and

headaches, impaired blood sugar control (hypoglycemia), loss of zinc

and retention of

copper, reduced oxygen levels in all cells, thickened bile and

promoted gall bladder disease, increased likelihood of breast

fibrocysts and uterine

fibroids, interference with thyroid activity, decreased sex drive,

excessive blood-clotting, reduced vascular tone, endometriosis,

uterine cramping,

infertility, and restraint of osteoclast function.

 

With so many side effects and dangerous complications, a woman must

think very carefully about the HRT decision. Unfortunately, most

doctors will tell her that there is no other alternative.

 

While certainly most doctors are well-meaning and sincerely

concerned about their patients, their primary source

of education and product information comes directly from the

pharmaceutical companies.

 

Since most women also lack essential education and understanding

about their options, menopause can be perceived as a rather

frightening and perilous time.

 

Enter Natural Progesterone

 

For the past 15 years, Dr. Lee has conducted independent research

into a natural, plant derived form of progesterone. His non-

pharmaceutically-funded research presents a much broader

understanding of a woman's hormonal options

and offers a totally safe, effective alternative that is free of all

side effects.

 

He has found that this natural hormone - used in conjunction with a

good diet and lifestyle changes - is capable of eliminating much of

the suffering associated both with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and

menopause.

 

 

Thousands of women in the Western world now use natural

progesterone -

generally in the form of a non-prescription cream which is rubbed

into the body. They claim that they not only have relief from female

symptoms but experience increased vitality, better skin and renewed

emotional balance.

 

Natural progesterone seems to have been totally overlooked by

medical science while the erroneous focus has been on estrogen.

 

Considering that it is non-patentable and inexpensive, it not

surprising that this is so.

 

It is important, however, to have a much greater understanding and

appreciation for this remarkable hormone.

 

As was previously mentioned, it is progesterone that is responsible

for maintaining the secretory endometrium which is necessary for the

survival of

the embryo as well as the developing fetus throughout gestation.

 

It is little realized, however, that progesterone is the mother of

all hormones.

 

Progesterone is the important precursor in the biosynthesis of

adrenal corticosteroids (hormones that protect against stress) and

of all sex hormones

(testosterone and estrogen).

 

This means that progesterone has the capacity to be turned into

other hormones further down the pathways as and when

the body needs them. The point needs to be emphasized that estrogen

and testosterone are end metabolic products made from progesterone.

 

Without adequate progesterone, estrogen and testosterone will not be

sufficiently available to the body.

 

Besides being a precursor to sex hormones, progesterone also

facilitates many other important, intrinsic physiological functions

(which will be discussed later).

 

The Estrogen Dominance Effect

 

Female problems seem to be on the rise. Between 40 and 60 per cent

of all women in the West suffer from PMS. In addition, women also

suffer from a plethora of symptoms, some menopausal and others not.

 

Something quite alarming certainly seems to be happening to women.

 

There is indication that proper hormonal balance necessary for a woman's body to

function healthily is being nterfered

with by a number of factors.

 

Research has revealed that a good ortion of women

in their 30s (and some even younger), long before the onset of

menopause, on ccasion will not ovulate during their menstrual month.

 

Without ovlation,no corpus luteum results and no progesterone is made.

 

A progesteronedeficiencyensues.

 

Several problems can result from this deficiency. One is the month

longpresence of unopposed estrogen with all its attendant side effects,

as already

mentioned. Another is the generally unrecognized problem of

progesterone's rolein osteoporosis.

 

Contemporary medicine is still unaware thatprogesterone

stimulates osteoblast-mediated new bone formation.

 

Actually, it isprogesterone

that stimulates new bone tissue and is capable of reversing

osteoporosis at anyage.

 

Lack of progesterone means that new osteoblasts are not created

andosteoporosis can arise.

 

A third major problem results from theinterrelationship between progesterone

loss and stress. Stress

combined with abad diet can induce anovulatory cycles.

 

The consequent lack ofprogesterone

interferes with the production of the stress-combating hormones,

exacerbating

stress conditions that give rise to further anovulatory cycles. And

so thevicious cycle continues.

 

Another major factor contributing to this imbalance between estrogen

andprogesterone is environmental in nature. We in the industrialized

world now

live immersed in a rising sea of petrochemical derivatives.

 

They arein our

air, food and water. These chemicals include pesticides and

herbicides (such asDDT, dieldrin, heptachlor, etc.) as well as various

plastics(polycarbonated

plastics found in babies bottles and water jugs) and PCBs.

 

Theseestrogen-mimics are highly fat-soluble, not biodegradable or well

excreted, and

accumulate in fat tissue of animals and humans. These chemicals have

an uncannyability to mimic natural estrogen.

 

They are given the name " xeno-estrogens "

since, although they are foreign chemicals, they are taken up by the

estrogenreceptor sites in the body, seriously interfering with natural

biochemicalchanges.

 

Mounting research is now revealing an alarming situation worldwide

created bythe inundation of these hormone-mimics.

 

In a recently released book,

Our StolenFuture, authors Theo Colburn of the World Wildlife Fund, Dianne

Dumanoski ofThe Boston Globe and John Peterson Meyers, a zoologist, have

identified 51

hormone mimics, each able to unleash a torrent of effects such as

reduced sperm

production, cell division and sculpting of the developing brain.

 

These mimics

are not only linked to the recent discovery that human sperm counts

worldwidehave plunged by 50 per cent between 1938 and 1990 but also to

genital

deformities, breast, prostate and testicular cancer, and

neurologicaldisorders.

 

Dr. Lee has discovered a consistent theme running through women's

complaints of

the distressing and often debilitating symptoms of PMS, peri-

menopause and

menopause: too much estrogen, or, as he has termed it, " estrogen

dominance " .

 

Now, instead of estrogen playing its essential role within the well

balanced

symphony of steroid hormones in a woman's body, it has begun to

overshadow the

other players, creating biochemical dissonance.

 

The last thing inthe world awoman's body needs is more estrogen - either in the

form ofcontraceptives or

HRT.

 

Then, when the estrogen-dominant symptoms appear, guess what is

prescribed? More estrogen! The delicate natural

estrogen/progesterone balance

is radically altered due to too much estrogen. Progesterone

deficiency is thenexacerbated even more.

 

Dr. Lee has been able to balance the estrogen-dominance effect

through the useof transdermal natural progesterone cream. Natural progesterone,

acholesterol

derivative, is made from wild Mexican yams or soybeans whose active

ingredientsare an exact molecular match of the body's own progesterone.

 

It isinterestingto note that in countries in Asia and South America where women

eateither the

wild yams or soybeans,

the term " hot flush " doesn't even exist intheirlanguages.

 

They also rarely suffer from the host of female problems

presently

plaguing Western women.

 

Supplementation with natural progesterone corrects the real problem:

progesterone deficiency. Natural progesterone is not known to have

any side

effects; nor have any toxic levels been found to date.

 

Natural progesterone

increases libido, prevents cancer of the womb, protects against

fibrocystic

breast disease, helps protect against breast cancer, maintains the

uterus

lining, hydrates and oxygenates the skin, reverses facial hair

growth and hair

thinning, acts as a natural diuretic, helps eliminate depression and

increase a

sense of well being, encourages fat burning and the use of stored

energy,normalizes blood clotting, and is a precursor to other important

stress and sexhormones.

 

Even the two most prevalent menopausal symptoms - hot

flushes and

vaginal dryness - quickly disappear with applications of natural

progesterone.

 

There is one other very significant benefit of natural progesterone

that

deserves a bit more attention. While most people are under the

assumption that

estrogen protects against osteoporosis - one of the biggest selling

points for

which a woman is encouraged to take HRT - this is definitely not the

case.

 

The early studies on which the estrogen protection assumption was

based had

gross scientific defects. Canadian researcher Jerilyn Prior, chief

endocrinologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver,

and her

colleagues, reporting in The New England Journal of Medicine,

confirmed thatestrogen's role in osteoporosis is only a minor one.

 

In theirstudies of female

athletes, they found that osteoporosis occurs to the degree that

they become

progesterone-deficient, even though their estrogen levels seem to

remainnormal.

 

Prior continued her research with non-athletic women. They

showed the

same results. While both these groups of women were menstruating,

they had

anovulatory cycles and, therefore, were progesterone-deficient.

 

Prior then went on to discover that anovulation and a short phase

cycle now

occur in up to 50 per cent of North American women's menstrual

cycles during

the final reproductive years. Unfortunately, these major

findings wentrelatively unnoticed in the medical community.

 

As a result of her extensive review of published scientific evidence

in this

area, Prior confirmed that it is not estrogen but progesterone which

is thebone-trophic hormone; that is, the bone builder. She was even able

to identify

progesterone receptor sites on osteoblast cells (bone tissue

building cells).

 

Nobody has ever found osteoblast receptors for estrogen. The bottom

line is

that it is in women with progesterone deficiency that bone loss

occurs.

 

These results were verified by a three year study of 63 post-

menopausal women

with osteoporosis. Women using transdermal progesterone cream

experienced an

average 7 to 8 per cent bone mass density increase in the first

year, 4 to 5

per cent the second year, and 3 to 4 per cent in the third year!

Untreated

women in this age category typically lose 1.5 per cent bone mass

density peryear!

These results have not been found with any other form of

hormone

replacement therapy or dietary supplementation.

 

Dr. Lee believes that the use of natural progesterone in conjunction

with

dietary and lifestyle change can not only stop osteoporosis but can

actuallyreverse it - even in women aged 70 or more.

 

At this point, it is important to make the distinction between the

natural

progesterone that is produced by the body and the synthetic

progesterone

analogues classified as progestins, such as Provera, Duphaston and

Primulut.

 

Asyou will learn, there is a big difference between the two in their

effect in

the body, although doctors most often use their names

interchangeably.

 

Sincenatural progesterone is not a patentable product, the pharmaceutical

companies

have molecularly altered it to produce synthetic progestins commonly

used incontraceptives and HRT.

 

Synthetic progestins, because they are not exact replicas of the

body's natural

progesterone, unfortunately create a long list of side effects, some

of whichare quite severe.

 

A partial list includes headaches, depression,

fluid

retention, increased risk of birth defects and early abortion, liver

dysfunction, breast tenderness, breakthrough bleeding, acne,

hirsutism (hair

growth), insomnia, edema, weight changes, pulmonary embolism and

premenstrual-like syndrome.

 

Most importantly, progestins lack the intrinsic physiological

benefits of

progesterone, thus they cannot function in the major biosynthetic

pathways as

progesterone does and they disrupt many fundamental processes in the

body.

 

Progesterone is an essential hormone that also plays a part in the

development

of healthy nerve cells and brain and thyroid function. Progestins

tend to block

the body's ability to produce and utilize natural progesterone to

maintainthese life promoting functions.

 

The hormone story is certainly a very complicated one.

 

Up until now,only one

version of the story has been available to the majority of Western

women,especially Australian women. Serious doubt has been cast on the

efficacy and

appropriateness of estrogen and progestins in all the forms they

take. Womenare certainly suffering from a wide variety of female complaints.

 

What complicates the hormone story is that the prescribed treatments

for these

complaints are actually making the problem worse. Without

understanding the far

reaching side effects of estrogen dominance and progestin, doctors

aremisdiagnosing the cause of these aggravated conditions.

 

Often, otherdrugs are

then prescribed with disastrous side effects, as the spiral of

unnecessarymedication increases. What is the ultimate toll, not only on a

woman's

deteriorating health and emotional well being but also on her

financialsituation, her relationships and her career?

 

Without adequate knowledge, education and access to natural

products, womenhave been easy prey to the powerful campaigns of the

multinationaldrug

companies that have convinced doctors as well as governments of

their claims.

 

It is becoming more evident that women's interests are not always

best met

through such a biased approach. It is also not unusual for profits

to takeprecedence over health and well being.

 

The last thing a woman needs

is to have

her natural bodily functions denigrated to deficiency diseases -

thusnecessitating ongoing medical attention.

 

It is indeed time for women to take even greater responsibility for

theirhealth, their choices and their lifestyles. The greatest weapon

against

compliance and ignorance is knowledge.

 

It's time to ask poignantquestions of

your health provider, to demand answers and to be willing to

investigate safe,alternative approaches. It is apparent that women will need

toparticipate in

educating their doctors about the other choices that exist as well

as the onesthat they prefer.

 

Certainly, women have it well within their own power not only to

find safe,

natural and effective ways to heal themselves but to live long, full

lives,preserving their vitality, youthfulness and health. Women deserve

the right toappreciate themselves and their bodies through all the stages

oflife.

 

As womenfind the way to return to a greater balance within themselves, theywill

knowprofoundly the truth of what Dr. Deepak Chopra has said aboutwomen:

" Femininewisdom is the intelligence at the heart of creation. "

 

Effects of Estrogen Dominance

 

When estrogen is not balanced by progesterone, it can produce weight

gain,

headaches, bad temper, chronic fatigue and loss of interest in sex -

all ofwhich are part of the clinically recognized premenstrual syndrome.

 

Not only has it been well established that estrogen dominance

encourages the

development of breast cancer thanks to estrogen's proliferative

actions, italso stimulates breast tissue and can, in time, trigger fibrocystic

breastdisease - a condition which wanes when natural progesterone is

introduced tobalance the estrogen.

 

By definition, excess estrogen implies a progesterone deficiency.

 

This, inturn, leads to a decrease in the rate of new bone formation in a

woman's body

by the osteoblasts - the cells responsible for doing this job.

 

Although mostdoctors are not yet aware of it, this is the prime cause of

osteoporosis.

 

Estrogen dominance increases the risk of fibroids.

 

One of theinterestingfacts about fibroids - often remarked on by doctors - is

that,regardless ofthe size, fibroids commonly atrophy once menopause arrives and

awoman's

ovaries are no longer making estrogen.

 

Doctors who commonly useprogesterone

with their patients have discovered that giving a woman natural

progesterone

will also cause fibroids to atrophy.

 

In estrogen dominant menstruating women where progesterone is not

peakingand falling in a normal way each month, the ordered shedding of thewomb

lining

doesn't take place.

 

Menstruation becomes irregular. This conditioncan usually

be corrected by making lifestyle changes and using a natural

progesteroneproduct. It is easy to diagnose by having a doctor measure the

levelof

progesterone in the blood at certain times of the month.

 

Endometrial cancer (cancer of the womb) develops only where there is

estrogen dominance or unopposed estrogen.

 

This, too, can beprevented by theuse of natural progesterone. The use of the

synthetic progestins may

also helpprevent it, which is why a growing number of doctors no longer

giveestrogenwithout combining it with a progesterone drug during HRT.

 

However,all

synthetic progestins have side effects.

 

Water logging of the cells and an increase in intercellular sodium,

whichpredispose a woman to high blood pressure or hypertension,

frequently occurwith estrogen dominance.

 

These can also be side effects of taking

syntheticprogestogen [progestins]. A natural progesterone cream usually

clears it up.

 

The risk of stroke and heart disease is increased dramatically when

a womanis estrogen-dominant.

 

 

 

(Source: Leslie Kenton, Passage to Power, Random House, UK, 1995)

 

 

Anti-aging Benefits of Natural Progesterone

 

Progesterone is a primary precursor in the biosynthesis of the

adrenalcorticosteroids.

 

Without adequate progesterone, synthesis of the

cortisones isimpaired and the body turns to alternate pathways.

 

These alternate

pathwayshave masculine-producing side effects such as long facial hairs

andthinning ofscalp hair.

 

Further impaired corticosteroid production results in a

decrease in

the ability to handle stress, e.g., surgery, trauma or emotional

stress.

 

Many peri- or post-menopausal women with clinical signs of

hypothyroidism,

such as fatigue, lack of energy, intolerance to cold, are actually

suffering

from unrecognized estrogen dominance and will benefit from

supplementation withnatural progesterone.

 

Estrogen and most of the synthetic progestins increase intracellular

sodiumand water uptake.

The effect of this is hypertension.

 

Naturalprogesterone is anatural diuretic and prevents the cell's uptake of

sodium and water,

thuspreventing hypertension.

 

Whereas estrogen impairs homeostatic control of glucose levels,

natural

progesterone stabilizes them. Thus, natural progesterone can be

beneficial to

both those with diabetes and those with reactive hypoglycemia.

 

Estrogen shouldbe contraindicated in patients with diabetes.

 

Thinning and wrinkled skin is a sign of lack of hydration in the

skin. It is

common in peri- and post-menopausal women and is a sure sign of

hormone

depletion. Transdermal natural progesterone is a skin moisturizer

which

restores skin hydration.

 

Progesterone serves a role in keeping brain cells healthy.

 

Adisorder suchas premature senility (Alzheimer's disease) may be, at least in

part, anotherexample of disease secondary to progesterone deficiency.

 

Progesterone is essential for the healthy development of the myelin

sheath

which protects the nerve cells. Low progesterone levels lead to

recurring achesandpains.

 

Progesterone creates and promotes an enhanced sense of emotional

well beingand psychological self-sufficiency.

 

Progesterone is responsible for enhancing the libido.

 

 

 

 

(Source: John R. Lee, M.D., Slowing the Aging Process with Natural

Progesterone, BLL Publishing, CA, USA, 1994, p. 14)

 

End notes:

 

Archer, John, Bad Medicine, Simon & Schuster, Australia, 1995, p.

191.

 

Op. cit., p. 217.

 

Op. cit., p. 192.

 

Op. cit., p. 211.

 

Coney, Sandra, The Menopause Industry, Spinifex Press Pty Ltd.,

Australia,

1991, pp. 164-165.

 

The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 June 1995.

 

Coney, Sandra, op. cit., p. 584.

 

Archer, John, op. cit., p. 210.

 

Archer, John, op. cit., p. 211.

 

(a) Dumble, Lynette J., Ph.D., M.Sc., " Odds Against Women with Heart

Disease " , presented at Health Sharing Women's Forum, Royal College

of Surgeons,

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 14 September 1995. (b) Barrett-

Connor,

Elizabeth, " Heart Disease in Women " , Fertility and Sterility (1994),

62(2):127S-132S.

 

Lee, John R., M.D., Natural Progesterone: The Multiple Role of a

Remarkable

Hormone, BLL Publishing, California, USA, 1993, p. 29.

 

Ibid.

 

Newsweek, 18 March 1996.

 

Kenton, Leslie, Passage to Power, Random House, UK, 1995, pp. 19-20.

 

Ibid.

 

Lee, John R., M.D., " Osteoporosis Reversal: The Role of

Progesterone " ,

International Clinical Nutrition Review (1990), 10:384-391.

 

Lee, John R., M.D., Slowing the Aging Process with Natural

Progesterone, BLL

Publishing, California, USA, 1994, p. 12.

--------------------------------

© 1996 by Sherrill Sellman The author presently lives in Melbourne

where she

conducts a private psychotherapy practice and also devotes time to

lecturing,

training and writing. She is a contributing writer to holistic

publications in

Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States on topics of

interest and

concern to her, relating to health, women's empowerment,

relationships, and

personal and planetary transformation. She can be contacted at Light

Unlimited,

Locked Bag 8000 - MDC, Kew, Victoria 3101, Australia, Telephone +61

(03) 9840

6496. Fax: +61 (03) 9855 9991 E-mail: golight@o...

Hormone Heresy : What Women MUST Know About Their Hormones by

Sherrill

Sellman

A comprehensively researched book that explains how the use of

conventional

hormone replacement therapies have put women at great risk and shows

the

suffering they have endured. It provides women of all ages the vital

information necessary for making informed choices; such as the

scientific

research that shows that synthetic hormones used in HRT and The Pill

contribute

to breast, ovarian and uterine cancers and further, how longer term

use

contributes to CFS, liver disease, impaired thyroid function and

reduced or

complete deletion of a woman's sex drive.

 

Beginning with an explanation of how the medicalization of women's

reproductive cycles has brought about the enslavement of modern woman into

acycle of

chemical entrapment and it concludes with practical and natural

alternatives to

safely and effectively handle peri-menopausal and menopausal

symptoms.

 

Women from around the world have commented on its easy readability, it's

sensible approach to the changing times that each woman will experience during

her lifetime. This invaluable volume contains the most optimal, safe and

effective solutions to hormonal imbalance at whatever age it occurs. With the

knowledgeand understanding held within this book women are inspired to

createa " hormonal balancing " program for their long term health.

 

 

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause by Dr. John R. Lee

Women considering hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopause

symptoms and health benefits should read this controversial, provocative book

first.

 

" Advertising and research dollars are spent trying to convince women

that estrogen will cure everything from heart disease to Alzheimer's, "

writes John R. Lee, M.D., " but there is scant evidence for any of these claims

and reams of evidence that synthetic estrogens are highly toxic and

carcinogenic. " Lee has studied the research and concludes that estrogen is not

the magic bullet for

protection against heart disease and osteoporosis, nor does it

retard aging.

 

Natural progesterone, instead, puts postmenopausal women's hormones

in balance, says Lee. He cites study after study that indicates that natural

progesterone,obtained in cream form, delivers what the usual HRT only promises.

 

" Menopause as a disease has been largely fabricated by physicians

and the pharmaceutical industry, " says this leader of a " quiet but

powerful revolution " regarding HRT. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You

About Menopause covers thebenefits of natural progesterone, the

history and politics of the medical anddrug establishment, the

biochemistry and dynamics of hormones and how they getout of

balance, and how to prevent hormone imbalance and stay healthy.

Leeempowers you to ask hard questions of your doctor. Highly

recommended.

 

http://www.all-natural.com/estrog-1.html

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjoguest

DietaryTipsForHBP

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The complete " Whole Body " Health line consists of the " AIM GARDEN TRIO "

Ask About Health Professional Support Series: AIM Barleygreen

 

" Wisdom of the Past, Food of the Future "

 

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PLEASE READ THIS IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

We have made every effort to ensure that the information included in these pages

is accurate. However, we make no guarantees nor can we assume any responsibility

for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or

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