Is This ‘Nature’s Perfect Food’?

After radical mastectomy, thirty-five doses of radiotherapy and twelve chemotherapy sessions, the battle was lost as far as her oncologist was concerned. 42-year-old scientist Jane Plant was given only three months to live.

This post is on Healthwise

15 April 2015

Is This ‘Nature’s Perfect Food’ or a Banquet for Hormone-Related Cancers?

The cancer returned for the fifth time.

After radical mastectomy, thirty-five doses of radiotherapy and twelve chemotherapy sessions, the battle was lost as far as her oncologist was concerned. 42-year-old scientist Jane Plant was given only three months to live.

That was 28 years ago. Today Janet, professor of geochemistry at Imperial College London, is free of cancer.

As she states in her book Your Life in Your Hands, “having no alternative but to die or find a way out myself, I decided to find a way out. I determined to take control of my situation using my training as a natural scientist.”
This was her way out. . .

The clue comes from China

After looking at a range of factors that included genetic predisposition, estrogen, fat intake, stress, and personality type — and ruling them out of the equation — she finally hit on a clue as to why she came down breast cancer and what she could do about it.

At one time she had worked with Chinese scientists and they had given her a book called The Atlas of Cancer Mortality in the People’s Republic of China.

She was struck by the low rates of breast and prostate cancer among the Chinese. Americans were eight times more likely to contract breast cancer and two hundred times more likely to develop prostate cancer than people living in rural China.

When the Chinese adopt a Western lifestyle, as they might do if they live in Hong Kong or move to a Western country, over time their cancer rates become similar to those found in their adopted homes.

So Professor Plant reasoned there must be some environmental factor at work, but what could it be?

Then it hit her.

The native Chinese don’t eat dairy products – and she was a big eater of such foods.

She immediately stopped consuming milk, butter, cream, cheese and any foods containing them. This included commercial soups, biscuits, cakes, sunflower or olive oil spreads and soya margarine. It’s surprising how many food products contain dairy.

Within days a secondary tumor on the back of her neck started to shrink. Six weeks later it was gone.

“None of my doctors….had expected someone with my type and stage of cancer (which had clearly spread to the lymph system) to have survived, let alone be so hale and hearty.”

Americans are big consumers of dairy foods

Americans consume 614 pounds of cows’ milk products per year (USDA, 2012). This works out to 1.68 pounds per person per day. That’s a huge amount — for a food that was only designed for babies.

But that in itself does not mean milk can’t be good nutrition for adults. What evidence is there that it could be a risk factor for cancer?

According to Professor Plant, the hormones and growth factors in milk increase your risk for all hormone-related cancers – breast, prostate, ovary and testicular.

From a young age we no longer need the hormones and growth factors found in milk because the body produces and regulates its own requirements.

The concern is that ingesting additional quantities of these highly bioactive chemicals designed to stimulate cell growth in the young could result in unwanted growth and differentiation of adult tissues – in other words, cancer.

And there are lots of hormones in milk. At least 35 different kinds — plus 11 growth factors. Many of these have been linked to cancer.

For instance, excessive amounts of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) stimulates the secretion of luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone which have been implicated in testicular, prostate and ovarian cancer.

Prolactin and epidermal growth factor have been shown to enhance breast and prostate cancer.

Testosterone and other androgens have been linked with increased prostate cancer risk.

Of particular concern is insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1).

IGF-1 stimulates cancer growth

Stanford University researchers reported in 1990 that IGF-1 promotes prostate cancer cell growth. Five years later the National Institutes of Health reported that IGF-1 plays an important role in some children’s cancers as well as in prostate, breast, pancreas, small cell lung and melanoma cancers. Other researchers in the 1990s found that the growth factor was linked to breast, prostate and colon cancers.

In 1998, researchers from Harvard found men under 60 with the highest IGF-1 concentrations in the blood were four times more likely to develop prostate cancer than those with the lowest levels. And for those over 60 the risk was eight times as high.

IGF-1 has growth-promoting effects in concentrations as low as 1 ng/ml, and yet milk contains 30 times as much. (1 ng is a billionth of a gram.) Three percent of the IGF-1 in cow’s milk is also in a form that’s ten times as potent.

Although the dairy industry claims that this growth factor doesn’t get absorbed into the body, research says otherwise.

A number of studies have found that the amount of milk a person consumes correlates with the amount of IGF-1 in the blood. For instance vegans who don’t eat any animal or dairy products had levels that were 9 – 13% lower than meat eaters and vegetarians and a 2005 study found “milk consumption was significantly positively related to IGF-1 levels.”

Also, the actions of IGF-1 are modulated by protective binding proteins which control their effects. However these are considerably lower in vegetarians compared to those on a vegan diet. They are therefore not only at higher levels but are more potent in dairy consumers.

Reviewing the research, Hans Larsen, M.Sc., Ch.E., said, “The evidence of a strong link between cancer risk and a high level of IGF-1 is now indisputable.”

This view has been echoed by other researchers who state that IGF-1 not only stimulates cancer cell growth but enhances metastasis and prevents apoptosis (natural cancer cell death). A European Union scientific committee concluded that this growth factor poses an increased risk of breast and prostate cancer.

Having reviewed the studies, Professor Plant states in her book Prostate Cancer that “the evidence suggests that the association between IGF-1 and cancer incidence complies with many of the accepted criteria for causality: the association is strong and specific, it demonstrates the correct temporal sequence, it is dose responsive, it has biological plausibility, and it has coherence with other documented associations.”

rBGH and VEGF – growth factors to avoid

In spite of this evidence, in 1993 the FDA approved the use of a genetically engineered growth hormone called recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) to increase milk production. If you’re a longtime reader of this newsletter, you’re familiar with it.

It’s known that rBGH boosts the average concentration of IGF-1 by up to five-fold.

The European Union and many other countries do not permit the use of rBGH, but the FDA seems to have no concerns about its safety.

Could it get any worse? I’m afraid it does.

rBGH vastly increases udder infections called mastitis. The disease can affect almost half of all dairy cows in any one year. To fight the infection, cows produce Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). Unfortunately this also promotes the development and spread of cancer. Some classes of cancer drugs are specifically designed to block VEGF.

Soaring estrogen levels in modern milk

On top of all this, modern high production methods require cows to be milked while pregnant, which is most of the year. When pregnant they are producing vastly more estrogen and progesterone than they otherwise would.

This point was emphasized by Ganmaa Davaasambuu, M.D., Ph.D., research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health. Her findings comparing rates of cancer in 42 countries showed a strong association between milk and cheese consumption and hormone-related cancers.

She believes natural estrogens found in milk — which are already 100,000 times more potent than their environmental equivalent — are up to 33 times greater in milk produced from cows in the late stages of pregnancy.

As she puts it, “Today’s milk is vastly different from the milk your ancestors consumed 80 years ago.”

She advises us to cut down on dairy products.

Professor Plant gives the same advice, even more so since 2011. Following a hectic work schedule, she relaxed her no-dairy policy and went back to eating some milk products. The result was a lump under her collarbone and tumors in her lungs.

As well as taking a drug to suppress estrogen, she returned to her strict dairy-free diet. Several months later she was in remission for the sixth time. And this time she intends to stay cancer free.

While it may be considered to be un-American to advise against drinking milk, the milk produced by modern high-intensive farming methods should be avoided. Milk that’s produced this way cannot be described as nature’s perfect food.

If you can find raw, organic milk from grass-fed cows not milked during pregnancy it would be a vast improvement. However, if you are at known risk or want to reduce your risk of hormone-related cancers, then it’s best to keep dairy consumption to a minimum..

http://www.cancerdefeated.com/is-this-natures-perfect-food-or-a-banquet-for-hormone-related-cancers/3162/

Go to Healthwise for more articles

More of Prof Plant's articles:

• 'Give up dairy products to beat cancer’
• Give up dairy to beat cancer':

Hormone imbalance has a profound effect on your weight

September 15, 2014 | Dr. Michael Cutler

Healthwise

Unbalanced or poorly functioning hormones are an often overlooked cause of unwanted weight gain. The hormones involved include cortisol, thyroid, DHEA, aldosterone, growth hormone, progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen.

In this article, which is the seventh in my ongoing series about effective weight loss strategies, I will discuss which hormones you should have checked and managed by a physician experienced in natural hormone balancing if you have found it difficult to manage your weight. (You can find links to my other articles in this series below.)

Excess hormones promote weight gain

The hormones cortisol, estrogen, insulin, and aldosterone have many important functions. However, if these are elevated you may be experiencing their weight-promoting effects. Here are signs and symptoms to consider so you know whether or not to have them checked and balanced.

Cortisol: This hormone is secreted naturally and appropriately in times of mental, emotional or physical stress to protect you. However, if you allow yourself to be under prolonged or chronic stress (by continuing to allow stressful causes to be the focus of your attention, rather than focusing on what is wanted and feeling good), cortisol will take its toll on you in many ways, including increased abdominal fat and puffy face (“moon face”). It can progress to even depositing abnormal fat on your shoulders and upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”). Excess cortisol also interferes with normal thyroid function and impairs production of growth hormone and testosterone, all of which mean excess body weight.

Insulin: You know this hormone is high in people with type 2 diabetes. Yet it is elevated in many times more people than in diabetics, a condition known as metabolic syndrome (“pre-diabetes”), a condition now estimated to affect one in four American adults. Insulin causes energy storage in the form of fat, usually on the abdomen, hips and thighs. When it surges in the non-diabetic person, it drops blood sugar and triggers the craving for caloric intake, often in the form of simple carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, cereals or sweet foods. Without nutrient-rich high-fiber food to go along with simple carbohydrates, the body secretes even more insulin, completing a vicious cycle. Getting enough cortisol, thyroid hormone, testosterone, and growth hormone also help to normalize insulin levels.

Estrogen: Testosterone can easily be converted into to estrogen in the adrenal glands. In both men and women this causes abnormal weight gain: breast and abdominal fat in men (testosterone deficiency); droopy breasts and overall body fat in women. Other causes of estrogen excess include lack of exercise, a diet low in fiber but high in unhealthy fats and simple carbohydrates, and taking or being exposed to too much estrogen (including xenoestrogens).

Aldosterone: Elevated levels of aldosterone causes water retention, which can make you heavy but not necessarily fat. Be aware that water retention can also be from a failing heart or kidneys.

Insufficient hormones lead to weight gain

There are other important hormones that can easily lead to abnormal weight gain when low or under-functioning. These are thyroid hormone, DHEA, testosterone, progesterone, growth hormone, aldosterone and cortisol. I’ll describe these and what to look for.

Thyroid hormone: This hormone can be under-functioning even if blood levels indicate thyroid levels in the normal range. That’s because thyroid hormone drives metabolism in practically all your body tissues, so you are dependent not only on levels circulating, but also whether it is actually effectively working at those receptor sites. I have found that a low basal body temperature along with signs and symptom of fatigue, swollen face in the morning, leg edema (see also high aldosterone), cold hands and feet, dry skin, enlarged thighs and calves, or excessive weight, etc., respond well to natural thyroid replacement without causing hyperthyroidism.

Testosterone: Especially in men, enlarged feminized breasts, abdominal obesity and waning libido usually turn out to be testosterone deficiency. For women, low testosterone can also contribute to low interest in sex, poorly toned muscle and sagging breasts.

DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone): This precursor to testosterone can be low, thereby contributing to signs of low testosterone, especially abnormal belly fat.

Progesterone: When progesterone levels are low (relative to estrogen) this may cause a woman’s breasts to begin growing again after they stopped growing after adolescence, and be painful prior to menstruation. Other premenstrual syndrome symptoms (belly bloating, heavy or painful periods, irritability, etc.) and increased breast and body weight indicate a need to balance progesterone.

Growth hormone: An increase in belly fat or generalized body fat could be caused by a low level of growth hormone, as with low testosterone and/or low DHEA levels.

In my article next week on weight loss interventions I’ll cover the lab tests you can have that will uncover these and also other treatable causes of abnormal weight gain. If the cause of your abnormal weight is diagnosed with a lab test, your treatment then becomes much easier and your healthy diet and supplements become more effective.

To safe, effective, and permanent weight loss,

Michael Cutler, M.D.

Easy Health Options

http://easyhealthoptions.com/hormone-imbalance-profound-effect-weight/

Go to Healthwise for more articles

Balancing your hormones

Women's World

Published: Sunday May 12, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Wednesday August 14, 2013 MYT 7:51:47 PM

by datuk dr nor ashikin mokhtar

Diagnosing hormonal imbalance conditions and treatments to correct the imbalance.

IN my previous piece for this column, I looked at the hormonal imbalance situation that appears to be on the rise in our population, especially among women.

The last three-and-a-half decades have seen hormone-linked health disorders such as polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), diabetes, thyroid conditions, adrenal fatigue, hormone-linked breast cancer, weight gain and worsening symptoms of PMS and perimenopause become increasingly common.

In the previous article, I discussed some of these hormonal imbalance conditions, the causes and the symptoms.

Now, let us look at how we can diagnose these conditions and the best therapies to correct the imbalance.

Do you need a hormone test?

Not every woman needs or should have a hormone test (sometimes called a hormone panel because several hormones are tested). They can certainly be useful in many cases, but for most women who only have ordinary symptoms of hormonal imbalance, a hormone test will not tell them anything they don’t already know.

For women in this group, which represents the majority of women, their individual symptoms can vary. They may be experiencing heightened symptoms of PMS, menopause or adrenal fatigue.
The general advice for these women is to restore their nutritional well-being, take the right basic supplements and make meaningful lifestyle changes.

However, there are women who may be suffering more severe forms of hormonal imbalance that cause very specific conditions, and they will find that hormone panels are very useful in identifying the cause of their problem and providing a solution.

At this point, I would like to highlight that women with fertility issues are a particularly important group when considering hormone tests.

Many fertility problems can be traced to hormonal irregularities, and pinpointing the specific hormone at fault will help lead the way to a more effective intervention.

Other conditions stemming from hormone imbalance may produce debilitating symptoms, such as PCOS, fibroids and diagnosed alopecia, and should be properly diagnosed with a hormone panel.

A panel of tests

Hormone tests are not as straightforward as many other medical tests, such as a glucose or cholesterol test. In the latter, you measure the level of glucose or cholesterol in the blood, and this single test can tell you whether you have high glucose or high cholesterol.

With hormone tests, you need a skilled medical practitioner who knows your history and will take the time to “connect the dots”. (Refer to the table which lists out some of the hormones tested in a basic hormone panel.)

Other hormones that may be included in a panel include cortisol, free T3 (thyroid), thyroid-stimulating hormone, pregnenolone and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).

Natural approach to balancing hormones

Hormonal imbalance is a complex condition and is still not very well understood by many physicians. Most women themselves are uncertain of how to go about describing their symptoms and may shrug it off as something that they have to live with.

Very often, women’s hormonal imbalance problems are treated symptomatically, such as by prescribing antidepressants or HRT. This approach usually assumes that oestrogen is the only cause, and does not take into account the different hormones at play.

Treating hormonal imbalance is not as simple as taking a medication or undergoing a procedure. It has to be holistic, looking at all the hormones that are interrelated, as imbalance in one hormone often affects all the other hormones it is linked to.

Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all therapy for hormonal imbalance. Most of the time, there isn’t even a single approach that can solve the problem – it will likely involve several approaches and interventions in combination.

The biggest mistake in treating hormonal imbalance would be to add more hormones into the body, based on the perception that if the body is lacking a hormone, simply increasing the level of that hormone will solve the problem.

However, more isn’t always better, especially when it comes to hormones like oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone.

When you artifically increase the levels of hormones in the body, you will create a spillover effect on other hormones, and this will lead to other problems.

Instead, the underlying principle in treating hormonal imbalance is to provide support for the body to restore its hormone balance naturally. When the body is healthy and strong, then the communication between hormones, organs and tissues will go back to normal.

The four main pillars of hormonal balance are good nutrition, stress management, reduction of toxins and lifestyle changes.

The principles of good nutrition are the same basic ones that you have heard many times before: a balanced diet, with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, high-quality protein, whole grains and healthy fats. Cut down on sugar and refined carbohydrates.

Reducing stress levels contributes a great deal to hormonal balance. It takes a conscious effort to manage your life so that you are less stressed out. It may require you to change your outlook on life, change certain aspects or routines of your personal and work life, as well as take things slow and easy.

As much as possible, you have to limit your exposure to toxins in your environment, as there are many chemicals that have oestrogenic effects in the body (xenoestrogens). These toxins can be found in pesticides, detergents, petroleum products, plastic products and cosmetics – all of which we use in our daily lives.

It is not easy to eliminate these products from your life, but you can start by storing food in glass containers instead of plastic, avoiding non-stick cookware, limiting pre-packaged foods, and buying natural products as much as possible.

Finally, look at your overall lifestyle to see how you can treat your body better. Lack of sleep and exercise are usually our biggest weaknesses that affect our hormones.

Lack of sleep affects the hormone melatonin, as well as the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Lack of exercise affects our insulin and cortisol levels. By ensuring that we get sufficient amounts of sleep and exercise, we could be making a huge difference to our hormonal health.

Find a doctor who specialises in hormonal health and anti-ageing therapies, so that he or she will be able to assess your condition properly.

Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar is a consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist (FRCOG, UK).


http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Viewpoints/Womens-World/Profile/Articles/2013/05/12/Balancing-your-hormones.aspx

The Hormone That’s About To Ruin Your Health

Dr. Michael Cutler | Sep 03, 2012 | Comments 8

Whether you are a man or a woman, the estrogen and estrogen mimics (pollutants) you consume every day threaten your health. This hormone disruption can lead to weight gain, memory loss, brain fog, mood swings, flabby muscle tone, cancer, fatigue and low sex drive. To improve your well-being, you must understand how to control your estrogen and avoid the foods and environmental sources that destabilize the functions of this problematic hormone.

Estrogen excess, a condition predominately found in women, also affects men. Even when blood tests are normal, you can still experience the effects of excess estrogen in a number of ways. There are specific signs and symptoms of this condition, some well-known causes, and substances called xenoestrogens that play an important role in the dysregulation of the body’s delicate hormone balance.

Estrogen Excess

When estrogen levels become too high, there are many classic signs and symptoms for women in the perimenopausal years (the years leading up to menopause). Usually blood or saliva testing unveils this abnormality. However, we also know that estrogen can seem to be normal, but the effect of estrogen and estrogen-like molecules (see xenoestrogens below) on the target tissues can be enhanced via the hormone-receptor mechanism on tissue cells of the body.

Signs and symptoms of estrogen excess in women include:

• Weight gain
• Headaches
• Irregular or heavy periods
• Miscarriage
• Water retention, bloating
• Nausea
• Breast swelling, tenderness
• Fibrocystic breasts
• PMS symptoms (mood swings, irritability)
• Insomnia and restless sleep
• Memory loss and fuzzy thinking
• Loss of sex drive
• Uterine fibroids, endometriosis
• Recurring yeast infections
• Leg cramps
• Early puberty/late menopause
• Breast cancer
• Low thyroid symptoms

Problems For Men

There are signs and symptoms of estrogen excess in men, too. Remember that small amounts of estrogen are produced in the adrenal glands, pituitary and even the testes in men. The obvious signs and symptoms of significant estrogen excess in men are gynecomastia (breasts), erectile dysfunction and infertility. However, there are many other subtle signs:

• Loss of muscle tone
• Shrinking testes
• Low sex drive
• Loss of body hair
• Excess belly fat
• Depression
• Fatigue and low energy
• Poor memory
• Low stress tolerance
• Prostate enlargement
• Prostate cancer
• Double the stroke risk
• Increased cardiovascular disease

Reasons For Estrogen Excess

Certain disease states further the estrogen excess imbalance. In people who are obese, estrogen can lurk in fat cells and then can be released into the bloodstream. Excess insulin (for instance, when you have type 2 diabetes) is found to contribute to excess estrogen. Stress and excess cortisol production contribute to excess estrogen via what’s called the steroidogenic pathway of hormone production.

Low thyroid hormone (thyroid hormone keeps metabolism at a proper level in most body tissues) slows estrogen metabolism, allowing it to build up in the blood.

Other hormones that more obviously contribute to estrogen imbalance include low testosterone (testosterone is metabolized into estrogen), low progesterone (relative estrogen dominance), and estrogen supplementation (hormone replacement or oral contraceptive pills). Reportedly, water supplies in England have been tested and found to have estrogens. These are thought to originate in oral contraceptive pills and hormone replacement therapy. When the hormones are excreted and enter the water supply, they are not removed from drinking water by municipal filtering systems.

Finally, there are xenoestrogens. Xenoestrogens are synthetic and plant compounds that are in our environment which exert estrogenic activity. They mimic hormones but are not useful for normal hormone function. There is much more to tell about these molecules. I’ll address xenoestrogens in much more detail in my next article. I’ll explain more about their adverse effects, where they are found in our environment and ways to reduce them through foods and nutrient supplements.

To your improved health and longevity,

Michael Cutler, M.D.
Easy Health Options

Your Hormones May Be Out of Whack ...

Your Hormones May Be Out of Whack—and You Don’t Even Know It: Men, This Can Happen to You, Too

When it comes to hormonal changes, women get the most attention. But hormones have a profound effect on the health of women and men.

In fact, these important chemical messengers, which constantly send instructions from one part of the body to another, may be at the root of mysterious and frequently undiagnosed health problems such as fatigue, insomnia, memory loss, depression and weight gain.

Hormones always act together, much like instruments in an orchestra. That is why a hormonal imbalance—too much or too little of one or more hormones—can trip up your health in many ways.

Six key hormones that may be out of whack…*

 

CORTISOL (ADRENAL GLANDS)

The hormone cortisol tells the body to respond to stress—both external stresses (such as traffic jams and financial troubles) and internal stresses (such as inflammation and infections).

The danger: Progesterone (a hormone that is produced by the adrenal glands as well as the ovaries and, in smaller amounts, by the testes) acts as a chemical building block for cortisol as well as estrogen and testosterone. If you are constantly under stress, you generate high levels of cortisol, depleting progesterone and, in turn, reducing the production of estrogen and testosterone. That is why effective stress management is essential to overall hormonal balance in women and men.

Common signs of imbalance: High cortisol levels can cause excess belly fat, high blood pressure, insomnia, irritability, low libido and weakened immunity. Low cortisol levels—from exhausted adrenal glands that can no longer manufacture enough of the hormone—can cause such problems as allergies, apathy and chronic fatigue.

My advice: Make stress management a priority. Simple techniques…

• Breathe deeply. Simply breathe in for a count of four, hold for a count of six and breathe out for a count of six. Do this five times whenever you’re feeling stressed.
• Create boundaries. Feeling helpless and out of control is extremely stressful. Identify your major source of stress—such as a difficult relationship—and create boundaries to regain control. If a friend causes stress by always complaining, for example, tell her the topics you’re willing to listen to—and those you’re not.
• Get enough sleep. Sufficient sleep is crucial for balancing cortisol—and all other hormones. To improve sleep, keep your bedroom completely dark and a little cool…and don’t watch TV at bedtime. End each day with a positive ritual, such as writing down things that you’re grateful for or taking a warm bath.

 

INSULIN (PANCREAS)

Insulin regulates blood sugar (glucose), telling muscle cells to burn glucose for energy and fat cells to store it for future use.

Common signs of imbalance: Carbohydrate cravings, constipation, excess belly fat, poor memory, prediabetes and diabetes indicate high insulin levels, the most widespread insulin imbalance.

My advice: Balanced glucose levels lead to balanced insulin, and diet is the best way to balance glucose.

• Eat six times a day. Having healthful, smaller meals throughout the day balances glucose. Eat breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, a mid-afternoon snack, dinner and a bedtime snack.
• Include protein in snacks and at meals. It helps keep glucose balanced. Good protein sources: Nuts, cottage cheese, hummus and oily fish such as salmon and sardines.
• Eat low-glycemic carbohydrates. Slow-digesting carbohydrates that don’t create spikes in glucose levels include nonstarchy vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans.

 

THYROID HORMONE
(THYROID GLAND)

This hormone regulates metabolism, including body temperature and heart rate.

Common signs of imbalance: Cold hands and feet, dry skin, fatigue, hair loss, slow heartbeat and/or weight gain could signal hypothyroidism, the most typical thyroid imbalance.
My advice: Reducing stress is key.

Also helpful…**

• Avoid gluten. Research now links gluten intolerance to thyroid problems. To determine if you are sensitive to gluten: Give up gluten-containing foods for two weeks and gradually reintroduce them. If symptoms (such as abdominal pain, bloating and diarrhea) return, you are probably gluten-sensitive.
• Take zinc. A daily dose of zinc (30 mg) helps restore normal thyroid levels. (Also take 2 mg of copper—zinc supplements can deplete copper.)
• Take selenium. A daily dose of selenium (100 mcg), a potent antioxidant, helps to improve thyroid function.
• Test for iodine. If you have symptoms of thyroid imbalance, ask your doctor to test your iodine level. This mineral is crucial for production of thyroid hormone. If levels are low, eat more iodine-rich foods, such as sushi that contains seaweed.

 

ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE
(OVARIES, ADRENAL GLANDS, TESTES)

These hormones work together to regulate functions in the brain, heart and every other organ.

Common signs of imbalance: For most premenopausal women, estrogen is too high and progesterone is too low. Symptoms include bloating, breast tenderness, heavy menstrual bleeding and moodiness. High estrogen also increases risk for breast cancer. For perimenopausal and menopausal women, estrogen is usually low, and symptoms can include hot flashes, urinary incontinence and vaginal pain and dryness.

In men, low libido, increased belly fat and breast size, depression and erectile dysfunction may occur with imbalances of these hormones.

My advice: Controlling stress and following the eating habits described earlier in the insulin section are two of the best ways to balance estrogen and progesterone.

 

TESTOSTERONE
(TESTES, OVARIES)

Testosterone affects sex drive and muscle mass in men and women.

What’s often overlooked: In men, low testosterone levels are linked to higher rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, prostate problems—and death from any cause.

Signs of imbalance: Fatigue, low libido, decrease in strength, erectile dysfunction, irritability, anxiety, depression, poor concentration, memory loss and weight gain.

My advice: To boost testosterone, don’t smoke or drink alcohol excessively (for men, no more than two drinks a day). Also helpful…

• Lose weight. For men who are overweight, weight loss is one of the most effective ways to boost testosterone. Emphasize filling, low-calorie foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans.
• Resistance training. Lifting weights three times a week stimulates the production of testosterone.
• Interval training. This type of exercise also helps boost testosterone levels. What to do: Exercise to maximum capacity for one minute…slow down until normal breathing is restored (usually about one minute)…then repeat that two-part cycle for 20 minutes.

For women: Low testosterone can lead to weight gain and loss of sex drive. The self-care methods described above for men also work for most women. This includes no excessive drinking (for women, no more than one drink a day).

If you take a statin drug: Cholesterol is a building block of testosterone—and cholesterol-lowering statin therapy also can lower levels of the hormone.

If you’re taking a statin and have signs of testosterone imbalance, ask your doctor to test your total testosterone. If levels are 400 ng/dL or below in men, testosterone-replacement therapy should be considered. In women, a total testosterone level of 15 ng/dL or below is considered low.

*If you experience any of the signs or symptoms of a hormone imbalance, ask your doctor about getting your hormone levels tested.
**Check with your doctor before taking any of these supplements—some may interact with certain drugs.

Source: Alicia Stanton, MD, a physician who practices antiaging and integrative medicine in the Hartford, Connecticut, area. A faculty member for the Institute for Functional Medicine and the Fellowship in Anti-Aging, Regenerative & Functional Medicine, she is also coauthor, with Vera Tweed, of Hormone Harmony: How to Balance Insulin, Cortisol, Thyroid, Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone to Live Your Best Life (Healthy Life Library). www.DrAliciaStanton.com

 

Listing Details

Publication

Bottom Line Health

Original publication date

September 2012

http://bottomlinepublications.com/content/article/health-a-healing/your-hormones-may-be-out-of-whackand-you-dont-even-know-it

The Latest on HRT

Task Force Tells Women to Stop Doing This (No, Not Mammograms This Time)

June 03 2012 |16,139views

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By Dr. Mercola

The US Preventive Services Task Force recently published its draft recommendations on hormone replacement therapyⁱ.

While the task force has previously sparked controversy with its recommendations for breast cancer- and PSA prostate cancer screening, their recommendations for hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women taking hormones to prevent chronic disease has been met with little resistance.

The group is changing its recommendations for menopausal women who use hormone therapy, either estrogen alone, or in combination with progestin to prevent heart disease, osteoporosis, and cognitive decline.

They are accepting public comments on the draft until June 26, at which point the group will decide whether to make the draft recommendations final. According to a recent report by CNNⁱⁱ:

"... The task force recommendations "are aimed at older women, who are generally healthy asking, 'If I take a pill a day, will I prevent a heart attack?" [Dr. Carolyn] Crandall [professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA] said.
... In the face of pretty good evidence, the balance of potential benefits and potential harms leads us not to recommend the use of these therapies," said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, a task force member.
The proposed recommendations do not apply to women younger than 50 who have undergone surgical menopause or who are taking hormone therapy to manage menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, according to the panel.
... "The balance of benefits or harms may be different with young women, so you can't say this absolutely applies to younger women making hormone therapy decisions," Crandall said."

HRT as Preventive Strategy against Chronic Disease Not Supported by Data

The task force based their new recommendation on a recent review of the results from nine clinical trials published over the past decadeⁱⁱⁱ. The main question the group sought to answer was whether or not hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should be used by otherwise healthy menopausal women "to prevent a hypothetical future health event such as heart disease or cognitive decline." Alas, according to the task force, "There is no evidence that the therapies would prevent those conditions^iv.

However, I would point out that this analysis is based on the use of synthetic hormones, not bioidenticals, which I'll discuss more in a moment. That said, according to the featured CNN article:

"Years ago, in addition to providing relief for menopause symptoms, hormone therapy was thought to offer protection against cardiovascular problems, osteoporosis and dementia, so doctors routinely prescribed it to otherwise healthy women. That practice fell out of favor about 10 years ago when a large clinical trial -- the Women's Health Initiative -- designed to confirm these hypotheses was halted early. Women involved in that trial were actually at higher risk for many of the problems that hormone therapy was supposed to prevent."

Indeed, many large-scale trials, including the Women's Health Initiative, have indicated that taking estrogen alone, or the combination of estrogen and progestin, actually increased women's chances of developing strokes, dementia, deep vein thrombosis, urinary incontinence and gallbladder disease.

"The bottom line is clinicians must take all clinical parameters into account for the patient and prescribe the lowest dose for the shortest duration of time," said Dr. Joseph Sanfilippo, vice chairman of reproductive sciences at Magee-Women's Hospital in Pittsburgh, in an e-mail to CNN^v."

There are Better Ways to Prevent Heart Disease than HRT

Heart disease prevention is indeed an important concern, but there are far more effective, not to mention safer ways to prevent heart attacks and strokes than using HRT. Key lifestyle strategies that will help protect your heart naturally include:

• Boost your good cholesterol and lower your triglyceride levels: Many people strive to reduce their cholesterol levels to protect their heart, but high levels of good (HDL) cholesterol are believed to be protective against heart disease. Meanwhile, high triglycerides are an incredibly potent risk factor. In combination, high triglycerides and low HDL levels are an even bigger risk; this ratio is even more important to your heart health than the standard good vs. bad cholesterol ratio.
In fact, one study found that people with the highest ratio of triglycerides to HDL had 16 times the risk of heart attack as those with the lowest ratio of triglycerides to HDL.
You can increase your HDL levels by exercising and getting plenty of omega-3 fats like those from krill oil. Triglycerides are easily decreased by exercising and avoiding grains and sugars in your diet.

• Get enough high quality animal based omega-3 fats: Regularly taking a high-quality animal-based omega-3 supplement such as krill oil is one of the easiest ways to help promote your heart health.
• Check your iron levels: If you have excessive levels in your body you are at risk of major oxidation, or premature aging as excessive iron acts as a catalyst to increase your free readical formation though excessive oxidation. Excess iron will also increase your risk of heart disease and cancer. If you are a man, or a woman in menopause, you should get your iron levels tested and, if they're too high, take steps to reduce them. The simplest way to reduce your iron levels is by donating blood.
• Normalize your insulin levels: Elevated insulin levels can lead to insulin resistance, a major risk factor for heart disease. Carefully avoiding sugar/fructose and grains, combined with regular exercise are the most effective strategies for getting your insulin levels back to normal.
• Avoid FAKE Estrogens. These are also called xenoestrogens and are pervasive in modern culture. Non-organic foods are loaded with pesticides and herbicides that have potent xenoestrogenic activity. Addtiionally, plastics have BPS and phthalates and many cosmetics have parabens. It is wise to avoid all of these items as they are potent estrogenic influences which can increase a woman's risk of breast cancer.
• Keep your mouth healthy: Gum disease can trigger heart attacks, so make sure you keep your teeth, gums and mouth clean.

Should You Treat Menopause with HRT?

As stated earlier, the panel's recommendation to avoid HRT is only directed to menopausal women who are using synthetic hormones as a preventive measure. It does not apply to women who are managing symptoms of menopause (such as hot flashes, mood swings, and depression), or younger women who take hormones due to having their ovaries removed (surgically-induced menopause).

In these cases, hormone therapy can still be useful, and in the case of surgically-induced menopause, a necessity. However, it's a complex topic, and synthetic hormone replacement does have its risks, which is why I do not recommend using them. There are a number of different kinds of estrogen: Pharmaceutical estradiol comes from plant molecules modified in a la, while Premarin and Prempro contain potent horse estrogens that are manufactured from the urine of pregnant mares. All of these are synthetic versions that have their share of side effects.

Can You Believe Drug Companies Used to Pay Me to Promote HRT?

Yes, at one time I was part of the dark side. Many of you may not know this about me, but after finishing my medical residency training in the mid-80s, I was actually a paid speaker for the drug companies. I got paid to fly around the country to lecture physicians about estrogen replacement therapy. At the time, I was convinced it was an ideal strategy for menopausal women because I was manipulated and deceived by the overwheliming "evidence" that was pubished in the respected peer reviewed medical jouranls.

Only decades later would I finally understand the massiver perverse corruption and collusion between the drug companies, medical journals and federal regulatory agencies that provided the illusion of scieintific legitimacy when the real primary purpose was to increase their sales..

I still believe replacing your hormones can be a good strategy. But in my journey of learning about and truly coming to understand health, I've realized that using synthetic hormones, and even natural hormones from animals, is not a wise choice.

A much better alternative is to use bioidentical hormones. These are natural hormones that are "bioidentical" to the ones your body produces. The bioidentical that is prescribed 80 percent of the time is estriol. It's natural, not a drug, and you get it at compounding pharmacies. It has been used safely for decades, and I believe it's particularly useful when your ovaries have been removed or you've had a hysterectomy. Dr. Johathan Wright, whom I've interviewed many times, is a pioneer in bioidenticals, and you can see what he has to say about their value in this short video.

The Ideal 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. 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 seem to offer the best of both worlds, 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 following video, Dr. Daniel Kalish explains his simple three step approach to combating hormone challenges insights on hormonal imbalances.

What to do BEFORE Taking Hormones for Menopause

Natural bioidentical hormones can offer relief from menopausal symptoms, but I recommend not using them as your first go-to option. Treating hormone imbalances requires a whole-body approach; the best approaches are often preventive and involve diet, exercise and other lifestyle-based strategies.

For instance, both estrogen and progesterone are necessary in the female cycle, and their balance is key for optimal health. Many premenopausal women have an imbalance of these hormones.. And if you have insufficient levels of progesterone to counter excessive estrogen, this imbalance can be further exacerbated by chronic stress. Therefore, your answer might not necessarily lie in using hormones, but rather addressing your stress levels so that your body can normalize your hormone levels naturally.

Likewise, a healthful diet, low in processed foods (which are high in health-harming sugars/fructose, grains, genetically engineered ingredients, trans fats, processed salt, and other chemical additives) and high in whole organic foods, along with regular exercise, can go a long way to keeping your hormones balanced as you age. It's important to realize that processed foods—all those refined carbohydrates, and processed and heated fats, all serve to raise your estrogen to abnormal levels—as much as twice the normal, which are maintained for the better part of the adult lives of most American women.
This is a MAJOR contributing cause of menopausal symptoms in the first place. Additional strategies you can try before resorting to bioidentical hormones include:

• Phytoestrogens: Consuming plenty of phytoestrogens (plant-estrogens) such as licorice and alfalfa before menopause can also help moderate your day-to-day estrogen levels so that when menopause comes, the drop won't be so dramatic. Just don't make the mistake of using unfermented soy, which can wreak havoc on your health in a number of different ways.
• Optimize your vitamin D levels: This is a must for gene regulation and optimal health. For more information, I recommend you watch my one-hour video lecture on this essential nutrient.
• Polyphenols: Certain polyphenols have also been shown to have some HRT-like benefits without the drawbacks, and are associated with a lowered risk of heart disease. Royal Macha seems to be an amazing adaptogenic herbal solution for menopause that has helped many women. Be sure to avoid the inexpensive varieties, as they typically don't work. If you chose this option make sure to obtain the authentic version from Peru.
• Animal-based omega-3 fat: You'll also want to get plenty high quality animal-based omega-3 fats, such as krill oil.

Black cohosh: Black Cohosh may help regulate body temperature and hot flashes.In many cases, these lifestyle strategies will be very effective in relieving menopausal symptoms, but in cases where it is not enough, bioidentical hormones may be able to help. However, you'll want to make sure you get your hormonal levels checked properly before embarking on any kind of hormone supplementation program, and work with a knowledgeable health care practitioner who can guide you.

References:

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• ⁱ US Preventive Services Task Force, Menopausal Hormone Therapy for the Primary Prevention of Chronic Conditions: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement DRAFT, May 2012
• ⁱⁱ CNN May 29, 2012
• ⁱⁱⁱ US Preventive Services Task Force, Menopausal Hormone Therapy for the Primary Prevention of Chronic Conditions, A Systematic Review to Update the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations, May 2012
• ^iv CNN May 29, 2012
• ^v See reference iv

Sources:

• CNN May 29, 2012

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/03/hormone-therapy-not-recommended.aspx?e_cid=20120603_SNL_Art_1

Hormones That Boost Women’s Health

Dr. Michael Cutler | May 14, 2012 | Comments 0

Media reports have trumpeted the fact that hormone replacement with synthetic progestin and oral estrogen poses serious health risks for women. Lost in the commotion: Bio-identical progesterone and topical estrogen are important tools for women’s health. They can help relieve PMS and ease menopause problems while lowering your risk of cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis.

Progesterone’s Health Benefits

By nature, progesterone is a calming or tranquility hormone. It can even cause you to feel a bit sleepy; that’s one reason why it is taken at night. It makes a woman feel better from the symptoms of PMS such as:

• Bloating.
• Irritability.
• Breast tenderness.
• Migraine headaches.
• Anxiety.

Progesterone is also used to reduce heavy or painful periods. In fact, symptoms of progesterone deficiency include bloating of the face, hands and feet from water retention before your period.

Tension in your face and feeling a lot of pressure during this time of the month can also indicate that progesterone levels are insufficient. Breasts that are painful or develop cysts can be a sign of low progesterone, too. The same holds true for ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids.

Progesterone supplementation is also used to stop the symptoms associated with early menopause when ovarian function slows and the ovaries stop producing estrogen. The symptoms include:

• Hot flashes.
• Breast tenderness.
• Worsening PMS.
• Decreased sex drive.
• Vaginal dryness.
• Irregular periods.
• Fatigue.
• Urinary problems (leakage, urgency).
• Mood swings.
• Insomnia.

Health Protection

Beyond helping with the bothersome symptoms of PMS and perimenopause, there are more urgent reasons women use natural progesterone supplementation: Progesterone helps protect women from heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis (brittle bones). This is largely because progesterone can decrease certain ill effects of estrogen, reducing the chances of uterine cancer and breast cancer.

Many scientific studies have shown that progesterone decreases breast cancer risk:

• A study reported in the Journal of Epidemiology[1] in 1981 looked at 1,083 women who were treated for infertility. The researchers followed these women for 13 to 33 years, noting their incidence of breast cancer. The premenopausal risk for breast cancer was 5.4 times higher in women with low progesterone levels compared to those with normal levels. There were 10 times more deaths from cancer in the low progesterone group compared with those with normal progesterone levels.

• A 2002 case-control study reported in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention [2] looked at third trimester progesterone levels and breast cancer risk. It found increasing levels of progesterone were associated with decreased risk of breast cancer. This association was strongest before the age of 50. They also found that those in the highest quartile of progesterone levels had a 50 percent reduction in breast cancer risk compared with those in the lowest quartile of progesterone levels.

• In 2004, a prospective study of progesterone levels and associated breast cancer risk in 5,963 women was reported in the International Journal of Cancer.[3]

• In 2008, researchers reported that they had followed 80,000 postmenopausal women for more than eight years. They showed that using progesterone along with estrogen significantly reduced breast cancer risk compared to the use of synthetic progestin.[4]

Progesterone also is beneficial to heart health. It actually has a vascular relaxation effect. The Women’s Health Initiative studies showed that progesterone (unlike progestins) increases the cardio-protective effects of estrogen and reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. Progesterone also improves lipid profiles and helps estrogen improve lipid profiles (unlike progestins). Many studies which compare progesterone with estrogen versus progestins with estrogen prove this fact.

Dosing Guidelines

If you are sufferPMS symptoms, you can use the daily sustained release or topical cream progesterone on days 14 through 25 of your cycle. If you are having perimenopausal symptoms, the same dose of progesterone as for PMS applies, but starting on day 12 of your cycle works best to control irregular bleeding.

Vaginal suppositories also have good absorption like creams. If progesterone alone does not control your perimenopausal symptoms, you should add in bi-estrogen (estradiol plus estriol usually in a 50:50 or 20:80 ratio) in a topical cream starting at a dose of ¼ to ½ mg daily.

After Menopause

After menopause you should consider using both progesterone and estrogen even if you have no symptoms. These hormones have significant benefits for your heart, liver, brain, bones and skin.

After menopause these can be taken daily or with a break for three to five days per month. You also may need the strengthening and libido-enhancing benefits of daily low dose testosterone (¼ to 1 mg) or consider taking DHEA (a precursor hormone to testosterone).

Progesterone reduces the bothersome symptoms of PMS and also of perimenopause. It improves mood and sleep. It lowers risk for breast cancer, uterine cancer and heart disease. It’s even an effective protection against osteoporosis. Progesterone supplementation can be a pretty good deal for those of you who need it. Be assured it is safe because it is not a progestin. I’ll discuss the health benefits of transdermal estrogen supplementation in my next article.

To your best health,
Michael Cutler, M.D.
Easy Health Options

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[1] Cowan LD, et al. “Breast cancer incidence in women with a history of progesterone deficiency.” Am J Epidemiol 1981;114(2)209-217.

[2] Peck JD, Huka BS, Poole C, et al. “Steroid hormone levels during pregnancy and incidence of maternal breast cancer.” Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2002;11(4):361-368.

[3] Micheli A, Muti P, Secreto G, et al. “Endogenous sex hormones and subsequent breast cancer in premenopausal women.” Int J Cancer 2004;112(2):312-318.

[4] Fournier A, Berrino F, Clave-Chapelon F. “Unequal risks for breast cancer associated with different hormone replacement therapies: results from the E3N cohort study.” Breast Cancer Res Treat 2008;107(1):103-111.

http://www.easyhealthoptions.com/alternative-medicine/hormones-that-boost-womens-health/

The Benefits of Progesterone

Hormones For Women: The Benefits of Progesterone, The Problems With Progestin (Provera®)

Dr. Michael Cutler | May 07, 2012 | Comments 0


Hormone replacement therapy can be beneficial. Progesterone is a hormone the female body makes and needs for many health reasons. However, synthetic chemicals (progestins like Provera®) do not have the same benefits. It is vital that women and practicing physicians understand that bio-identical progesterone boosts wellness, and progestins are risky.

Progesterone’s Health Benefits
In women, the hormone estrogen stimulates growth of tissue inside the uterus. To keep the body from producing uterine overgrowth, the hormone progesterone slows this activity and boosts growth elsewhere. (It helps strengthen bone, for example.) Progesterone restricts estrogen synthesis and suppresses the enzymes that promote estrogen production. It blocks estrogen receptors and suppresses the genes that are encoded to promote estrogen production.¹
We also know that progesterone is beneficially active upon breast tissue. In fact, progesterone reduces estrogen’s stimulation of breast cancer growth. This was described by the authority in modern gynecological endocrinology, Dr. Leon Speroff, who noted, “Evidence indicates that with increasing duration of exposure, progesterone can limit breast epithelial growth as it does with endometrial epithelium… Human breast tissue specimens removed after patients were treated with estradiol and progesterone indicate that progesterone inhibits in vivo [living humans] estradiol induced proliferation.” ²
Breast Cancer Risk
What’s more, the studies all show that while progesterone lowers breast cancer risk, progestins (synthetic forms of progesterone) do not. It is vital to know the difference between these two if you are considering progesterone hormone supplementation. The alleged “experts” from the American College of Gynecology love to denigrate “so-called” bio-identical progesterone while promoting the use of synthetic progestins.

This doesn’t account for the fact that synthetic progestins promote breast cancer and heart disease, while progesterone beneficially lowers breast cancer and heart disease risk.

Startling Studies
The Women’s Health Initiative reported some startling information in 2002. It revealed that even though some 50 million women had been prescribed synthetic oral estrogen plus progestin therapy for better health (in the belief it would lower heart disease and breast cancer risk) since 1972, it was a mistake.

Prescribing artificial hormones was really an experiment. Nobody knew the long-term effect of these synthetic chemicals. The study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that Premarin® (a synthetic estrogen) and Provera® (a synthetic progestin) users had increased rates of heart disease and breast cancer, not lower rates.

This study showed that “absolute excess risks per 10,000 person-years attributable to estrogen plus progestin were 7 more CHD events [heart attacks], 8 more strokes, 8 more pulmonary emboli, and 8 more invasive breast cancers. The benefits were absolute risk reductions per 10,000 person-years of 6 fewer colorectal cancers and 5 fewer hip fractures.” ³
By the way, the risks attributed to oral estrogen are not at all what we find with bio-identical estrogen when applied transdermally (on the skin). This difference is likely due to the way it is metabolized by the liver.

Hormonal Fear
Women continue to be afraid of progesterone, thinking it is the same as progestin. Don’t be confused here. The Women’s Health Initiative again reported this effect of progestin (not progesterone) in 2009 with a study in the New England Journal of Medicine⁴ and in 2010 with a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association ⁵ (JAMA) of more than 16,000 postmenopausal women from 40 U.S. clinical centers during 5.9 years. This research showed that progestins plus oral estrogen caused an increase in breast cancer rates. Don’t be alarmed — this was not progesterone that they were using in the study.

Many other studies confirm this distinct difference between progestins (synthetic) and progesterone. Lyytinen, et al. used estrogen and a progestin and found increased breast cancer rates in 3 years.⁶ The Nurse’s Health Study, which followed 58,000 postmenopausal women for 16 years, found estrogen (oral) alone increased risk for breast cancer by 23 percent, but addition of synthetic progestin resulted in tripling the risk.⁷
In 2000, Rose, et al. reported a study in which they compared risk for breast cancer between 1,897 postmenopausal women on oral estrogen and synthetic progestin versus 1,637 control women who had never used hormone replacement therapy. They found that progestin increased the risk for breast cancer by 25 percent for every five years of use compared with estrogen alone.⁸ In addition to these, I have many more such clinical studies I could share with you.

Mistaken Beliefs
You can see that if most physicians and lay people believe progestins to be equivalent to progesterone, they misinterpret these studies to think progesterone is harmful and can promote breast cancer. Progesterone doesn’t do this. Progestins are not the same as progesterone.

So you may wonder if there are clinical studies to prove that progesterone lowers breast cancer. There are eight such studies, each well-designed and with large, impressive numbers to show clear
statistical significance.

Better Heart Health
One other important difference between progestins and bio-identical progesterone is their influence on cardiovascular health. Progestins cause potentially harmful vasoconstriction (blood vessels narrow); progesterone stimulates vascular relaxation. Also, lipid profiles (blood fats) are worsened with progestins, but improved with progesterone. There are plenty of studies to show this in the peer-reviewed scientific literature, too.

There are distinct differences between synthetic progestins and real progesterone.

Biochemically, the body does not even make progestins, nor do we know of any enzymes that the body naturally has that can properly metabolize progestins the way it has for progesterone.

Likewise, the enzymes needed to metabolize progesterone properly into either 11-deoxycorticosterone or 17-hydroxyprogesterone requires enzymes that we know the human body has.

However, with progestins, we do not know if there are enzymes that will convert it to something safe or to something that is unsafe over time. Once again, this is according to the bible of female hormone metabolism in medical education today, Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, by Leon Speroff, M.D., and others.

Furthermore, the biochemical structures of several other synthetic progestins have carbon-carbon triple bonds, which are not present in the hormones that humans naturally have. These unnatural synthetic progestins include norethindrone, levonorgestrel and norethindrone acetate.

Hormone Problems
The synthetic hormone problem continues and younger women still receive synthetic progestins for reasons not relating to birth control. Doctors are not acknowledging that the oral contraceptive “pill” (aka OCP) has a link to breast cancer in later years, too. Most studies of OCP and new breast cancers in women before age 40 (the worst ones) show a definite link between cancer and the use of the OCP for long durations. Women who began using the OCP as teenagers (younger than age 20) have a 20 percent relative increased risk for breast cancer. It seems to be related more to the duration of exposure to progestins than the dose for shorter periods of time.⁹

All of these facts represent information about progestins and progesterone that most doctors don’t know. But with this knowledge, you can look upon bio-identical progesterone very differently than synthetic progestins. In my next article I’ll share the benefits of natural (bio-identical) progesterone and transdermal estrogen (different safety profile than oral estrogen) for you to consider.

To your best health,
Michael Cutler, M.D.
Easy Health Options

¹ Speroff L, Glass R, Kase N. Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility. 7th Edition, Lippencott Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD, 2005. p.130.

² Speroff L, Glass R, Kase N. Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility. 7th Edition, Lippencott Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD, 2005. p.599.

³ “Risks and Benefits of Estrogen Plus Progestin in Healthy Postmenopausal Women” JAMA. 2002;288(3):321-333.

⁴ Chlebowski RT, et al. “Breast Cancer after Use of Estrogen plus Progestin in Postmenopausal Women.” N Engl J Med 2009; 360:573-587.

⁵ Chlebowski, RT, et al. “Estrogen Plus Progestin and Breast Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Postmenopausal Women.” JAMA. 2010;304(15):1684-1692.

⁶ Lyytinen H, Pukkala E. et al. “Breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women using estradiol-progestogen therapy.” Obstetrics and Gynecology 2009;113(1):65-73.

⁷ Colditz GA, Hankinson SE, Hunter DJ, et al. “The use of estrogens and progestins and the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.” N Engl J Med 1995;332(24):1589-1593.

⁸ Ross RK, Paganini-Hill A, et al. “Effect of hormone replacement therapy on breast cancer risk: estrogen versus estrogen plus progestin.” J Natl Cancer Inst 2000;92(4):328-332.

⁹ Speroff L, Glass R, Kase N. Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility. 7th Edition, Lippencott Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD, 2005. p.896.