HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY SERIES: INTRODUCTION TO BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES

What the heck are bio-identical hormones? Well let’s start from the beginning. You may have heard of “Natural Hormones”. Natural simply means occurs in nature. That covers a tremendous area. The estrogens found in Premarin, for example, are naturally occurring…but only in horses. The word “Natural” as related to hormone replacement is more commonly applied to plant derived hormones found in foods such as soybeans and wild yams. The human body is able to utilize the hormones from plants more efficiently since we have been ingesting them for millions of years.

The term Bio-identical refers to a substance being biologically equivalent to a substance produced by the human body. Bio-identical hormones refer to hormones derived from plants that have been modified in a laboratory to be identical to those hormones produced in the human body. These bio-identical hormones are then combined into creams, capsules, or suppositories by compounding pharmacies. The dose of hormones delivered can be tailored to meet each person’s individual needs.

There are a number of benefits of using bio-identical hormones rather than conjugated hormones such as Premarin. The amount of hormones in the bio-identical compound can easily be modified to meet the needs of the patient. The natural progesterone used in the compounds is not only more effective but it has less side effects then synthetic progestins. The tri-estrogen blend that is used in bio-identical compounds attempts to minimize the risks of estrogen and maximizes the benefits. Altogether, the use of bio-identical hormones versus synthetic or conjugated hormones is much safer for the patient and will help restore the natural hormonal balance that the body needs to perform optimally.

This article was written by Dr. Theresa Rada NMD, as a patient education resource for The Center For True Harmony Wellness and Medicine. Edited and revised by Sherry VanGoethem, Dr.Christine Brass-Jones OBGYN, and Dr. Denise Quance Grobe N.D. If you have any questions or comments contact the office at (480) 539-6646 or through email at info@trueharmonywellness.com