Suffering from Menopausal Symptoms?

Understand the Risks of Estrogen Replacement Therapy

Many doctors prescribe  estrogen replacement therapies to cure hot flashes, slow bone loss and reduce risk of heart disease.  However, estrogen supplements can also cause high blood pressure, gallstones, vaginal bleeding, nausea, weight gain, breast tenderness,  headaches and depression.   Most importantly, women taking estrogen supplements have 30-80% more breast cancer risk than other women.   The recent “Women’s Health Initiative” study of 16,000 women showed a 29% higher chance of heart attack, 41% higher chance of stroke and 111% higher chance of blood clots for women taking estrogen replacement therapies (Ref 1).  Premarin (short for pregnant mares’ urine), the most commonly prescribed of these, contains  estrodial and estrone, two types of estrogen found in humans.  Unfortunately, it also contains enormous amounts of equilin, a horse estrogen that does not occur naturally in humans and results in many complications.

Hot Flashes:   Fortunately, there are natural solutions for most women to ease these symptoms without increasing their risk for cancer.  That is, through simple diet and lifestyle changes.  In Asian cultures, where animal protein intake is low, only about 10% of menopausal women experience hot flashes.  Many “Food For Life” students who recently adopted a low-fat, plant-based diet, have  rid themselves of hot flashes and common menopausal symptoms simply by removing dairy and animal proteins from their diet.  “Animal based meals affect hormone levels rapidly and strongly, and undoubtedly contribute to the menopausal problems that are common in Western countries” (Ref 2).

Bone Health:   Cultures with lower dairy and animal protein intake, also have a much lower risk of osteoporosis and bone density loss.  Osteoporosis is not caused by inadequate calcium intake - rather, by overly rapid calcium loss.  The top 5 contributors to calcium loss are animal protein, sodium, caffeine, smoking and lack of exercise.  When animal protein (meat and dairy) is digested, it makes the blood slightly acidic.  In the process of neutralizing, it pulls calcium from the bones, which is flushed from the body in the urine.  “A recent report in AJCN showed that when subjects eliminated meat, cheese and eggs from their diet, calcium losses were cut in half.” The best sources of calcium are beans and dark, leafy greens.  Also, sodium and caffeine stimulate calcium loss through the kidneys (Ref 2).

In addition to diet and lifestyle changes,  natural progesterone creams have demonstrated the ability to encourage new bone growth (Ref 3).  Unlike estrogens, which simply slow bone loss, progesterone actually increases bone density. It is derived from yams or soybeans, has no significant side effects, and is sold without a prescription as a transdermal cream.  Altered forms of progesterone, called progestins (e.g., Provera) are commonly prescribed unnatural chemicals and do not quite fit into the body's systems for using and eliminating progesterone.  These also  have harmful side effects.  Postmenopausal women who are taking estrogens are often advised to cut their estrogen dose in half when starting progesterone, because progesterone temporarily increases the body's sensitivity to estrogen. Many women find that they no longer need estrogen at all after a few months using the progesterone cream (Ref 2).

Heart Disease:  In regards to heart disease, hormones are no match for lifestyle changes.  “Dr. Dean Ornish has shown that a combination of a low-fat, vegetarian diet, mild exercise, stress reduction and smoking cessation is powerful enough to  reverse heart disease in 82% of patients in one year” (Ref 3).   Cholesterol only exists in animal proteins, so eliminating these from the diet would also help lower cholesterol.  Fiber, only found in plant foods, helps remove cholesterol from the body and reduces the amount of cholesterol the liver makes.

References (check these articles for much more information!)

1.     www.pcrm.org/news/commentary020725.html 3.  www.cancerproject.org/survival/factors/hrt.php

2. www.cancerproject.org/survival/factors/menopause.php 4.  www.pcrm.org/health/PDFs/chol_heartdisease.pdf