Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy for Women

Natural hormones, also referred to as bioidentical hormones, are made from plants and animals and are used as a form of Hormone Replacement Therapy, or HRT. This type of treatment is also called BHRT, which stands for Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy. While natural, the components of BHRT are structurally manufactured in a laboratory and usually compounded, or mixed together, in a pharmacy. Understanding the basics of Natural HRT helps women make an informed choice in their hormone therapy.

The Facts

• As people age, their hormone levels usually decrease. Women can also have fluctuating hormones at any age. Individual hormone levels go up and down regularly, so there is not a test for a normal level of a particular hormone, but rather a range and a ratio.
  Many people are unaware that women have testosterone as well. There is usually a stability to these hormones, but they can become out of balance or insufficient, and that is when HRT is necessary. Replacing hormones can be done with synthetic hormones or natural hormones.

Features

• Hormones stimulate and produce responses in cells by sending chemical messages through the circulatory system. Most of our emotional and physical reactions are related to specific hormones. The most common hormones for HRT include estrogen, progesterone. Estrogen is actually a group of hormones and includes estriol, estrone and estradiol.

Benefits

• Natural hormones work very differently than synthetic hormones. Both are made in a lab, but BHRT hormones are made to be molecularly exactly like the ones our body makes. Synthetic hormones cause reactions similar to natural hormones but they are not structurally the same.

Function

• Almost every system and function in our bodies is regulated by hormones. Substitute hormones don't demonstrate the same physiological activity as natural ones. On the molecular level, hormones work with receptors, similar to a key fitting into a lock, according to international hormone authority Dr. John Lee, MD. Sometimes synthetic hormones can "unlock" the receptor and sometimes they can't. Unnatural hormones can also produce unwanted side effects.

Where to Find Natural HRT

• Pharmacists that make individualized prescriptions are called compounding pharmacists. Some can even test hormone levels and ratios. This type of pharmacy is a resource of information on HRT and they also work with natural hormone prescribing doctors. Compounding pharmacists can help women choose the best method of individual natural hormone replacement therapy.