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Estrogen is bone-sparing. Testosterone and Progesterone are bone-building. This difference is not widely-discussed in the medical community, and pharmaceutical companies must like it that way. For one thing, there's the whole taboo of women and testosterone, even though our bodies do naturally make a small amount. Also, bio-identical progesterone (not to be confused with synthetic versions called Progestins) is available without prescription.
The companies that manufacture estrogen would rather have women buy their product, so the numerous studies (funded in a large part by these same companies) talk all about their products but not any alternatives. Educational conferences attended by doctors often are sponsored by said companies.
Bio-identical hormones (meaning they're the exact molecular structure to what's in our bodies) cannot be patented because they are naturally occurring, so there's no profit in them, so drug companies alter the molecular structure to make it different enough to patent. Our bodies can be very picky about these differences, which is why many women suffer side effects. I don't write this to scare anyone, nor do I believe drug companies are evil. I just think it's important to understand as much as we can how our bodies work and what we put in our bodies. We must be our own patient advocates.
EVERY woman should read this book: Natural Hormone Balance for Women by Uzzi Reiss, MD It's an easy interesting read that talks about how our hormones work (or don't) and covers all the different age ranges. It was a life-changer for me!
The books by John R. Lee, MD are excellent as is his website: http://www.johnleemd.com/index.html
Another good resource: http://www.tahoma-clinic.com/
The companies that manufacture estrogen would rather have women buy their product, so the numerous studies (funded in a large part by these same companies) talk all about their products but not any alternatives. Educational conferences attended by doctors often are sponsored by said companies.
Bio-identical hormones (meaning they're the exact molecular structure to what's in our bodies) cannot be patented because they are naturally occurring, so there's no profit in them, so drug companies alter the molecular structure to make it different enough to patent. Our bodies can be very picky about these differences, which is why many women suffer side effects. I don't write this to scare anyone, nor do I believe drug companies are evil. I just think it's important to understand as much as we can how our bodies work and what we put in our bodies. We must be our own patient advocates.
EVERY woman should read this book: Natural Hormone Balance for Women by Uzzi Reiss, MD It's an easy interesting read that talks about how our hormones work (or don't) and covers all the different age ranges. It was a life-changer for me!
The books by John R. Lee, MD are excellent as is his website: http://www.johnleemd.com/index.html
Another good resource: http://www.tahoma-clinic.com/
