TO HORMONE OR NOT TO HORMONE?
Hormone Replacement: As Risks Emerge, Natural and Herbal Alternatives Gain Appeal

By Tammy Born, D.O.

Menopause. Each year, millions of women experience the onset of menopause and remain more confused than ever. What is the best way to treat the stages and symptoms of menopause? Traditionally, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been the method of choice for treatment.

Everyone wants to fight aging, and everyone wants to battle potential problems like memory loss, lowered sex drive, irritability, and osteoporosis – the common problems associated with menopause. Hormone replacement therapies have served as a widespread and popular method for dealing with these concerns. However, anyone following the news over the past year would be understandably leery about these treatments.

Recent studies link synthetic hormone replacement therapies like those combining estrogen and progestin to increased risks of breast cancer, heart attack, stroke and blood clots.

And, with this recent publicity about possible cancer and other health risks associated with synthetic hormone replacements, it is a great time for women to consider natural and herbal alternatives.

In light of these recent studies, some doctors are looking at new approaches to dealing with menopause. Nature is providing some answers. Herbal and natural alternatives may be safer and even more effective at controlling the symptoms associated with PMS and menopause.

The estrogen replacement therapies my colleagues and I utilize benefit patients in a variety of ways and are chosen by focusing on individual patients’ needs and convenience. Using some forms of HRT, a natural "cycle" effect of estrogen is achieved.

We also use hormone implants as the preferred method of estrogen therapy for those who have had a hysterectomy. Hormone implants have been used by doctors all over the world for more than 40 years and, are considered by some doctors, to be the most effective. With this method, we place two to four small estrogen pellets under the skin of the abdomen to provide long-term hormone replacement. Individual patient requirements determine when to repeat the implants.

Women approaching menopause (beginning as early as the mid-30s), post-menopausal women, and those who have had "total" hysterectomies often suffer from a variety of problems due to the disruption of female hormone levels. While hot flashes, insomnia, fatigue, mental fogginess, irritability and arthritis-like aches and pains are the most disruptive to daily living, the potential for developing osteoporosis is one of the most ominous results of diminished estrogen production.

The gradual, abnormal loss of bone density accelerated by menopause is why so many women become stooped and frail as they age. It is estimated that one out of every four women over the age of 45 is affected to some degree by the disease.

Osteoporosis is treatable and largely preventable through proper diet, exercise, and hormone replacement therapy – combining natural and prescriptive agents as necessary.

Studies show proper nutrition and moderate exercise can prevent or reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and possibly Alzheimer's disease. My colleagues and I work with many technically advanced laboratories to scientifically measure the protective levels of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other essential nutrients found in the body - the very substances that may prevent heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and much more.

Patients with a family history of breast cancer may also want to consider non-HRT or natural alternatives. In addition, women who have had breast cancer and take Tamoxofin (or other hormone receptor-blocking drugs) cannot use traditional hormone replacement therapy. Consult with a knowledgeable doctor about safe and natural alternatives for menopausal symptoms. It not a battle you have to fight on your own.

Even as the news emphasizes risks of various treatments, it is not necessary to give in to the symptoms of menopause that these treatments were designed to prevent. Natural and herbal treatments are readily available, and certainly provide an effective and safe alternative.

Tammy Born D.O. is owner of Born Preventive Health Care Clinic in Grand Rapids. Born Clinic, with more than 20,000 patients, provides a combination of traditional and alternative health care, including nutritional programs, supplements and cutting-edge treatments like chelation, Prolotherapy, laser surgery, ultraviolet blood treatments and acupuncture.