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Hormone replacement therapy?

There is a better solution for menopause

Finally researchers have compared women taking hormone replacement drugs with women taking placebo. They have discovered what critics suspected all along. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) causes serious health problems. The Women's Health Initiative study of 16,000 women found a significant increase in the risk of breast cancer (26 % increase), strokes (41 %), heart attacks (29 %), and blood clots (100 %) in the hormone therapy group. The study was halted. A second study found a clear association between HRT and ovarian cancer.

Drug companies and doctors have routinely urged women to take hormones for the duration of their lives following menopause. Now women are seriously rethinking that advice. Estrogen has always been touted for its ability to prevent osteoporosis and relieve symptoms of hot flashes, depression, and insomnia that often accompany the transition of menopause. In the past, drug companies also mistakenly credited HRT with decreasing the incidence of heart disease. That assumption was demolished in several studies. The risk of uterine cancer from taking estrogen has never been disputed.

What are the alternatives to prescription hormones? Instituting a four-step program can reduce the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease and relieve the symptoms associated with the change in hormones.

1. Weight-bearing, aerobic exercise four to five times per week in the form of walking, running, biking, or weight training stimulates bone growth and decreases the risk of heart disease.

2. Take 1200 mg. of calcium per day, but not calcium carbonate, which is not absorbed well. A good calcium supplement (such as calcium citrate) should also contain magnesium in a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium, plus boron, and manganese. Calcium supplementation will slow the rate of bone loss by 30 to 50 percent. Oyster shell (calcium carbonate) and hydroxyapatite as calcium sources may be contaminated with lead. Consider taking black cohosh (cimicifuga as a standardized extract equivalent to 1 mg of triterpenes twice/day) and vitamin E (800 IU of mixed tocopherols) to relieve hot flashes.

3. Avoid soft-drinks, caffeine, red meat, soy beans and soy products, refined sugar products, and alcohol, all of which deplete calcium.

4. Seek treatment from a qualified homeopathic practitioner and/or an acupuncturist. Both homeopathy and Oriental medicine are effective in relieving symptoms. These practitioners will initiate an individual treatment plan based on the specific symptoms and imbalance. Treatment by an acupuncturist may include Chinese herbal formulas, natural progesterone, and other supplements.

For a qualified homeopath: www.homeopathicdirectory.com

For an acupuncturist: nationallywww.aaom.org or in California www.csomaonline.org