A recent article in the NY Times discussed the dangers of synthetic hormonal drugs such as Premarin, Provera and the compounded form of the two, distributed by Wyeth under trade name Prempro. Ever since the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), the FDA has come down pretty hard on companies for the manufacture and distribution of the drugs and with good reason. According to extensive studies, the use of synthetic hormonal treatments such as Premarin, although somewhat effective in treating symptoms associated with menopause, can often lead to health complications such as premature heart attacks, blood clots and breast cancer.
Premarin, a concentrated mixture of various chemicals found in horse urine and Provera, a synthetic, chemically modified derivative of progesterone are both extremely dangerous to humans because they are NOT produced naturally by the human body. In fact, ALL synthetic hormones, regardless of their source often pose a myriad of risks because they interfere with the body’s natural production of hormones.
There is however a safer and more natural and effective way to balance your hormones while sparing yourself the damaging side effects. They’re called bioidentical hormones, meaning that they are identical to the hormones that your body would be producing naturally on a molecular and cellular level. Bioidentical hormones are particularly effective when used in conjunction with a customized nutrition and supplement regimen to optimize health and wellness.