It may be tempting to find a fast cure for hot flashes, but consider another perimenopause treatment besides hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT may be affordable and simple, but its long-term dangers outweigh the benefits – not to mention it will probably further exacerbate the symptoms of menopause!
Estrogen Dominance
This outcome occurs because HRT causes estrogen dominance, a state where there is much more estrogen than progesterone in the body. On the other hand, products that are natural for menopause-related symptoms will offer relief from the symptoms without causing estrogen dominance. How is estrogen dominance associated with classic perimenopause treatments?
Studies was premised on the fact that a woman can experience severe health problems if she’s regular or excessive estrogen, but little or no progesterone to balance out estrogen’s effects on the body. Progesterone inhibits estrogen’s effects on the body, e.g. when estrogen increases fat accumulation and weight gain, progesterone burns fat for energy.
For all these reasons, studies indicated that giving progesterone supplements would help menopausal women over estrogen-only HRT. However, this was shunned by the medical community despite mounting evidence against HRT and the harm it causes. Everyone was caught up in the hype of estrogen HRT pushed by pharmaceutical firms. Despite what you may be led to think, HRT boosts unopposed estrogen.
Women Vulnerability
Women these days are extremely vulnerable to getting estrogen dominant, even if they are menopausal. The beauty products and cosmetics we use are laden with xenoestrogenic preservatives – artificial compounds that behave like estrogen when they enter the body. Cows and chickens are also fed estrogen so that they can grow and fatten up quicker. On the other hand, we are not exposed to the exact levels of progesterone. Taking HRT will only skew the balance of progesterone and estrogen, causing estrogen dominance and raising the dangers of various health issues.
HRT Side Effects
Below are just a few of the dangers faced by menopausal women when they take HRT. While restoring your estrogen levels may reduce hot flashes initially, it might also cause greater weight gain, poor sleep patterns, headache, nervousness, and depression if left unopposed. Researchers found that the longer your exposure to estrogens, the higher your risk of fibrocystic breasts (breast cysts) and breast cancer. Menopausal women who used estrogen had a 30% increased risk for breast cancer compared to women who did not take HRT. The risk for breast cancer was 40 percent more among women who took estrogen and progestin (a manmade progesterone). Those who had been taking HRT for more than five years had an elevated risk that improved with their era.
HRT plays a substantial role in the onset of breast cancer, even if progestin is added to balance the estrogen. Studies reveal that an increased risk of blood clots among menopausal women is caused by two things: cigarette smoking and the use of synthetic estrogens. If you’ve got a liver disease, then you need to definitely avoid HRT; estrogen affects the role of the liver enzymes. Research indicates that women taking HRT have double the chance of developing gallstones that need surgical removal. Four to eight out of every one thousand menopausal women will develop uterine cancer due to HRT.
Although the risk of esophageal cancer is diminished when progestin is added, research demonstrates that progestin will put you at risk for breast cancer. Other risk factors such as cigarette smoking, a family history of esophageal cancer, and abnormal uterine bleeding will also increase the odds of HRT-related uterine cancer regardless of the existence of progestin. Unlike the symptoms of menopause, which can be temporary, the side effects of HRT may endure for a lifetime. Avoid those risks and think about making lifestyle modifications or using natural progesterone or phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) for perimenopause and menopause relief.