Bioidentical hormones are extracted from plants or animals. The hormones are subsequently changed to make them molecularly the exact same or identical to the hormones that you see in the body. Bio hormones are sometimes used for hormone replacement therapy. Women that are having premenopausal or menopausal symptoms are usually the candidates for bio hormone treatment.
Hormonal changes
This occurs when they’re no longer producing adequate amounts of estrogen and / or progesterone. Bioidentical hormone replacement is very similar to conventional hormone replacement. Unfortunately bioidentical hormones aren’t widely studied in america. This is because drugstore manufactures have very little interest in bioidentical hormones since they can’t be patented. The cause of this is that the FDA considers them natural and a pure substance can’t have a patent.
The drugstore companies instead turn to synthetic compounds to produce hormones which they can patent. Bio hormones have been studied in Europe and have been proven to be safer then synthetic hormones. There are benefits and risk associated with synthetic hormones and bio hormones. Unfortunately more long term studies will need to be performed on bioidentical hormones. Some of the risk associated with artificial hormones have been increased risk of endometrial cancer and a marginally substantial risk of breast cancer.
Side effects
Some other side effects include increased breast density, slightly higher risk of ovarian cancer, blood clots, gallbladder disease and heart attacks. With artificial hormones women may also experience breast pain, nausea, bloating, water retention and unwanted mood swings. Most of these side effects, but not all are contributed to oral estrogen, not estrogen that’s delivered transdermal. Women who suffer from these conditions are more likely to experience side effects from synthetic hormones.
Some of the benefits of bioidentical hormones include the same advantages as synthetic hormones. Quite often bio hormones offer you the benefits without some of the unwanted side effects. Bioidentical hormones are presently being used by some physicians to remove problems that women have as they age and go through different phases of the life. These include the following.
Conclusion
If you decide that you’re interested in bioidentical hormones, it’s strongly recommended that you locate a doctor who’s familiar with adrenal hormones. Not all doctors are knowledgeable about bioidentical hormones and some just use the synthetic form.