After all the hype, it's becoming clearer to conventional medicine that the benefits of estrogen simply don't outweigh the risks. That is why it's no mystery to me hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for women is loaded with dangerous side effects.
An analysis of some 40,000 women involved in 28 clinical trials has discovered another important reason women should stop taking HRT: Women who use these therapies increase their risk of stroke by 29 PERCENT and the likelihood of a fatal or disabling stroke by 56 PERCENT. The effect is seen in ischaemic strokes, caused by blockages of blood flow to the brain, not in the less common form of hemorrhagic stroke, caused by bleeding within the brain.
In fact, the University of Nottingham research team recommended patients with a high risk of stroke should stop taking HRT unless there is a strong medical reason not to do so!
Remember, synthetic progestins like Provera are responsible for nearly all the side effects and should rarely be used in post-menopausal hormone therapy. And, the most popular estrogen women use -- Premarin -- comes from horses. What the FDA and most doctors and patients do not realize, however, is that bioidentical hormone supplements can actually optimize your body's own natural hormones so they reach a target level that corresponds to the reference ranges for healthy young adults.
times.online.co.uk January 7, 2005
British Medical Journal January 7, 2005 (free PDF article)