Bioidentical Hormones Proven To Be Superior To Synthetics.

PR Log (Press Release) – Aug 03, 2009 – The appearance of Suzanne Somers on the Oprah Winfrey show sparked a lot of ongoing controversy in the mainstream media about the benefits of using bioidentical hormones for hormone replacement therapy instead of synthetics.

Dr. Al Sears, who notes that Somers is the author of several best-selling books on the subject, says that she has “educated herself about the options for HRT" and he writes that he agrees with her that bioidenticals are a better option.

But why does he feel that bioidentical hormones are a better option that the synthetics?

As. Dr. Sears notes in his column (http://www.alsearsmd.com/healthconfidentials/HCE39.html), bioidenticals are safe. He refers to a recent analysis of more than 200 studies that found bioidentical HRT to be both more effective and offer greater health benefits for menopausal women than synthetic hormones. “The study showed that women taking them were less likely to have sleep problems, anxiety, depression and cognitive problems" common side effects of synthetic hormones. And these women had a “reduced risk of breast cancer and superior heart protection,” he writes. He points to a German study that found the effects of the bioidentical estriol to be successful in 92 percent of all cases, with the drug eliminating hot flashes and sweating in 71 percent of the women. Another study of Japanese post-menopausal women who took bioidentical estriol found no side effects in the uterus or breasts of the women.

Conversely, Dr. Sears notes that synthetic HRT drugs have a whole array of reported risks, from:

• chest pain,

• shortness of breath,

• vision problems,

• breast lumps,

• dizziness and

• depression.

“Alleviating the symptoms of menopause can often result in something much, much worse if you take the synthetic form of the drugs,” he points out.

Moreover, a study of the Women’s Health Initiative evaluated women nation-wide who had taken a non-bioidentical estrogen-progestin combination drug called Prempro. The US National Institutes of Health had to cut the study short when their findings showed that the drug resulted in a

• 26% increase in breast cancer,

• 41% increase in strokes,

• 29% increase in heart attacks,

• 100% increase of blood clots in the legs and lungs, and

• increased risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer.

“Your body doesn’t see them (bioidenticals) as foreign matter, whereas synthetic HRT drugs are chemically altered forms of hormones that come from animal waste,” he notes, highlighting that Prempro and Premarin, one of the most widely prescribed HRT drugs, both contain horse urine from pregnant mares.

Dr. Sears stresses before you consider using any form of hormone treatment the importance of first having a physician check levels of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone in order to determine which hormones need replenishing.

Some doctors are unwilling to prescribe bioidenticals, but many are, particularly those who are well informed on the results of clinical trials, and current research findings into synthetics vs. bioidenticals.