Bioidentical Hormones: Keepin’ It Real

Some of our mothers and grandmothers swore by traditional hormone replacement therapy. Some didn’t. My own mother never took anything for her perimenopause.

Looking back, I can’t help but wonder if she had, would life have been less tumultuous for me?  She suffered.  In a huge way.  Consequently, so did everyone around her.  But, such are the realities of perimenopause for so many women.

The Status Quo

Until the last decade or so, no one really questioned hormone replacement therapy for menopause.  It was like birth control pills or even aspirin.  It was available, millions used it and so, that was that.  That was that, of course, until medical reports began to surface that the synthetic hormones present in traditional HRT raised one’s risk for breast cancer, blood clots, strokes and heart attacks, to name just a few. Though the risks of strokes, blood clots and heart attacks were not news, the breast cancer connection became the deal breaker for many women. As a result, women began to seek alternative treatments and the bioidentical hormone industry was born.

Show Me The Money

Not willing to let go of its monetary grip on the very lucrative market of HRT, the pharmaceutical industry, along with the American Medical Association and others with a vested financial interest in the industry, launched an assault rivaled only by the Spartans against those promoting bioidenticals hormones and more natural alternatives to synthetic hormones.

I’ve begun to look at the traditional HRT versus bioidenticals debate much like our political arena.  Both sides are slinging mud as fast as they can pick it up and both sides want to prevail it seems, at all costs.  However, I do believe there are sincere, good-willed people on both sides of the aisle in our political debate and I also believe there are sincere people on both sides of the debate of HRT versus bioidenticals as well.

Brown Baggin’ It

Having grown up in the sixties and come into my own in the seventies, I’m no stranger to Birkenstocks, tofu and hairy underarms.

I’ve spent my fair share of time in health food stores, eastern philosophy book stores and burned plenty of incense while I piously ate organic millet and admired the natural growth of hair on my legs.

Though I no longer wear Birkenstocks, have hairy legs or underarms, I do believe there is some merit to be found in more natural, organic sources of anything that we put in our bodies.

However, I do not presume that every product on the market that is packaged in a nice, brown paper bag and called “organic’” is better for me either.  And to have marketers of such products think me stupid enough to believe that, simply insults my intelligence.  But, that’s another rant for another day.

The Questions We Should Ask

So, what about these bioidenticals?  Are they or are they not superior?  And if so, how do we know that we are getting a better, healthier and safer product than what we will get in traditional HRT?  These are the questions that I believe all women are asking and frankly, it’s damn overwhelming.

In a recent article printed at News-Leader.com this question is explored once again with compelling evidence presented for both sides of the issue. One of the first topics tackled in the article is the moniker “bioidentical” and what it really means.  According to one researcher quoted:

“Bioidentical” is a marketing term that has no accepted medical meaning. Its implied benefit is not unique to alternative remedies; many prescription drugs contain hormones that chemically match the estrogen and progesterone made naturally by the body.

Okay, well,  I don’t know about you, but this elicited a really big “hmmm” from me.  Mainly because this is exactly what I would expect a medical doctor or someone in the pharmaceutical industry to say.

So, I did a little more investigating and  ran across another article at The Synergy Integrative Medical Center for Women and here is what they had to say:

What does bioidentical mean?
Bioidentical means the structure of the hormone you are taking exactly matches what your body produces. They are the most natural hormones available to women because the chemical structure mirrors precisely what is made in your ovary, adrenal or thyroid. There are no extra chemical groups hanging off various sites of the molecule that ever so slightly tweak the function of the drug as in synthetic hormones. Natural, or bioidentical, hormones cannot be patented. That’s why there is little interest in them from the pharmaceutical companies — bioidentical hormones have a low profit margin.

Are bioidentical hormones natural?
This is a question that always generates some angst from women considering hormone therapy. The answer is no, they are not natural. All hormones — compounded, patented, or synthesized — are made from various sources in a lab. Usually these are plant-based sources like yams or soy.

For example, there are no ovarian donors who give up their ovaries in order for natural hormones to be extracted from them. It also stands to reason that you cannot mash up a yam and place it on your leg to get rid of your hot flashes. The yam has to go to the lab and be crafted into estradiol or other hormones in order to be recognized and utilized by your body.

So, it is a semantics issue. Bioidentical hormones are derived from a natural source then developed into the same compound your body makes; for example, estrogen or progesterone from the ovary, and dhea from the adrenal gland. (you can read the rest of the article here)

The Take-Away Value

Here’s what I like about this particular article:  There’s no voo-doo science here and no one is proclaiming that something is what it’s not.  In other words, yes, bioidenticals come from a lab just like your traditional synthetic hormones do.  They are both synthetic I guess you could say, in that they come from a lab.  But the raw materials from which the bioidenticals are synthesized from are what is different.

That we’ve derived medicines and pharmaceuticals from plants is nothing new. We have thousands upon thousands of common medicines that we consume regularly that originate in plants. So, bioidentical hormones that are produced from yams, let’s say, is not a new, revolutionary idea.

The significance here is that compared to traditional HRT, the bioidenticals come from a better and chemically superior source.  End of story.

Now, what’s the take-away value?  Do your research.  If you come to the conclusion that bioidentical hormone therapy is for you, then make your decision and apologize to no one. (this is rapidly becoming my mantra )  Likewise, if you are not completely comfortable with bioidentical hormones and prefer traditional hormone replacement therapy, then feel comfortable going with that route as well. I am a firm believer in moderate, middle of the road points of view.

I am not anti-traditional medicine in any form or fashion.  I have a cabinet full of it and I take whatever I need when I feel it necessary.  However, I will not exclude another alternative based simply on one very biased industry’s point of view either.  I think there is something valuable in bioidenticals and as educated, informed women, I say let’s look at all of our alternatives.