Balance Your Hormones and Keep Them There

The natural decline in female hormones as early age 30 and especially after menopause can produce unpleasant symptoms and medical conditions that put women’s overall health at risk. HRT with the sex hormones estrogen, progesterone, pregnenolone, DHEA and testosterone are prescribed to relieve some of these symptoms. The average age of menopause in the US is 51.

Unfortunately, certain medical histories can limit the hormones a woman can take. The risk may outweigh the benefit. For example, boosting estrogen may prevent osteoporosis in postmenopausal women but Estrogen Replacement Therapy (ERT) may increase the risk for breast cancer in some women.

Benefits of Progesterone for HRT

Low progesterone has been shown to impair verbal memory and overall cognitive function in postmenopausal women.¹ Replacing progesterone may prevent and improve cognitive impairment caused by low progesterone.

Adding progesterone to estrogen replacement treatment may also reduce the risks that ERT therapy alone may pose.

Typically progesterone is added to ERT for women with an intact uterus. This is mainly because estrogen therapy alone may cause abnormal thickening of the uterine lining. This increases the risk for uterine conditions such as endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer. Progesterone may reduce the risk by thinning the uterine lining.²

Additionally, studies show that adding natural progesterone instead of synthetic (conjugated) progestins made from horse mare urine can reduce the risk of breast cancer that ERT alone may cause.³ This means that women with a history of certain estrogen positive cancers or who fear the risks of ERT alone who may be unable to use ERT may have the opportunity is Premarin is an example of a conjugated progestin made from horse mare urine.

The bioidentical progesterone used in this formula is plant-based and produced from diosgenin, an extract of the wild yam. The diosgenin must undergo a 3-step chemical process done in a lab to produce progesterone. Studies show that eating the wild yam is not effective for HRT or ERT.

What Does Progesterone Do In Women?

In premenopausal women progesterone is responsible for the shedding of the uterine lining which results in a woman’s period.

References

¹ Fiore, Kristina Post-Menopause Brain Drain Tied to Progesterone – Estrogen levels after menopause may have no impact on cognitive function, but progesterone levels might, researchers found. MedPage Today. https://www.medpagetoday.com/endocrinology/generalendocrinology/43123 Online: Last Accessed Oct. 15, 2019

² Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health. Progesterone Online: https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a604017.html Accessed Oct. 15, 2019

³ Campagnoli C, Clavel-Chapelon F, Kaaks R, Peris C, Berrino F. Progestins and progesterone in hormone replacement therapy and the risk of breast cancer. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005;96(2):95–108. doi:10.1016/j.jsbmb.2005.02.014