Do we have the right to question our doctors when they prescribe hormones?
To the publisher:
My name is Sue Visser and I am a health researcher. I have been contributing to publications, TV and radio networks and public activities for over twelve years. I have a passion for natural medicine and challenge the way patients are treated within various health protocols. At all times we need to know what our best options are in order to restore and maintain a harmonious equilibrium within the human body. Disease has a cause and is the result of erroneous thinking and actions. To restore the body, we first need to reset the mind. Drugs and medicines are not going to ever raise your consciousness of a healthy mind, body and soul. The truth about the way we function and how we can easily stay healthy and happy will set you free of disease to a large extent. To some, this may seem like hard work but I share my passion for helping people to help themselves to health with people from around the globe.
The following information is for those who wish to know more about reproductive and menopausal (HRT) hormones. Do we need to replace them and why are they being so freely prescribed? What are the repercussions of tipping them into a body that is usually quite able to produce and balance them once a few adjustments have been made? Is there a natural way to get through the menopause and alleviate hot flushes, even without progesterone cream or bio identical hormones? This information is not for diagnosis or treatment. Consult with a sympathetic practitioner for help.
Additional information is available at: www.naturefresh.co.za
Do we have the right to question our doctors when they prescribe hormones?
By Health researcher: Sue Visser.
It is not natural to live on slimming drugs, antidepressants and painkillers and then have to replace hip joints and hormones. So why not have the courage to say no, to be natural and to come alive!
Form puberty to childbirth and on to the menopause, doctors prescribe drugs to ‘treat” perfectly natural processes. Why? Nobody seems to question it anymore. It’s easy to take painkillers for menstrual cramps, hormone tablets for “pimples” and epidurals for labour pains. When it comes to birth control and the menopause; hormones are prescribed. With a selection of natural or synthetic hormones, modern medicine prevents pregnancies, hot flushes, osteoporosis and dry vaginas by prescription. This convenient trend is certainly not natural. Women are inclined to be considered as subservient to male superiority and blindly accept medical opinions from men who do not have their best interests at heart. Men don’t get hot flushes, heavy periods or cramps. They don’t bear children or breastfeed them. We do, so why don’t we listen to our bodies and seek out the truth about hormones and how we can control them ourselves?
I tend to ask awkward questions like: what is natural about prescribing hormones to a woman who complains of hot flushes at the end of her breeding cycle? Twelve years ago I was publicly slated by the osteoporosis foundation for stating that calcium supplements should contain magnesium. That was even before my comment about the sugar coated fluoride tablets they were prescribing. “What about boron?” I once asked at a talk. Stony silence: turned heads, glares. They were telling me it was preferable for women to take HRT (a cocktail of horse’s urine and chemicals) and to maintain their menstrual cycles well into their sixties as this would prevent osteoporosis and save them from the dreaded hot flushes. Ten years later they advised women to come off these drugs because of dangerous side effects like: heart attacks, strokes, morbid obesity and cancer. They finally agreed that calcium supplements should include magnesium and vitamin D. However, the real link between osteoporosis and systemic acidity was never mentioned.
The trend to oppose oestrogen with progesterone raised further questions in my mind. Then along came “nature identical hormones”. The truth is that most of us can make all the hormones we need ourselves, at any stage of our lives. To introduce them as natural is not natural. It never will be natural to ignore the cause of a hormonal shortfall and treat it in an artificial way. Go as nature identical as you like, but what gives one the right to assume hormones should prescribed before correcting the imbalances within the endocrine system? Do we examine hormonal output in a scientific way to determine the exact shortfall or do we rely on “obvious” indications that HRT is the answer and give it anyway. A top up of boron or a few herbs and key nutrients may have restored the natural harmony without any side effects but how would we know?
Relief from hot flushes is the hard selling angle that most women fall for. Little do they understand that this is only a temporary phase and it can be totally alleviated without any medical or hormonal intervention? Many women refuse to take HRT when they read up about the contra-indications and side effects. They bravely endure hot flushes for years at a time if they are not aware of natural alternatives to use. *I advise such ladies to chew a slice or two of raw sweet potato and absorb the juice in their mouth for at least 10 minutes. Believe it or not: it immediately raises progesterone levels by stimulating pituitary activity. The hot flush is relieved. Keeping up the treatment a few times a day for nearly a week is usually enough to make your transition after ovulation ceases.
An excess of unwieldy oestrogen metabolites causes thyroid dysfunction, heart problems, strokes, depression, bloating and weight gain. Modern combinations of HRT now include synthetic progesterone, to oppose oestrogen overloads; but the growing trend towards “natural progesterone” is also questionable. People gleefully slap it onto their skin, believing in the merits of taking a natural hormone in preference to a synthetic one. The fact remains that introducing any hormone is not natural and not without repercussions. There is no guarantee that you can ever supply just the right amount as and when required. When you artificially introduce a hormone you shut down your own production. You become dependent on hormone replacement. If your levels rise excessively, there is no control, especially if the liver is congested with toxins and is lacking in essential nutrients. Even taking nature identical hormone combinations is an equally unnatural thing to do because we fail to address the underlying cause of the hormonal deficiency. Symptoms are suppressed and the real cause remains untreated. Within the ethics of natural medicine such a concept cannot be accommodated.
It is not safe to continue with HRT for more than ten years because the risk of getting strokes and heart disease has increased. Too bad you did not know that when you started. Too bad that all that oestrogen has dampened your libido, clotted your blood and your bones continue to demineralise. You have gained a lot of extra weight and feel puffy, bloated and depressed. Cancer has been diagnosed. Is this natural? You stop the HRT and feel even worse because you have lost your ability to make the compensatory hormones yourself. A congested liver prevents excessive oestrogen and other anabolic steroids from regularly being broken down and excreted. Instead, it returns to your bloodstream. You are now worse off than before. If your doctor prescribes more hormones in preference to helping you to restore your internal hormonal equilibrium, do your own homework. Don’t risk cancer, heart disease or be uncomfortable if you can discover the truth about what really keeps women healthy, vibrant and beautiful.
We are quite capable of maintaining our hormonal health throughout our lives and becoming graceful grannies. With the help of more truthful aspects of natural medicine we can also teach our daughters the tradition of natural health and beauty without cruelty – to us as women. We can easily take supplements, keep our bodies slim and lithe and enjoy an abundance of natural hormone balancing foods
* At 55 I have a positive bone density and sail through the menopause, chewing a raw sweet potato instead of taking HRT. This is a triumph after 10 years of intensive research, around the world. For references, consult my articles on the sweet potato research and Sue’s kitchen cure for hot flushes. The Nature Fresh sweet potato tincture has already been on the market for 10 years!
Part 2:
Learn about “good” or “bad” oestrogen and help yourself to prevent cancer.
Introduction: Being overwhelmed by excess hormones is as bad as not having enough of the ones you need.
Today we have a lot more oestrogen coursing through our systems than a few years ago because it is coming in from the environment and artificial molecules that behave like oestrogen have become part of our food chain. Birth control pills and inappropriate forms of HRT have increased the confusion. Within this group of hormones lies a huge contradiction: our life depends on oestrogen, yet it can kill us at the same time. It would help to know more about the oestrogen profile so we can increase the beneficial types and eliminate the harmful ones. Common metabolic problems that involve the thyroid gland and reproductive system have a sinister link to oestrogen imbalances, so let’s sort out the differences:
If you are not so sure about your hormonal profile, have it checked out:
A simple blood or urine test can help us to monitor our hormonal levels. It is a harmless and easy way to screen for potential breast, cervical, uterine or prostate cancer metabolites way before the lumps or swelling show up. Consult a pathologist who can process your samples and discuss the results with you. The encouraging effects of dietary improvements and herbs or supplements will become evident within a few weeks.
The 2/16 hydroxy oestrone test tells us if we are in the danger zone: higher levels of 16-alpha hydroxy estrone and lower levels of 2-hydroxy estrone indicate more cell proliferation and therefore an increased chance of cancer. Low levels of 2-methoxyestradiol are also one of first indications of cancer vulnerability – way before breast exams and pap smears! We can directly improve these ratios with special foods and natural supplements, as you will soon see.
Harmful oestrogen: what it does and where it comes from:
1 Xenestrogens are hormonally active synthetic compounds that come from chemicals, pesticides and plastics. They latch onto oestrogen receptors and instigate activity that overwhelms thyroid hormones, increases the size and number of fat cells and stimulates cell proliferation and blood clotting. We are familiar with the outcome: the obesity epidemic, increased heart disease and strokes, cancer, depression and thyroid problems.
8 Contraceptives and HRT. Synthetic estrogens also include oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy (HRT). They are not all made from beneficial forms of oestrogen and can do more harm than good, especially if your liver is not excreting them at regular intervals. Nature identical hormones may also cause harm in the long run if they are inappropriately administered. This is why a full analysis of a 24 hour urine sample should first be undertaken.
2 16- hydroxy estradiol and 16-alpha hydroxy estrone are only required during the rapid growth phase of pregnancy. At other times they become harmful estrogens because they have aggressive effects on cell proliferation and blood clotting. An acidic constitution, nutrient deficiencies and a bad diet cause an excess of them at other times.
3 Testosterone converts to oestrogen. Oestrogen is produced by means of the aromatisation of testosterone. In both men and women, this can lead to an excess of harmful estrogens should zinc be lacking in the equation. This imbalance causes a characteristic increase in girth, thighs and breast tissue. An excess of free unbound testosterone converts to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and its subsequent affinity for cell receptors in some ladies leads to symptoms of androgenisation: facial hair, acne, infertility and male type baldness.
4 Food sources: oestrogen is used to increase the weight and bulk of animals for the food market. Chicken necks especially, are sites where such injections are given. Some milk is known to contain traces of oestrogen. To be safe, the meat on your plate should be exclusively free range organic produce, with the fatty bits removed.
5 Water: some water sources can contain recycled hormones, especially if sewerage is involved. Ladies who take HRT leave their legacy in this type of water. It affects humans as well as animals adversely. Reverse osmosis water is the safest to drink at home, because commercially bottled water can contain estrogenic compounds that leech out of the plastic if the bottles are used too often or when we freeze the water inside them. *
6 Plastics that contaminate food: plastic cling wrap and plastic containers that touch hot, fatty foods infuse synthetic oestrogen molecules into the food.
7 Natural foods and herbs can have potent estrogenic effects because some of them contain the more active metabolites that stimulate cell proliferation and cause blood clotting. For instance: a teaspoon of fennel powder is used to stop a prolonged or excessive menstrual flow by adding more oestrogen to the equation. Chewing fennel seeds all day does more than freshen breath and break up gas! Pregnant women are advised to stay away from most herbs due to the effects they exert on the womb. This includes innocent sounding aromatherapy oils like: fennel, clary sage, rosemary or lavender. When in doubt, leave it out.
*(Please note that plastic water bottles do not contain dioxins as stated by numerous internet rumours. Dioxins are chlorine based and are carcinogens that come from burning plastics, chlorine and organic substances together at very high temperatures, as we do in incinerators, garbage dumps and the paper industry. These fumes are seriously harmful to pregnant women, so avoid them.)
Beneficial oestrogen that is essential to our health:
2- hydroxy estradiol and 2- hydroxy estrone provide beneficial effects like: mood and memory enhancement, maintenance of bone density and protection from cancer.
2-methoxyestradiol is a potent anti-cancer form of oestrogen, especially for prostate, bone and breast cancer. It is derived from 17-betaestradiol that is broken down in the liver to produce this beneficial methylated form.
Oestrogen dominance: is thus better described as an imbalance of estrogens and progesterone. The symptoms include: breast swelling and tenderness, abdominal cramping, backaches, bloating, headaches/migraines, irritability, anxiety, depression, food cravings, brain fog, sleep difficulties, and/or lowered sex drive. This symptom picture is not exclusive to females, as you can see. In males, testosterone aromatises into oestrogen, so they are not exempt from hormone imbalances and the threat of prostate cancer. Ladies with endometriosis, premenstrual stress, menopausal discomfort, polycystic ovaries, cancer, fibroids and menstrual irregularities will definitely benefit from this advice.
Balance your own hormones and help to ward off cancer with this natural protocol:
Keeping the level of beneficial oestrogen above that of cancer stimulating oestrogen is critical to our health. Unlike just opposing oestrogen with progesterone supplements, these natural techniques help us to first eliminate the harmful estrogens, get more of the beneficial estrogens and then increase our own progesterone levels from within. By following these steps that are recommended by natural health experts we can improve our hormonal health.
1 Adequate iodine supplementation: Salt is insufficient as a source of iodine and we tell people to cut down on salt. Iodine is no longer included in commercial bread, either. Many people are allergic to organic iodine found in sea foods and kelp. This is why supplementation recommended by orthomolecular experts is 1-2 mg of iodine daily: =1 or 2 drops of Lugol’s iodine in a little water. Excess iodine is excreted daily in the urine, so there is no iodine build-up. For more information about iodine safety, test kits and tablets; the following website is helpful: WWW.CPMEDICAL.NET Iodine helps to keep levels of beneficial oestrogen higher than harmful oestrogen. Breast tissue also contains iodine. It is essential to help prevent breast fibroids, cancer and tumours. When the thyroid gland is deficient in iodine, estrogens can overwhelm the thyroid receptors.
2 The brassica vegetables : broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, bok choy and cauliflower need to be consumed as raw as possible and chewed well. Make a daily selection from this list. They contain chemicals like indole-3-carbinol and Diindolymethane (DIM) that encourage the breakdown of strong oestrogen into more beneficial forms. Supplements are available from specialist outlets. We can also add these vegetables and their stems to the juices we make. (Ironically, they are goitrogenic - they can lower your iodine status and hence impair thyroid function. To be on the safe side, we need to consider iodine supplementation to compensate.)
3 Citrus fruit, berries and nuts – especially almonds and walnuts help to lower harmful oestrogen whilst increasing the beneficial group and also contain some extra tumour busting chemicals. They help to raise levels of the cancer fighting 2-methoxyestradiol. This hormone is dependent on green leafy vegetables and legumes as well, so be sure to include them in meals every day. Supplements that deliver additional methyl donors are: methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), s-adenosylethionine (SAMe), vitamin B12 and betaine. Stress reduces your availability of methyl donors.
4 Maintain a healthy liver. Harmful metabolites like 16-alpha hydroxy estrones are converted by the liver into less harmful estriol and if that gets excessive, it is completely disassembled and excreted via the bowels. If the liver is congested, the unprocessed oestrogen returns to the bloodstream. (When too much oestrogen is detected in the bloodstream, your normal production is shut down for a while. Women who squeal for oestrogen (HRT) in this situation because they experience hot flushes or headaches should rather attend to the health of their liver.)
Vegetarians excrete more oestrogen than meat eaters. Eating ground-up flaxseeds and taking Omega 3 oils, Vitamin B supplements or Brewer’s yeast speeds up the process.
Extra supplementation with Calcium D-glucarate (CDG) for this purpose is critical during breast cancer treatment as well as to help prevent it. Regular flushing out of the liver and gallbladder helps to excrete excess oestrogen more efficiently as it is bound to bile acids. Take some milk thistle and antioxidants if you have other liver problems.
5 Chasteberry (Vitex agnus Castus) when administered in tincture form, this herb works directly with dopamine receptors in the pituitary gland, helping to lower prolactin and increase progesterone during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. A lack of Vitamin B6 causes excessive prolactin with: heavy or sensitive breasts, bloating, water retention, hot flushes and declining levels of progesterone. Vitamin B6 in larger doses of 50mg is a fantastic diuretic!
6 Boost progesterone. Herbal tinctures like: Chasteberry and Black Cohosh help to stimulate the release of progesterone. Supplementation with boron, Vitamin B6, calcium and magnesium complete the equation. A completely natural tip is to chew a golf ball sized chunk of raw sweet potato every day. According to the ladies who do this, the hot flushes ease off and usually stop altogether, once their progesterone levels normalise. It also eases cramps.
7 Block the vulnerable oestrogen receptors. Red Clover and Black Cohosh extracts can target the alpha oestrogen receptors that are vulnerable to cancer stimulus. They latch onto only a small percentage of the docking sites and thus block off the “divide and multiply” signal. They are called selective oestrogen receptor modulators (SERMS). Taking these herbs in tincture form ensures a rapid intake by the bloodstream to activate this response. (Tablets or capsules are not so direct and are subject to being broken down and excreted: because that is what a healthy liver does to hormones!) Stinging nettle and saw palmetto have a more aggressive effect on the alpha-oestrogen receptor and knock off the offending hormone that is thrown back into the bloodstream.
8 Vigorous exercise expels more than just oestrogen: 30 minutes of exercise every second day is said to decrease the risk of all cancers by as much as 30%. Exercise speeds up a sluggish metabolism, helps the elimination of bad oestrogen and releases the ‘feel good hormones” known as endorphins. In many cases it also boosts libido.
9 Alkalinize as much as possible. Obviously we need to avoid sugar, trans-fats, saturated fat, refined carbohydrates, caffeine, alcohol and too much red meat. One reason is that these substances make one acidic, another that they interfere with the production of beneficial hormones. Limit quantities of refined white starch, eggs, fish and meat and have much larger and more frequent helpings of all the hormone friendly foods every day: the brassica vegetables, green leafy vegetables, legumes, citrus, berries and nuts. Sprouting your lentils and eating half a cupful a day adds additional amounts of antioxidants, trace elements and much needed B-vitamins. Adequate water intake assists with alkalinity as does Celtic sea salt and Himalayan salt. Throw away sodium chloride and antacid tablets. Heartburn will decrease when you eat more leafy vegetables (for magnesium) and cut down on acid forming foods. Calcium citrate supplements also assist with alkalinity. To upgrade your calcium status the stomach acid needs to intensify. Take a betaine-hydrochloric acid supplement as it also helps to digest all the natural roughage from brassica vegetables and greens. Osteoporosis is caused by systemic acidity, so now you know how to prevent it!
10 Monitor your progress and get support. You can benefit from the guidance of a skilled practitioner who understands this type of diet and the use of herbs and supplements or supportive modalities such as acupuncture, biofeedback, BEST, reflexology and aromatherapy. Stress relief has an important role to play in maintaining healthy hormones.
Conclusion:
According to Orthomolecular medicine – “there is no drug on earth that can be of as much benefit as the hormones and other chemicals that exist in the human body.” It is only as a last resort that we would ever need to be treated with substances identical to the ones we can make ourselves. The best and most natural option we have for optimal hormonal health, especially during the menopause is to maintain the production and balance of our own hormones.
References:
Townsend Letter November 2008 page 85. In defence of Estrogen by Phylis J. Bronson PhD
Nutrition & Healing (Dr Jonathan V. Wright) February 2008, March 2008, September 2008, October 2008.
Passage to Power by Leslie Kenton. P74-79)
Stop Breast Cancer in Its Tracks. Extract from Townsend Magazine by Sherry A. Rogers, MD www.townsendletter.com
The Zone and the Anti-ageing Zone by Barry Sears
Townsend letter April 2009. page 48: Optimizing Metabolism by Ingrid Kohlstadt MD, MPH, FACN. page 52: Cervical Cancer By Cindy A. Krueger, page 59: Endometriosis by Marianne Marchese, ND, page 66 The ‘Unimportant’ molecule curing cancer by Jonathan V. Wright, MD.