A natural hormone supplement is a hormone that is identical to what occurs naturally in the body. Most prescription drugs are not the same as a natural hormone supplement. Why?

In the USA since the late 1800's, U.S. laws allow medicines to be patented only if they are not naturally occurring substances. If a drug company discovers a natural substance that can be used medically, anyone else can also use/make/sell that substance. So for business purposes, what happens is that the pharmaceutical companies create synthetic hormones that are intentionally different from a natural hormone supplement. Examples are Premarin, Prempro and Provera -- these synthetic drugs are different in their molecular structure from the estrogens and progesterone found in the human body.

And the problem with synthetic drugs is -- since they are different from what occurs naturally in the human body, the body treats them differently and the result is often harmful side effects. Studies such as the Women's Health Initiative have concluded that synthetic hormone replacement therapy risks may exceed the benefits! For example, one of the studies conducted by the WHI was for women on synthetic HRT using Prempro, which is a synthetic estrogen plus progestin combination. The study found there was a 41% increase in the incidence of strokes, a 100% increase in the rate of blood clots and for women over 65, a 100% increase in the rate of Alzheimer's disease.

For women, a natural hormone supplement program will use natural natural progesterone and/or natural estrogen. Both hormones are crucial for good health in women. In a normal menstrual cycle, estrogen is the hormone produced for the first 10-12 days of the cycle. Ovulation signals the body to produce progesterone that continues for the next 12 days or so. If there's no pregnancy, estrogen and progesterone levels drop at about day 28 and menstruation begins. However, if there is no ovulation, progesterone is not produced that cycle. This happens frequently today for women in their thirties and forties -- no ovulation and no progesterone, likely resulting in symptoms of hormone imbalance.

If the woman has had a hysterectomy, surgical menopause means the body produces little or no progesterone, creating hormone imbalance. And in postmenopausal women, the production of progesterone ceases as ovulation no longer occurs. However, even after menopause, estrogen production will still be 40 to 60 percent of what it once was.

For men, natural hormone supplement therapy uses natural testosterone, not one of the synthetic testosterone drugs. Testosterone replacement therapy requires the supervision of a physician in the USA.

Using a safer natural hormone supplement such as natural progesterone or natural estrogen is recommended by numerous physicians since these hormones are identical to what occurs in the body, having few or no side effects like the synthetic drugs have. There are reliable online sources of natural hormones. Learn as much as you can about when to use natural hormone supplements to help stay strong, energized, healthy and free from the many symptoms associated with growing old prematurely.

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