Many of the symptoms and side-effects you think are due to menopause and lack of estrogen may in fact be due to progesterone loss and estrogen dominance.
At menopause, estrogen production only drops by 40 to 50%. It doesn't disappear; it just decreases. Because doctors are not measuring progesterone levels accurately, the commonly prescribed treatment for symptoms associated with PMS and menopause is more frequently estrogen, which further imbalances the hormone levels.
It is important that we distinguish natural progesterone from yam extract and from its counterparts in the drug industry - progestins. Although these drugs are commonly referred to as progesterone, this is a misnomer. In some ways they do mimic the effects of progesterone in the body, but in other important ways, they gravely interfere with natural progesterone and can create or exacerbate hormone related health problems and be a primary contributor to the condition referred to as estrogen dominance.
Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance:
- Increased body fat
- Interference with thyroid activity (hypo-thyroid)
- Depression and headaches
- Salt & water retention
- Blood sugar irregularities
- Reduced oxygen in all cells
- Decreased libido (sex drive)
- Loss of zinc & retention of copper
- Excessive blood clotting
- Increased risk: breast cancer
- Reduced vascular tone
- Increased risk: endometrial cancer
- Endometriosis
- Uterine Cramping
- Infertility
- Increased risk: uterine cancer
Where Does Progesterone Deficiency Come From?
According to Dr. John R.Lee of the "Progesterone Research Foundation", it can come from poor diet, pollution and stress. Often, pollutants are fat-soluble,non-biode-gradable,estrogenic substances including out-gassing from carpets and plastics, smoothing or spreading agents that are in salad dressing, spermicidal gel etc. Many are herbicides and pesticides and are non-biodegradable.
Natural progesterone is made by the ovaries prior to menopause, and by the adrenal glands and fat cells after menopause.
Progesterone is required to manufacture the myelin sheath that protects the nerves, which pass through our bodies. Some women on progesterone cream therapy claim a dramatic decrease in aches and pains after 3 months treatment.
Drug companies are seeing record use of their synthetic substances. Some of these substances may contribute to serious health problems.
There's some confusion about natural progesterone being available in Mexican wild yam. The yam molecule can be modified chemically to change the saponin and diosgenin fats, to produce the identical molecule we call progesterone found in the human body. (Progesterone, however, is not found in the yam itself. No amount of eating them will increase your progesterone level.) This molecule can be absorbed completely into the target tissues through the skin. When the female body fails to produce enough progesterone between ovulation and menstruation and during menopause, natural, trans-dermal progesterone cream can address the underlying cause of most symptoms. Because the female body uses natural progesterone to make natural estrogen, a progesterone cream is the safe choice for menstruating and post-menopausal women to establish the correct balance of their two primary female hormones.
The synthetic estrogen hormone produced by pharmaceutical companies can be patented and is a great source of income, but it can have a number of side effects not associated with the natural, unpatented products. These synthetic alterations of the natural progesterone molecule are called progestins, (Provera being one). They are totally foreign to the human body and are not found anywhere in nature. Understandably our metabolism doesn't handle them very well.
The Benefits Of Natural Progesterone Include:
- Helps use fat for energy
- Facilitates thyroid hormone action
- Natural anti-depressant
- Natural diuretic
- Normalizes blood sugar levels
- Restores libido
- Normalizes menstrual cycles
- Normalizes zinc & copper levels
- Normalizes blood clotting
- Helps prevent breast cancer
- Helps prevent endometrial cancer
- Helps prevent ovarian cysts and ovarian cancer
- Precursor for cortisone production (arthritis)
- Stimulates osteoblast cells (osteoporosis reversal)
There is an abundance of material available on this subject. I recommend the following, "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause," by Dr John R. Lee
http://www.johnleemd.com/
