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Landmark Study Proves HRT too Dangerous
The single biggest question I get at public lectures and through E mail is "Should I take Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) or How do I get off of HRT?" The baby boomers are just starting to enter menopause or peri menopause (over 55 million North American women) and prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy a combination of synthetic estrogen and progestin called HRT are being written in increasing numbers to prevent everything from hot flashes to protection from cardiovascular disease. In Canada HRT is the number three most prescribed drug with 12 million prescriptions written in 2001. In the United States in the year 2000 over 22 million prescriptions were written.
| Did you Know? The following HRT drugs, PremphaseTM (which contains Premarin), PremproTM and Premarin® deplete the body of magnesium, vitamin B6 and zinc. |
Now the study that ends the debate has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and women are being warned of the risks of stroke, heart attack, blood clots and breast cancer. This study of 16,608 women found that the reduction of hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness offered by HRT (PremproTM by Wyeth Ayerst was used in the study) may come with disastrous health consequences. The Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial scheduled to run 8.5 years was abruptly halted at 5.2 years because women in the treatment group had a 26% increased risk of invasive breast cancer. This increased risk was seen around the third year of the study. This is not the first study to show increased risk of breast cancer but this is the one that the scientific community is listening too. I have heard advocates trying to rescue HRT saying it is 'only' 8 women in 10,000 that will get breast cancer as a result of HRT. I would like those making this statement to make it personal - those 8 women could be their mother, sisters, daughters, wife, grandmother and aunts.
The study also concluded that women who took HRT were 41 percent more likely to have a stroke and they also had a 29% increased risk of heart attack and this was in a group of healthy women not at high risk for heart disease. The increased risk of coronary heart disease caused by HRT was seen within the first 1 to 2 years of the study. No longer will women be prescribed HRT for to reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease. The study did show a reduction in the risk of fracture and colorectal cancer but the risks of stroke, heart attack and breast cancer outweigh any benefit for these conditions. Women taking HRT are also at risk of gallbladder and liver disease and blood clots.
We know that women who still have a uterus can't take estrogen alone because it increases her risk of uterine or endometrial cancer dramatically. Estrogen dominance or too much estrogen as mentioned earlier in the newsletter is also cause for concern for everything from endometriosis, heavy periods, weight gain to uterine fibroids. A study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society has also reported a by-product of Premarin® (horse urine derived estrogen) damaged DNA in a way that could cause cancer.
My answer has always been the same. When we weigh the risks and benefits of HRT the risks outweigh the benefits and my answer is say no to HRT. Now the medical doctors will have to admit the same. For the millions of women who have been taking HRT they will now want to detoxify their body of the cancer-causing estrogens. If they are in the throes of menopause they should start to wean off the HRT and at the same time start taking EstroSense, Femmessentials, black cohosh and vitex to help them ease off the drug symptom free. After about two weeks on the nutrients you should be off your HRT.
Hormone balancing therapy (HBT) which combines estrogen detox with other nutrients is a better way to deal with menopausal symptoms. Most women are so nutrient deficient that simply adding a multi-vitamin with minerals and some essential fatty acids reduces the symptoms of menopause and the risk of heart disease and helps to build solid bone. Getting rid of excess carcinogenic estrogens with EstroSenseTM also helps to support the body during times of hormone imbalance. Eating a diet rich in cruciferous vegetables, fermented soy products and ground flaxseeds while reducing alcohol intake and exercising regularly will also benefit.
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