Perhaps there’s no topic of greater confusion to women than the highly publicised introduction of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopause. In a nutshell, the purpose of HRT is to replace hormones that decline from perimenopause onwards. There are various combinations of oestrogen and progesterone (EPT) or oestrogen (ET) only therapies. Delivery systems include patches, creams, tablets or intrauterine devices (IUDs).
HRT is prescribed for symptomatic relief of menopause (hot flushes, loss of libido, vaginal dryness, and insomnia, among others). It may also be prescribed as protection against colorectal cancer and to reduce the risk of diseases associated with oestrogen deficiency such as osteoporosis(prophylactic therapy). Although many women praise the benefits of HRT, it has its negative side which women need to understand in order to make an educated choice. With so many side effects and complications, a woman must think very carefully about the decision to use HRT. Unfortunately, most doctors will tell her that there’s no alternative.
Side effects of HRT
- Undiagnosed vaginal bleeding
- Liver disease
- Coronary artery disease and thrombosis
- Hormone-dependent neoplasms
- Increased risk of breast cancer and endometrial cancer
- Increased body fat and impaired blood sugar control (hypoglycaemia)
- Salt and fluid retention
- Depression and headaches
- Loss of zinc and retention of copper
- Reduced oxygen levels in all cells
- Thickened bile and increased risk of gall bladder disease
- Increased likelihood of fibrocystic breasts and uterine fibroids
- Interference with thyroid activity
- Decreased sex drive
- Excessive blood clotting
- Reduced vascular tone
- Endometriosis, uterine cramping and infertility
- Restraint of osteoclast activity
In order to understand the HRT debate, it is important first to know the female cyclic nature. Traditionally, it has been thought that menopause occurs when the eggs in the ovaries are all used up. However, recent work has shown that menopause is probably not triggered by the ovaries but by the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis in the brain. It seems that both puberty and menopause are actually brain-driven events.
According to Leslie Kenton, author of Passage to Power, “Everybody who is anybody will tell you that menopause is an oestrogen-deficiency disease and that you will need to take more oestrogen as you approach mid-life. What may surprise you is this: not only is most of such commonly given advice on menopause wrong; a great deal of it can be dangerous”. Fortunately, there is another side to the hormone story that can help women of all ages not only attain greater health, but also reclaim a greater sense of power, responsibility and dignity in their lives.
What is the ROOT CAUSE of hormonal imbalances?
For women who already have an issue with hormone metabolism, synthetic or natural hormone replacement is literally poison to the body. The same is true in most cases of chronic hormonal imbalance. If your hormones are out of balance, adding in all of the separate hormones you are deficient in makes zero sense to me. Besides the fact that this is not how we’re meant to keep our hormones balanced, this can be extremely hard on the body, especially the liver and adrenals. Hormonal imbalances have many facets: a sluggish liver, stressed adrenals, blood sugar problems, gut issues, thyroid health and a copper<>iron dysregulation (and these are all connected too!).
How is copper<>iron imbalance related to hormonal health?
In the mineral balancing world, we know that estrogen and copper go hand in hand, just like zinc goes along with testosterone and progesterone. Women are copper dominant and men are zinc dominant. When the liver and adrenals are stressed, they have a VERY hard time keeping copper and zinc balanced.
How to truly fix a hormonal balance
1) Heal your Liver and get that bile flowing!
2) Heal your Adrenals. Copper<>iron dysregulation
3) Reducing environmental toxins is also an essential step to healing your liver and hormones.
4) SLEEP!!!! Sleep is perhaps the number 1 most critical thing needed to heal from every illness.
5) Balance your minerals. As mentioned above, copper<>iron dysregulation is involved in hormonal issues. Get an HTMA and a blood panel details of recommended blood test are available from Thermography Clinic Ireland. HTMA also can give us insight on how well your adrenals, thyroid, blood sugar handling, gut and liver are working all of these components need to be addressed when dealing with Hormone Imbalance.
“You cannot pour from an empty cup.” If you are healing from any illness, you have to focus on yourself as much as you can in order to truly heal. This may be hard for a lot of people but it is crucial!
