Bio-identical Hormone HRT - Women Reasons women should consider taking bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.- Bio-identical hormonal replacement is natural in two respects:  natural in that these hormones are the exact molecule produced by the ovaries, and natural in that they come from natural sources.  Bio-identical hormonal replacement replaces the exact hormones that a woman has produced.  They are also natural in that the base molecule for the hormones come from natural sources such as yams and soya products.  These natural products are then pharmaceutically refined to be the exact  same molecule as produced by the ovaries.  Synthetic hormones should never be used, as these are recognized as foreign substances by the body.  This is one reason that horse urine estrogens, which formerly were the number one prescribed product in the United States, are not tolerated by many women. Originally, hormonal replacement therapy in women was based more on controlling post-menopausal physical symptoms, such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness.  Estrogen was used alone to control these symptoms, and its use led to finding other positive benefits as well as some associated risks.  But first, let us look at some of the benefits in replacing the hormones the female body has produced throughout her life, and the hormones that are used by every cell in the human body. Recently released results from studies done on synthetic HRT have called into question many of the long-held beliefs about HRT in general. One of the primary reasons for HRT has long been cardiovascular benefits, yet the results of the Women's Health Initiative actually showed more cardiovascular problems than women without HRT. There are no studies or other indications that Bio-identical HRT has the same problems. Estrogen replacement therapy alone has been shown to prevent osteoporosis, and can cut the rate of hip fractures by 50%. What is less well known is that bio-identical micronized progesterone can be of tremendous benefit, having been shown to actually rebuild bone in many cases, rather than just slowing down the rate you lose bone as estrogen does. Loss of memory has also been shown to improve in women taking estrogen and may play a role in decreasing the rate of senile dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease. Getting hormones back into the proper balance stops post-menopausal physical symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, skin dryness, loss of libido, and "foggy thinking".

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