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Premarin And Hormone Replacement Therapy
Prior to July 2002, there was a one size fits all answer that apparently solved all the problems women faced as they attempted to age gracefully. PremPro was the answer; a mixture of two hormones, Premarin, a synthetic estrogen isolated from pregnant mare urine thus the name Premarin, and Provera; a synthetic progesterone. This single solution PremPro was claimed to be not only the answer to menopausal symptoms but it would also protect the heart from age related heart disease and offer protection from breast cancer, uterine cancer and a decreased risk of osteoporosis. Read more...
Findings at the Women's Health Initiative on July 9, 2002 astounded many. Women were now told that the risks outweighed the benefits of PremPro and HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). Previously found benefits were found not to be benefits at all. PremPro did not appear to protect the heart, brain and breast but it was associated with an actual increase risk for heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer and blood clots.
Important Premarin Timelines
1942 - Hormone Replacement (HRT) Therapy begins.
1974 (approx) - Link between HRT and endometrial cancer is revealed
1997 - The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) begins a 15 year study to test the effects of HRT on the prevention of coronary heart disease and osteoporosis on 16,000 women.
1999 - The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) release a new study "linking HRT after menopause to increased risk of uncommon forms of breast cancer that have good prognoses".
2002 - National Institute of Health (NHI) abruptly halts 15 year study after only 4 years when on July 9, 2002 NHI publishes its shocking findings: combination hormone replacement therapies were putting women at increased risk of multiple serious diseases. These risks include (and are not limited to):
26% increase in breast cancer
41 % increase in stroke
29% increase in heart attacks
100% increase in blood clots
22% increase in heart disease
2005 - In July, JAMA reports results of a study that shows that "more than half of the women who began hormone therapy to stop uncomfortable hot flashes and night sweats experienced those symptoms again once they stopped taking the drugs. The researchers advised doctors to explore alternative ways to treat menopause symptoms"—Marc Kauffman; The Washington Post.
A Natural Approach to Hormone Shifts
By Neal Barnard, M.D.
Many physicians now treat menopause like a disease and prescribe hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women. There is a better approach. Hormonal shifts at any life stage, including menopause, are much less intense on a low fat, high fiber diet. High fat diets increase estrogen production before menopause, thus the shift at menopause becomes a roller coaster ride. This is aggravated by the lack of fiber in most high fat diets. The body gets rid of excess estrogens, pulling them out of the blood and sending them into the digestive tract, where fiber carries them away with wastes. Since animal products contain no fiber at all, a meat eater’s digestive tract does not contain enough fiber to carry waste hormones away effectively. They end up reabsorbing their own waste hormones.
Low fat, high fiber diets decrease estrogen production, both before and after menopause, and the net effect appears to be a much smoother change. The key, though, is not just to eliminate animal products, but also to keep vegetable oils to an absolute minimum.
Osteoporosis is one of the main reasons doctors prescribe estrogen replacement, but it now appears that the principle contributors to Osteoporosis are animal proteins - which leach calcium from the bones - sedentary lifestyles with a lack of weight-bearing exercise, alcohol, and tobacco.
A low-fat, vegan diet is ideal: high in fiber, low in fat, and no animal protein. It provides calcium in the form of green vegetables, beans, peas, and lentils, or, if you prefer, fortified orange juice. Add daily exercise, and you've filled your own prescription for a healthful lifestyle. |
