Natural Living

Holistic health: Dr Anu Arasu on hormone replacement therapy

Fix your hormonal woes with a natural alternative, available from your GP!

Fix your hormonal woes with a natural alternative, available from your GP!
Our hormones don’t decline because we age; we age because our hormones decline. Since all of our cells have hormone receptors, imbalances can cause problems everywhere in the body. Imbalances are responsible for the symptoms of menopausal women and younger women with problems such as fibroids and polycystic ovaries. They can also cause tiredness,weight gain, memory problems, mood swings, low confidence, low energy, poor sleep and low sex drive, in both sexes and all ages.

Synthetic vs natural

But after all the scares in the media about the link between hormone replacement treatment and cancer,what everyone wants to know is: are hormones safe? This seems a ridiculous debate given that natural states of increased hormone levels (for example, pregnancy) actually protect against breast cancer! What we should be asking is not whether hormones are safe, but whether synthetic versions are safe. Synthetic hormones are conventionally prescribed, and unfortunately all the scares are about this type. Studies show that synthetic hormones increased the risk of breast cancer. Enter the world of bio-identical hormones. They are identical in molecular structure to the hormones we make naturally in our bodies. The bottom line is that synthetics have numerous side effects that don’t occur with bio-identicals. It makes intellectual sense to take hormone that is identical in structure to the body’s because it can be readily metabolised. I want to raise awareness of the difference between synthetic and bio-identical so that women get to make an informed choice about which one they want to use. I prescribe them to my patients on the NHS and the brands include: Estrogel, Estaderm and Hormonin.

Try talking to your GP.

Article by

Dr Anu Arasu

Medical Writer and Practising GP

Dr Anu Arasu practises functional medicine and bio-identical hormone replacement at The Hale Clinic. She combines evidence based medicine, complementary practices, advanced diagnostic testing and nutritional therapy.

Discover more

Article by

Dr Anu Arasu

Medical Writer and Practising GP

Discover more