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Contrasting Natural and Biodentical Hormones
In this article:
- The difference between natural and bioidentical hormones
- Natural hormones are not identical to your body's hormones
- Bioidentical hormones match your body's hormones
By Rex Anderson, Jr. MD and Nancy J. Agnew BSEd, RN, Institute Coordinator
How many times have you heard the term “natural
hormones”, and wondered just what that really means.
You could rephrase this question the same way, but
substitute the phrase “bioidentical hormones” for
“natural hormones”.
What I would like to do is give some basic information
that will help to define these terms, and help our
readers understand the differences. And there are
some distinct differences. Do I have your attention?
We get so many patients who have questions on this
subject, as well as informational inquiries. These
terms tend to be used interchangeably at times, and it
is important for the distinctions to be clarified.
Natural Hormones
This type of hormone is derived directly from plants,
and plant protein, which are definitely natural
substances. Unfortunately, our body does not have
within it the necessary chemical and metabolic systems
to convert the plant hormones into a form which we can
use efficiently. There may be some minimal benefit,
but generally, it is not enough to raise hormone
levels significantly. This is particularly true in a
person who has a severe depletion of hormones, whether
for a medical reason, or just a general aging process.
There has been so much attention in literature and
different sources of media, to the various, and
sometimes quite harmful effects of chemicals, that it
is understandable for the term “natural hormones” to
quickly catch interest. Anything natural appeals to
most of us, including me. However, the “natural”
hormones that are not extracted, concentrated, and
purified from the plant sources, are weak and not of
sufficient strength to be of much benefit. In the
manufacturing process, where the plant hormones are
changed, the end result can be either a bioidentical
hormone, or a “chemicalized “ hormone similar to
Premarin, depending on the process used. You must
realize, that even though the process began as a
“natural” substance: the end product may or may not be
a bioidentical (exact replica) of your own “natural”
hormone.
The appropriate question to ask of anyone who is
giving you “natural hormones” is this:
“Is this product a bioidentical hormone?” One
example of a chemilcalized hormone is the
aforementioned Premarin, which is made from the urine
of pregnant mares, and contains thirty-three
molecules, only three of which are identical to yours.
As a matter of fact, some pharmaceutical companies
are producing hormone products extracted from soy (a
natural substance), and are reconstituted in a way
that is not similar to human estrogen, but is much
more like the estrogen made from horse urine. These
products are then advertised as “ natural” because
they come from soy. The key word is always
bioidentical. Then, there can be no question.
Bioidentical Hormones
Bioidentical hormones are hormones which have been
extracted from natural plants, and concentrated and
processed through chemical reactions into the very
same identical hormones that our body produces.
Therefore, bioidentical means the same hormone which
is an exact replica of the hormones your body already
makes, but in insufficient quantities to maintain your
health.
At the NeuroMedical Institute For Age Management, we
use only bioidentical hormones.
Contact us and learn more:
Phone: 214-651-6161
Email: nancy.agnew@manageaging.com
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