Bioidentical Hormones

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

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Bioidentical hormones are produced from plants (including Wild Yam and Soy) to be identical to human hormones. Synthetic hormones, on the other hand, are produced to be similar to but not identical to human hormones, and therefore they do not work the same as human hormones.

For example, synthetic estrogen is made from urine collected from a pregnant horse - hence the name Premarin (pregnant mare urine). Synthetics can have very serious side effects, including heart disease and many cancers. Since bioidenticals are made to be identical to human hormones, if they are used correctly, they rarely have side effects.

Bioidenticals are available in cream, tablet, and sublingual forms, but care must be taken when choosing which to use.

Since the hormones are fat soluble, creams store them in fat cells until the cells are saturated and the hormones spill randomly into the blood stream. This makes treatment nearly impossible to control and monitor. We have found that women using the creams are often overdosed in a particular hormone, which imbalances the whole system.

Tablets go through the digestive tract and are metabolized in the liver. This process makes for a much less efficient conversion to useable hormones.

Sublingual Bioidentical Hormones - The Most Effective Treatment

We prefer to administer bioidentical hormones in the sublingual form. Sublingual hormones are metabolized in the saliva with very little liver involvement, which means the active hormones are immediately available for the body to use. They are then used or excreted within 48 hours.

The most important aspect of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is routine testing to monitor hormone levels. It is also important to understand that bioidenticals cannot be tested through the blood unless a Free Serum test is done, which is very expensive. Standard blood tests indicate only the protein-bound inactive form of the hormone - which is 99% of the hormones secreted from the glands. Saliva tests indicate the free, unbound form of the hormone, which means that hormone levels can be easily and affordably monitored.