Alternative Hormone Replacement Therapy (AHRT)

Hormones

Before talking about synthetic or alternative hormone replacement therapy let's see what hormones are and how do they work in our body. We'll refer in a very simplified manner mainly to sex hormones as they play the major role before and after menopause for women and andropause for men.

Estrogens

Our body makes many types of estrogens, yet the main ones are: E1 called estrone, which is believed to be related to an increase in breast and uterine cancer. E2 called estradiol helps maintain the memory, bone health, and helps in protecting from heart disease. E3 called estriol helps protect against breast cancer according to latest scientific research results. Altogether estrogens have about 400 important functions in our body. The right amount and forms of estrogen in the body is the key to optimal health. Any excess or deficiency will lead to different types and levels of symptoms.

Progesterone

Is made in the ovaries before menopause and very little in the adrenal glands after menopause. Progesterone has many vital functions both in women and men???s body, but it is considered mostly as the moderator hormone, balancing the estrogen effects as well as the other steroid hormones.

Androgens

Commonly called the ???male??? hormones are: testosterone, DHEA, androstenedione. They play an important role in tissue regeneration, especially the skin, bones, and muscles.
The principal androgen in both men and women is DHEA and it is a precursor for estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.
DHEA levels decline with age, and in some cases, supplementation with DHEA can restore energy, improve immune function, lift depression and improve mental function.
Testosterone is involved in maintenance of lean body mass, bone density, skin elasticity, sex drive and cardiovascular health in both sexes. Men make more of this hormone, accounting for their greater bone and muscle mass.
Androstenedione is a precursor for both estrogens and testosterone, especially in females. It can be produced in excess by the ovaries, especially during early menopause, and can cause some of the "androgenic" symptoms such as scalp hair loss and facial hair growth.

Cortisol is made by the adrenal glands and contrary to all the previously mentioned hormones, is the only one that increases with the age. It is our "stress" hormone fighting to protect the body from all kinds of internal and external "attack" agents. We mention it here because it functions as and in correlation with other sex hormones.

Menopause is not a disease.

Menopause is a perfectly natural process. Yet for many women it comes with so many severe symptoms as a result of hormonal imbalance. Menopause was believed for many years to be associated with a decline in estrogen levels and therefore the treatment goal was to restore estrogen levels. Late research and data showed that this alone would not cause such a large variety of severe symptoms and that there is an even more severe drop in progesterone levels. That is why the symptoms are the result of an imbalanced ratio of the hormones, mainly estrogen and progesterone; therefore the key lies in restoring the hormone levels to the right ratio and maintain the balance.

Now let's take a look of how estrogen and progesterone are balancing each other in order to understand why prescribing estrogen with opposed progesterone is so important:

Estrogen versus progesterone

Estrogen promotes cell growth, making it highly effective in healing, but it can speed up the growth of cancer.
This dangerous effect is negated when balanced by progesterone.

Estrogen causes growth of cells in breast tissue (resulting in breast tenderness).
Without progesterone, this cell growth could lead to fibrocystic lumps.

Estrogen increases retention of body fat, salts & fluids.
Progesterone can balance this effect

Estrogen increases blood clotting
Progesterone normalizes it

Estrogen decreases sex drive
Progesterone restores it

The list goes on and on, but you got the picture. Now let's see just a few facts and understand why do we need to know at least a few things about conventional HRT and AHRT (Alternative HRT):

• According to the last statistics about 50 million women are currently experiencing or have experienced menopause symptoms, meaning that they seek for medical help.

• In the year 2000 alone, over 46 million prescriptions were written for Premarin and 22 million for Prempro, the two most popular estrogen products on the market.

• Approximately 38% of postmenopausal women in the United States use HRT, and 20% continue use for five years or more.

Note: This data is available to the public without restrictions in any medical statistical literature.

Hormonal balance is the key for optimal health.

Starting with the late thirties, women’s body begins the decline of sex hormones reaching the peak at the menopause. Some of the hormones decline more than the others, but generally speaking it is known that there is a severe drop of estrogens, roughly somewhere between 40 to 60% and an even more drastic decline in progesterone level going almost to zero for some women.
As we already mentioned the key to optimal health will be to reach the right hormonal ratio leading to hormonal balance.

What is AHRT?

• AHRT is currently a topic of great interest to women & men.
• Alternative hormones have the same molecular structure as those made in the human body according to  data from several reference sources (including FDA). They are extracted from plants such as wild yams and/or soybeans.
• Alternative hormones produce the same physiologic responses as those of endogenous hormones.
• AHRT is custom compounded natural hormone formulations prepared by our pharmacists according to your doctor's prescription, with the purpose of correcting your hormonal imbalance.

Different stages of our lives come with different hormonal changes.
Menopause and andropause are stages with the most dramatic hormonal changes in many instances leading to hormonal imbalances.

Each individual's hormonal profile is as unique as his/her own fingerprints. Therefore, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to treatment.

Hormone replacement should not be considered without a thorough understanding of how all of the body's hormones interact with each other.That is why it's crucial to make an educated decision together with your health care practitioner when it's about your health, your body, your well-being.

Why AHRT?

Natural, plant-derived, structuraly identical hormones, when used appropriately, will enhance one's health and will treat or even cure diseases, all virtually with no side effects by restoring the hormonal balance.

It ultimately comes to answering this simple question: "If it is found that you are low in a hormone, and you are given a choice of a natural hormone-one that closely mimics your own hormone chemically and structurally, versus a synthetic hormone- a man-made derivative of a hormone that has been structurally altered to become a patentable product, which one would you pick?

It is a common sense argument to use a natural product to treat disease and promote health when such an option exists. Even though there are many studies to back these statements, there is no need for a vast scientific knowledge base to realize that a natural hormone will perform better than a synthetic hormone every time."

(The statements above are an exerpt from Dr. Brownstein's Testimony on Biologically Identical Hormone Therapy/House Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness/ Washington D.C./July 22, 2004)

Alternative plant-derived hormone replacement therapy medicines are available only from compounding pharmacies, such as Health Max Pharmacy. These custom compounded medicines offer patients and their physicians a choice for individualized hormone replacement based on a thorough evaluation of the individual hormonal profile.

Many of the health care practitioners are still not too familiar with AHRT. But, as more and more women are reading the medical journals and getting educated about the topic, there is an increasing interest among the physicians to learn more about AHRT and help their patients. If your physician happens to be one of them, just invite him/her to visit our website or give us a call and we'll be more than happy to help.

AHRT & FDA

It seems to be some confusion/concern among physicians about AHRT compounding and FDA. Here are again some clarifying facts:

• All ingredients used in AHRT are USP grade & contained in FDA approved products, & listed in the USP.
• Progesterone USP, Testosterone USP, & Estrodiol USP are all in FDA approved products list.
• Compounding pharmacies must comply with the regulations of state boards of pharmacy.
• Compounding pharmacies have access to the highest grade (USP) bulk chemicals and to state-of-the art equipment with which they can accurately prepare hormone formulations.