BOOK REVIEW

Natural Hormone Replacement

by Jonathan V. Wright, MD and John R. Morgenthaler

Reviewed By Will Block

The Critical Mass for Hormone Replacement

Ours is the first generation to have grown up with the idea of hormone supplementation. It all started with the invention of "the pill" which heralded a new generation of reproductive freedom for women. "All the armies of the world cannot hold back the power of an idea whose time has come," wrote novelist Victor Hugo. To this he may have added, "A good idea draws its power from the idea that precedes it." Such is the case for ERT (estrogen replacement therapy), a successor notion to the birth control pill. More recently, ERT evolved into HRT (hormone replacement therapy) when a synthetic progesterone-like drug was added. The patented, hormone-like molecules used in HRT are Premarin� and Provera� and they have become the leading prescription drugs in the US.

Women do not have significant risks of heart disease until they reach menopause when their natural production of estrogen and other hormones decrease. What scientific studies (and advertising) have made clear is that ERT can substantially reduce the risk of heart disease. This information has been successfully promoted and thus we have the mass phenomenon of ERT's great popularity. What is also clear from the scientific research is that ERT has its downside and that it may even increase certain cancers (endometrial). To make matters worse, the heart disease protection from ERT is negated when Provera is added to the mix.

These aspects of ERT, of course, have not been advertised and have not been propounded by the press. What we have is not merely the case of a good idea gone astray. It is a "conspiracy" of convenience that regularly places a cloak over superior ideas via the collusion between regulatory agencies (see below) and protection-seeking industries. This means that while pharmaceutical companies may be aware of a natural product's superiority, they are motivated by the need to be profitable. However, to accomplish their goals, they often end up endorsing and supporting agencies with coercive clout that serve to hamper or restrict market entry and even to prohibit competition. Fortunately, with the passing of DSH&EA, it has become hard to exclude the competition from natural alternatives and thus we have more options.

A More Intelligent Approach

Few have heard of the existence of an intelligent alternative to HRT. There is a program that offers the fulfillment of the benefits without any of the liabilities, such as increased risk of certain cancers and reduced protection from heart attack. This program also delivers the promise of menopause symptom alleviation and provides other benefits such as cognitive enhancement. In other words, there is an alternative to HRT which can help to keep you young and slow the aging process. The first popular book to appear on the alternative approach to HRT is that of John R. Lee, MD and Virginia Hopkins, What Your Doctor May Not have Told You About Menopause: The Breakthrough Book on Natural Progesterone. This book has deservedly become a best seller fueled by word-of-mouth advertising.

Unified Hormone Theory

And now there is Jonathan Wright, MD and John Morgenthaler's Natural Hormone Replacement for Women Over 45. As with the Lee/Hopkins book, Natural Hormone Replacement takes a scientific approach to the subject. Where it differs, however, is in its scope: Natural Hormone Replacement looks at the larger picture. If the mass phenomenon has been ERT and HRT and Dr. Lee's approach is NPR (natural progesterone replacement), the Wright/Morgenthaler idea is NHR (natural hormone replacement). The program presented by Natural Hormone Replacement is a unified theory of hormone replacement therapy employing the natural estrogens (estrone, estradiol, and estriol), natural progesterone, natural DHEA, natural testosterone, and others. While more complex, this approach is substantiated by the scientific literature and clinical experience and moves the idea of replacement therapy from mere symptom alleviation to overall quality-of-life enhancement.

Natural Hormone Replacement is a fast read, an affordable read (just $9.95), and entertaining to boot. But mostly, this book presents some really important ideas, about which we are sure to hear more, and it is highly informative. I felt that I was pretty knowledgeable about this subject and yet I was amazed at how much I learned and how easily the information flowed into my brain.