When you're searching for ways to combat your menopause symptoms, things can get very confusing. With all the conflicting information out there, it's no wonder so many myths and untruths surface about different products. One of the most often-discussed and controversial treatments for menopause symptoms is bioidentical hormones, but a lot of the controversy is bo
rne out of ignorance. Read on to learn four of the most common myths about bioidentical hormones.
4 Myths about Bioidentical Hormones
1. “Bioidentical hormones are nat
ural.”
People considering using bioidentical hormones as a means of combating their menopause symptoms will often be enticed by the claim that bioidentical hormones are an all-natural alternative to the body's own hormones. This common myth stems from the fact that bioidentical hormones are extracted from plants. Estrogen-like compounds are indeed extracted from plants, but these are then engineered in the clinical environment of a laboratory to be turned into bioidentical hormone treatments, and thus should not be considered natural.
2. “Bioidentical hormones were discovered by an American.”
These days, bioidentical hormones are mass produced and sold throughout the world, including in America. However, there is a popular misconception that bioidentical hormones were also discovered there. It was not an American who discovered bioidentical hormones; rather, it was a Canadian man called James Collip, a researcher born in Ontario, who discovered a way to extract estrogen from the urine of pregnant women. This research was then used to extract estrogen-like hormones from plants.
3. “Bioidentical hormones are completely safe and have no side effects whatsoever.”
Bioidentical hormones are a popular treatment: they are widely used to help combat symptoms of menopause. But if something is popular, it does not necessarily mean that it is safe. Studies have, in fact, suggested that bioidentical hormones present the same risk of various side effects as conventional hormone therapy, including an increased chance of developing heart disease or suffering a stroke.
4. “Bioidentical hormones are really cheap.”
Because bioidentical hormones come from plants, it's easy to think that they are as inexpensive as the plants themselves. But extracting estrogen compounds from plants is not cheap, because it's not just the cost of the plant that has to be accounted for; you have factor in other costs, including scientific equipment, researchers, and the laboratories. A course of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is even more expensive than conventional hormone replacement therapy.
