Antiaging Therapy - Is It Safe?

by Jolie du Pre
(Chicago)

Jolie du Pre

I am a 46-year-old woman, who happens to already be in menopause, and although I believe that an antiaging hormone can work, I question how safe an antiaging hormone can be.

I'd like to know what the side effects are to such hormones, particularly for women. I have always been an advocate of natural ways to feel young and fit.

For example, I strongly believe that a combination of the proper diet along with cardiovascular exercise, as well as weight lifting (at least five days a week) can do wonders.

This is what I do. So, if I'm going to resort to a non-natural routine of using an antiaging hormone, I absolutely must know what the side effects are.

I do know a bit about Chinese therapy, which actually incorporates a natural process, which I would be willing to look into if I felt other methods of antiaging therapy were not adequately tested or unsafe.

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Jun 01, 2009
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Bioidentical Hormone Therapy - Safety Issues.....
by: George Parigian Jr.

Hi Jolie,

Thanks for your question about the safety of antiaging hormone therapy. I always start by stating that I am not a doctor or medical professional, so understand that this is only my opinion, and not necessarily medical fact.

There are two issues here that pertain to safety. One is the actual composition of the bioidentical hormones, and the other is the amount of dosage.

The philosophy behind bioidentical hormone therapy is to use "compounded hormones" which are identical (at the molecular level) to what your own body makes.

They are given in the exact dosages that are required to bring your hormonal profile into an optimal range for health and wellness.

This means that your hormone levels MUST be within the normal medical reference range as a result of the therapy.

If you were on bioidentical hormones, and a doctor didn't know it and ran blood tests on you, what he would find is that all your hormones would be within the normal ranges for a healthy individual.

Let me state that again, they would be in the normal range, for a healthy person. This is the key.....normal, not abnormally high or low, but normal!

The old way of hormone replacement involved larger doses of synthetic hormones, which were NOT a match for what the body normally produces.

That was the likely reason for all of the problems women experienced relating to hormone replacement.

When you put synthetic hormones into the body, especially in dosages that are above what the body normally produces on it's own, there are bound to be problems that arise from that.

Synthetic hormone therapy is a product of the pharmaceutical industry, which through the FDA is trying to stamp out bioidentical hormone therapy because it has cut into their market.

This is why you read all the scare stories about bioidentical hormones and how the FDA is warning against them and so on.

This is not to say there is zero risk associated with bioidenticals, just that the theory and practice of bioidentical hormone therapy would seem logically to be considerably safer.

What would the side effects be? Potentially the same as any other source of estrogen. However side effects occurr when the dosages of hormones are too high, and that is what the practive of bioidentical hormone therapy strives to avoid.

An antiaging doctor can carefully prescribe and fine tune the dosage to pretty much eliminate the possibility of side effects.

Check out the book "Ageless" by Suzanne Summers. I also would suggest that you do some research on this and locate a doctor to help you make your decision.

Also check out my page on antiaging doctors for a list of them by state. That will help you locate one in your area.

Good luck and good health!

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