Hormones are key signalers for the body and mind. Anything from major changes like puberty, growth, parenting or menopause, to constant and instant changes like cell programming, metabolism, and mood are all affected by our hormones.
This is why balancing them is an important part of our wellbeing. It’s also why they’re a key part of the complete health plan I’ve developed – the F.I.G.H.T program.
In this article, we look at the ways we can safely, effectively and naturally equalize these very important players in our overall health.
When we age, our hormones change in very radical ways. For example, when women hit menopause, the amount of physiological changes is well documented and all sorts of health complications are brought into the mix. A major part of these are fluctuations in the amount of estrogens released into the body and a drop in hormones like estradiol, testosterone and progesterone. This is why Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is sometimes recommended – or at the very least, supplementation – to counter the negative side effects of drops in these hormones.
If hormonal imbalances are not addressed with some form of estrogen supplement, then menopausal and postmenopausal women are open to all sorts of conditions. Chronic depression, insomnia, bladder infection, vaginal dryness and osteoporosis (bone density deficiency) and many other serious diseases like premature Alzheimer’s disease are commonly experienced if left untreated.
Misrepresentations of statistics in the media are a significant cause of illogical fears about hormone replacement therapy. For many it’s a very viable and necessary route to avoid the side effects of this hormone imbalance. Although articles in the major press can have a positive and negative bias on HRT (even in the same publication), a damaging piece about HRT was published by the NY Times in October 2010, which based it’s pessimistic bent on a study which showed an increase in the risk of developing breast cancer. This sensationalized account needs to be taken with a large pinch of salt – the study it based its conclusions upon showed a truly minuscule increase of 1.03 of cases per 10,000 women. This type of misrepresentation masks the many benefits of HRT – a major one being it decreasing the risk of heart disease in women significantly. To put that into context, heart disease is the leading cause of death in Americans and the western world for men and women.
Add to the fact that the HRT covered in these headlines are from either synthetically or from equine origins, and you have a skewed top-line view of hormone replacement therapy.
The effectiveness of chemically/synthetically derived HRT therapy is comprehensively paralleled by natural alternatives and bio-identical hormones. What’s more, the purported rise in the risk of breast cancer developing is not present with naturally-derived supplements.
Plant-based phytoestrogens are an efficacious and natural way to treat hormone imbalances. One extremely effective type is Puresterol® – also known as HRT Plus® or the Herbal Remedy from Thailand.
The key ingredient in the supplement is the extract puresterol from a plant called pueraria mirifica, or Thai Kudzu. Found in a region in northern Thailand and parts of Burma in the mountains, this fertile and compound-rich plant has been used for centuries in food and medicine. Coming to the attention through World Health Organisation (WHO) figures, they found that the part of the world where the root grows has the lowest stats for breast cancer, osteoarthritis, prostate conditions, and Alzheimer’s disease.
The estrogenic properties of pueraria mirifica function as an adaptogen – a natural substance that balances hormone levels (of estrogens) in the body. So far, pueraria mirifica is the only plant to contain a special phytoestrogen called ‘miroestrol – proven to lower the risk of breast cancer.
Another adaptogen (natural hormone balancer) is Miroestriol. This functions just like estriol – one of only three estrogens found in the body. Miroestriol works as S.E.R.M. beta or Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator. It’s one supplement in HRT that’s attracted praise by people like Dr. Christine Northrup, who, in her best-selling New York Times book, ‘Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom’. She identifies pueraria mirifica (PM) as very effective at relieving menopausal symptoms, especially hot flashes, vaginal dryness, insomnia and irritability whilst protecting bone density, vaginal tissue and breasts from danger of excess estrogen. She goes on to recount that research shows that pueraria mirifica halts the growth of cancer cells in vitro – lab tests and specifically recommends H.R.T Plus (Herbal Remedy from Thailand) as the key supplement that carries these benefits as it possesses the right and high enough ratio – approximately 20 mg of miroestrol per 100 grams.
It’s universally acknowledged that ever-increasing levels of pollutants and toxins are responsible for negative effects on our health. Seeping into our water, food and even medicine, unhealthy hormone mimics enter our body needs addressing. The most affected areas in this maelstrom are the uterus and prostate, breast, brain and bone. Chief offenders are Bisphenol-A (BPA) – a substance found in water and food containers worldwide – Dioxins and PCB’s function as endocrine disruptors or ‘mimics’. Even artificial sweeteners and chemical food additives are known as neurotoxicants. These neurotoxicants damage nerve cells in the hypothalamus, our master hormone regulator.
One proven way to counter this accumulation is Puresterol (HRT Plus®). This supplement is also known to counter age-related hormonal problems, naturally. The supplement has high amounts of pueraria mirifica extract, which as we’ve covered here, is, in my opinion, and the opinion of many other respected sources, the ideal phytoestrogenic source.
As hormones are a defining factor in our lives, this is why when we look at them in terms of a complete F.I.G.H.T plan. Puresterol (HRT Plus®) is a safe and organic way to re-balance health in our favour.