There is so much controversy about HRT (hormone replacement therapy) and a lot of confusion.

Well, we decided to interview Dr. Cara Flamer, MD, an expert in bio-identical hormone therapy, to get some answers.

In this interview we discussed different ways to test and balance hormones naturally and when it is appropriate to use bio-identical hormone therapy.  

Please click here to watch the interview.

In his best selling book ‘What your doctor may not tell you about breast cancer’, Dr. John R. Lee gets to the bottom of why women get breast cancer and how to prevent it.  According to Dr. Lee, one of the most important risk factors associated with breast cancer is Estrogen Dominance that seems to affect more and more women these days.

By taking a closer look at this we can see that not all estrogens are created equal; some are cancer protective while others are cancer-permissive. There are three main estrogens in your body: estrone, estradiol and estriol. The ratio in your body should be: Estriol 80%, Estradiol 10% and Estrone 10%. 

As long as they’re in that ratio, everything seems to be working fine. Estriol is a hormone of pregnancy and when women are pregnant, they are protected from breast cancer as well as many other diseases. Estradiol, on the other hand, is a cancer-permissive estrogen and too much of this particular estrogen definitely increases the risk for breast cancer. 

To oppose your estrogen there is another hormone called Progesterone. Estrogen and Progesterone are in a yin and yang relationship. Estrogen says ‘grow’, while progesterone says ‘stop growth’. Most women in the peri-menopausal and menopausal stages of their life appear to be progesterone deficient and thus become estrogen dominant. 

What can you do?  How do you know if you’re estrogen dominant or progesterone deficient? There is no need to guess, test it. 

Make sure that you get the proper hormonal testing done and check your estrogen levels but also check your progesterone levels as well. Your estrogen may even be in a low range but if there is no progesterone in your body, you are still estrogen dominant. There are several ways to check this; blood test (most common), saliva and urine. Saliva and urine tests maybe useful since you can take samples over a period of time and thus giving you additional information as to your hormonal fluctuation during your monthly cycle. Blood tests are somewhat static as they can only provide you with the information for the period of time when the test was done. Once you get tested you can start correcting your hormonal imbalance by regulating your estrogen metabolism or supplementing with progesterone if required. 

Take charge of your health today, be proactive and help others to prevent breast cancer NOW!