Sorting Out the Data on Women and Hormones
Dr. Laura Corio specializes in treating women whose bodies are undergoing the hormonal changes leading up to menopause--a phase called perimenopause that lasts anywhere from months to a decade. Perimenopause is still a mystery to many women, despite a high degree of knowledge about their reproductive systems, and few books target this stage of a woman’s life.
In Part I of this solid handbook for these middle years, Corio lays out various strategies women can use to protect their health and to treat potentially disruptive symptoms such as menstrual irregularities, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, migraines, memory problems, loss of libido, sleep disruption and mood swings.
She walks women through major questions they may have (such as “How do I know if I’m in perimenopause?”) and explains a woman’s hormonal cycle and the functions of the various reproductive hormones.
In Part II, various chapters are dedicated to important health topics, including healthful eating, understanding the role and disorders of the thyroid gland, the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, heart disease, breast cancer, infertility and various conditions of the cervix, ovaries and uterus.
In her own “prescription for a healthy perimenopause,” Corio suggests that perimenopausal patients begin with non-hormonal remedies, such as vitamins and soy foods, along with the supplements black cohosh and evening primrose for hot flashes. For those who need hormones, she recommends starting with the lowest possible doses to avert side effects.
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NATURAL HORMONE BALANCE FOR WOMEN
Look Younger, Feel Stronger and Live Life With Exuberance
By Dr. Uzzi Reiss
Pocket Books, 294 pages, $25.95
Dr. Uzzi Reiss is a Beverly Hills obstetrician-gynecologist who has developed a successful practice in “anti-aging medicine,” a field that encourages supplementation of the hormones that wane as we age. He believes that by taking customized regimens of reproductive hormones, melatonin, human growth hormone, DHEA and others, and making some nutritional changes, women can beat PMS, moodiness and memory loss and achieve stabilized weight, better muscle definition, younger-looking skin, enhanced sexuality and better sleep.
In this book, he is trying to sell American women on his approach to feeling great. However, the idea that doctors can, beginning around middle age, simply put back many chemicals the body makes less of, such as human growth hormone, to help them regain lost youth, remains controversial--even as hormone replacement for symptoms of perimenopause and post-menopause have become standard practice in many doctors’ offices. Yet you might not know that from reading this book. Reiss seems concerned only that hormones be natural preparations--a term that refers not to plant-based sources, but instead to formulations that replicate the body’s own hormones.
Despite his confidence in “balancing your hormones,” the long-term effects of prolonged hormone supplementation with natural hormones have not been studied. And while he knocks medical studies that have raised questions about potential risks of human growth hormone and DHEA, he says those were conducted at higher doses than he’s using, even though the evidence of safety at low doses is anecdotal.
Reiss says women respond better to natural estrogen and progesterone than synthetics, which, he correctly points out, can produce unpleasant symptoms such as weight gain, breast tenderness and decreased sex drive. However, he condemns all synthetics as “drugs,” (in fact, any substance that affects body functions is a drug) and accuses many fellow practitioners of blindly buying into pharmaceutical manufacturers’ claims.
This book repeatedly assures readers that natural hormones are safe at low doses (the book’s introduction is titled “Taking Hormones Without Worry”) and for those who accept his approach, he offers details on how to take and adjust levels of the hormones based on their symptoms.
