Bioidentical Hormone Replacement: A Natural and Powerful Alternative

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is a powerful yet natural alternative to synthetic hormone replacement. Bioidenticals are hormones that are equivalent chemically to those that you have naturally lost due to age, that you have too much of due to an imbalance, or that are otherwise causing you problems. While the most common boidentical hormones right now are estrogen and progesterone, more uses for this type of procedure are being found all the time.

Estrogen replacement is the most common bioidentical hormone replacement use, and there has been very favorable research in this area. More recently this natural procedure has also been used in men to replace progesterone and testosterone. In addition, teenagers and young adults with acne related to hormone cycles (e.g. with females during menses) have found success with a natural bioidentical to Progesterone. In fact, acne or not, bioidentical hormones have been reported to reduce the severity of symptoms such as cramps related to menses.

Bioidentical hormones come in two categories: mass produced and "custom-compounded". The latter is also sometimes called "alternative hormone therapy" and it describes a process where bioidenticals are created uniquely in the lab for the individual person's needs. Custom compounding of bioidenticals may include the ration of certain ingredients in the formula itself, or a difference in the means of entry into the system - such as the production of transdermal paths or bioidentical lozenges.

Many in the bioidentical field feel that custom custom compounding shows the true potential of this type of alternative treatment, while others feel hat the fact that even mass produced bioidenticals are much more biologically accepted - using well-known 100% natural ingredients - than synthetic hormones is the most important factor. As of now, the scientific evidence necessary to compare custom compounded biopidenticals with other hormone replacement therapy is lacking, likely because it's hard to build an effective study around such unique formulas.

The bottom line on bioidentical hormone replacement is that all of the ingredients used are natural and known to be safe in other forms. This treatment has been said to be more gentle on your system that synthetic hormone replacement which is more traditional. There are still risks and this article is only meant to be an overview; if you are considering hormone replacement it may make sense to look into bioidenticals, but you should always check with you doctor and consider all of the risks and benefits unique to you before choosing a path.