The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) was a large government-sponsored study about the benefits and risks of a popular form of manufactured hormones. To mark the 10-year anniversary of the WHI, a consensus statement has been jointly prepared by the North American Menopause Society, the Endocrine Society, and the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, and [...]
The hormone you take may affect your risk of breast cancer Progesterone is a naturally occurring hormone in women. Progesterone is added to estrogen therapy to reduce the risk of endometrial cancer. Initially, progesterone was not available in a form that could be well absorbed, so pharmaceutical manufacturers created a synthetic progestin (progesterone derivative), medroxyprogesterone [...]
Testosterone therapy is increasingly used to treat symptoms of hormone deficiency in pre and postmenopausal women. Testosterone is essential for physical and mental health in women as well as men. Although frequently thought of to increase sex drive, testosterone's role in sexual function is only a small part of its physiologic effect in women. [...]
Thoughts from Bob Wood, Consultant Pharmacist Are we safe from ourselves? There is no blame game. It is up to each one of us. I started consulting patients almost 16 years ago with a focus primarily on women (my practice now includes men and even teenagers) and the use of bio-identical hormones. Prior to this [...]
This newsletter is a follow up to the previous newsletter (see May issue) on obesity. Why am I so concerned about obesity as it relates to hormone replacement? Because the science shows us that there is increased risk for patients who are insulin resistant, maintain high blood insulin/glucose values and have increased visceral adipose tissue [...]
When it comes to cold and flu season, prevention really is the first line of defense. To keep your body's defense system--the immune system--in peak condition, follow our immunity-boosting tips to help your body fight off the bugs looking for a host. And, for times when you are feeling ill, the second set of [...]
When you are cruising the grocery store aisles, you probably flip over a few items to scrutinize their nutrition labels. But do you understand what you're looking at? The government is working on updating the label to reflect today's nutritional concerns and include more realistic serving sizes, but until that happens, use the diagram [...]
The race is on: Cooking, cleaning, hosting, visiting, and tackling a holiday shopping list that is growing faster than last summer's weeds. Before you know it, the table is set and you're serving the holiday meal. This year, though, is going to be different--you're going to sit down and savor the cornucopia of flavors [...]
Adults and children alike are spending more time awake late at night to study, work, or have fun. All those late nights may be slowly killing us. More than 20 years of research shows us that sleep is vitally important to physical and mental health. Most of what we know about sleep and health [...]
Long before the ancient Greek surgeon Galen carried out meticulous dissections of the heart, the Egyptians wrote about health and disease in relation to how the heart "speaks in vessels" with the rest of the body. Today, physicians may not associate the heart with the soul (or soul mates), but many credit early Egyptian [...]
