Beware the Endless Search for Designer
Estrogen
Courtesy of John R.Lee, M.D
(who has passed away). Medical Letter
See our note at
the bottom of the page for new details!
These drugs do
not improve on Mother Nature, yet a barrage of advertising
claims that new synthetic estrogens will save women from a
host of diseases and aging. Don't believe it.
Every time a new hormone replacement product comes out - or
is about to be released - drug company sales reps descend on
physicians' offices. This one-on-one sales push, coupled
with glossy full-color ads in medical journals, used to be
the extent of how drugs were advertised. But now drug
companies can go straight to the consumer, and they have
poured billions of dollars into doing this. I'm sure you've
noticed how new drugs are given wide coverage in magazines
and newspapers, and on television shows such as the Today
Show, Dateline and 20/20 and even on the TV news. They also
show up in brochures and pamphlets left in your doctor's
office. The information is slick, glib and reassuring - and
essentially meaningless to a woman looking for real
information with which to make important healthcare
decisions. Meanwhile, the real dangers and side effects of
these new drugs often do not become known until after
hundreds of thousands of innocent patients have suffered
through them, sometimes with disastrous (or fatal) results.
A Premarin
Wannabe Changes Horses
One of the latest new hormone replacement drugs to be
released is a Premarin wannabe called Cenestin. This is a
mix of estrogens - mostly estrone and equilin (horse
estrogen) synthesized in the laboratory from plant sources.
(Yes, it is possible to duplicate horse estrogen in the
laboratory from plant sources.) The manufacturer originally
asked the FDA to classify Cenestin as a generic version of
Premarin. The FDA refused because Cenestin is not made from
pregnant mare's urine as Premarin is, and thus does not have
the other 98 out of 100 active ingredients found in Premarin,
which includes a wide range of steroid hormones and their
derivatives, including a small amount of progesterone.
As a result, the maker of Cenestin changed its tactics and
is now advertising it as a plant-derived conjugated natural
estrogen in hopes of tapping into the large market of women
who are turned off by the thought of innocent mares and
foals suffering so that Premarin can be made. The bottom
line is that because Cenestin contains horse estrogen, it is
not natural to humans. There is no reason to use it when
completely plant-based natural estrogens identical to those
made in human body are easily available.
Like Designer Jeans, Designer Estrogens are a Fad
Now let's talk about the popular drug company practice of
rearranging estrogen molecules to produce molecules that are
not found in nature, but which can be patented. The media is
full of stories about these so-called designer estrogens,
touting the anticipated benefits of synthetic estrogen
mimics that supposedly provide estrogen benefits without
undesirable side effects. These estrogen mimics are
collectively called SERMs, or selective estrogen receptor
modulators. In previous issues of the Medical Letter I have
discussed the claims of two such SERMs, tamoxifen and
raloxifene, and pointed out their true risks versus their
limited benefits.
More of these drugs are on the way. This is because
conventional medicine suffers from a confused notion that
the symptoms of estrogen dominance are best treated by
prescription drugs, rather than by learning how Mother
Nature provides estrogen benefits without its dangerous side
effects.
Mother Nature's Designer Estrogens are the Best
First we need to recognize that the word estrogen is
generally misused. It is not the name of a specific hormone
but is a generic or collective term for a host of compounds
with estrogenic effects that include breast cell growth,
build-up of blood-rich endometrium (uterine lining),
inhibition of bone loss, and possible heart benefits. The
undesired effects of this family of compounds are water
retention, fat deposition, weight gain, gall bladder
disease, fibrocystic breasts, growth of uterine fibroids,
stroke, and cancer of the breast, ovary, and endometrium
(uterus). Normally the body makes estrone, estradiol,
estriol, and a variety of lesser estrogens. These various
estrogens all differ in their metabolic effects.
As we now know, estrogens (and other hormones) work by
binding to tissue receptors to convey their effects. We also
know that there are several types of estrogen receptors
(ERs) throughout the body. One, called ER-alpha, is common
in the pituitary gland, uterus, testes, kidney, and adrenal
glands. A second, called ER-beta, is found in the ovary,
testes, prostate, and thymus gland. Both receptors are found
in bone, breast, and brain. It would not be surprising if
other ERs are found in the future. It is suspected that
different estrogens bind to different receptors. In this
way, natural estrogens act like the synthetic SERMs, by
selectively affecting the responsiveness of different
estrogen receptors.
Different Estrogens Convey Different Effects
It is well-known that the various natural estrogens convey
different metabolic effects. Estradiol, for example, is the
estrogen that is most potent in preventing bone loss, and in
causing the proliferation of breast cells and endometrial
cells. Estriol, on the other hand, has little effect on
breast cells or bone but is the most potent estrogen for
softening the cervix prior to delivery and preventing
vaginal dryness or mucosal atrophy. Estradiol is suspected
of being carcinogenic, while estriol conveys no risk of
breast cancer and may, in fact, prevent cancer.
The big question is this: Why is it that many women whose
bodies produce plenty of estrogen do not suffer from
estrogen side effects? The answer is that estrogen does not
work in a vacuum; it works in conjunction with other hormone
modulators also produced by the body, such as progesterone.
Progesterone protects against estrogen-induced endometrial
cancer, and estrogen-induced breast cell proliferation,
breast fibrocysts, and breast cancer. In fact, it protects
against all estrogen-induced side effects. Synthetic
progestins (e.g. Provera and birth control pills), while
they are protective against estrogen-induced endometrial
cell proliferation, have little or no effect on other
estrogen side effects, and may actually increase the risk of
breast cancer.
How Mother Nature Keeps Estrogen Effects in Check
Normally, the body makes both estrogen and progesterone.
They work as a team. In fact, cells need estrogen to make
progesterone receptors (PRs), while progesterone helps
maintain the normal sensitivity of estrogen receptors (ER
s). The net effect is to maximize their individual benefits
and protect against estrogen-induced side effects.
A relative deficiency of progesterone increases the risk of
estrogen-induced side effects. For example, conventional
medicine accepts the importance of progesterone in
preventing endometrial cancer, but ignores progesterone's
benefit in counteracting the rest of estrogen's undesirable
side effects.
It is possible to maximize estrogen's multiple benefits
while avoiding its dangerous side effects if we learn to
balance estrogen with progesterone. As a result, there is no
reason to spend millions of dollars - as pharmaceutical
companies do - in an ultimately futile attempt to find a
safe and effective synthetic estrogen, when all one has to
do is follow Mother Nature's clear solution to the problem.
Nevertheless, the drug companies persist in shuffling
molecules to develop new (and never truly safe) synthetic
estrogen after another, so we must ask, "Why is progesterone
ignored, and what drives this present research?" Is it
simply a mad hubris, a need to override natural solutions in
favor of a manmade drug? No, it is nothing so poetic. As in
so many other cases, market forces are at work.
Follow the Money Trail
Natural hormones cannot be patented, and therefore cannot
become the exclusive products of one drug company. This
means their profitability is extremely limited, and
consequently they are ignored by research efforts
underwritten by the pharmaceutical companies. Experts have
predicted that if if can even be accomplished it will take
20 years of extensive and very expensive research to create
and study a drug that offers sufficient estrogen benefits
without excessive side effects.
Given the potentially lucrative pay-off if such a drug can
be found, money will continue to pour into the efforts to
find that magical "safe" synthetic estrogen, sustaining
research jobs for many people.
Until that mythical drug is found - and it probably never
will be - the drug companies will surely continue to pursue
it, and to try to sell you the products it develops.
I advise you to keep in mind that your body's biology has
been designed to achieve its healthy hormone function
through balance between estrogen and progesterone. Using
natural hormones in doses that closely mimic what the body
would naturally make is the most effective and safest
solution to problems of hormonal imbalance.
A note
from Jennifer regarding the use of estrogen creams:
Recently I had a nice
discussion with the maker of our progesterone cream. I
wanted to share it with you because I thought you'd be
interested in this good information. A women asked me the
other day if she could take a progesterone cream/estrogen
blend or if she could take an estrogen and a progesterone at
the same time. I wanted clarity, so I asked Michael about
this. What he said was impressive.
According to Dr. John Lee's
research, Estriol is the only estrogen a women should take
and preferably thru cream form. Its because it does not
contain the other hormones a women doesn't need or make such
as Premorin does. That product produces 17 to 23 different
hormones and a women's body may only use one or two from it,
saving the others in her body fat forever. Many of those
hormones cause cell proliferations as well, and Estriol is
known not to do that. Estriol only contains the three
esterogens we process. Estriol is taken from wild yam or
soy plant. Whats interesting, is that Estriol, otherwise
known as E3, is processed thru an 8 step fermentation
process to make sure you do not get anything else from the
plant such as progesterone, testosterone, etc. The same
process is used also to make progesterone cream. Before a
women should use Estriol, she should use progesterone for at
least 2 months, then check her hormone levels and symptoms.
If she is vaginally dry, she may want to add dong quai or
evening primrose to her regimine. It can be used orally,
and the primrose can also be used vaginally. She should
then check her symptoms. If she still needs help, then
estriol can be used vaginally, once a day for a month, then
everyother day for a month, then every three days for a
month. She should use between 1/8 to 1/4tsp at a time
opposite of using her progesterone. She needs to always work
toward using the minimal dose. Progesterone will help
breakdown any bad estrogen in her body fat from using
Premorin. Then it will work to flush it out. Thats the only
way to get it out of your system. We do have estriol, but
we must see that you work with the steps provided above
before we take any order for it. Right now its not
available just at any health store. We offer it to doctors,
but because we are sales reps for the company, we can also
help you our customers. Let us know what you think of this
information that we just obtained. You can read chapter 8
of Dr. John Lee's latest book. For those who do not know,
he passed away this past year. How sad...
Thank you!
Jennifer
