Resveratrol may be the most promising hormone therapy alternative

Added 07.12.2009

Many health risks linked to HT

Hormone therapy (HT) consists of a group of pharmaceutical treatments intended to synthetically enhance horomone (oestrogen and progesterone) levels and thus counteract menopause symptoms. In the UK, there are one million less users of HT since 2003. Perhaps women are increasingly seeking natural alternatives because of HT's side effects. What are these? Well, just to mention a few: nausea; headaches; weight gain; leg cramps; bloating; decreased sex drive; and depression. HT also increases the risk of : breast, endometrial and ovarian cancer; blood clots; heart attack; stroke; and bladder disease.

Natural alternatives to HT

Studies have previously shown that phyto-oestrogens - plant based substances that have oestrogen-like effects - are just as effective as HRT and are completely side effect-free. These include isoflavones, such as red clover and black cohosh. Phyto-oestrogens have long been known ro relieve menopause symptoms, strengthen bones, slow down aging, support heart health and prevent cancer. But a recent scientific study says resveratrol may be the most promising HT alternative yet.

Resveratrol has high oestrogenic and anti-tumour activity.

In a study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, certain phyto-oestrogens were assessed as alternatives to HT. What the researchers looked for were the nutrients' oestrogenic and anti-tumour effects. These phyto-oestrogens consisted of: daidzein and genistein (red clover and soybeans); glyciten (soy products); coumestrol (alfalfa sprouts); and resveratrol (red grape seed and skin). All of the phyto-oestrogens had significant oestrogenic effects and had some anti-tumour effects. Surprisingly, though, resveratrol had the highest anti-tumour effect and was more effective at increasing apoptosis (programmed cell death). In simple terms, cancer can result if there is too little apoptosis occuring because in the absence of programmed cell death, cancer cells can grow uncontrollably. Resveratrol also has high oestrogenic effects. It achieves this by binding to the oestrogen receptor (alpha). This in turn allows it to display estadriol-like effects. Estadriol or 17β-estadriol is a hormone that represents the major oestrogen in humans. The ability of resveratrol to mimic 17β-estadriol makes it a safe and effective HT alternative to reduce menopausal symptoms.

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Dr. Bo Nielsen's comments:

Most women suffer from more or less unpleasant oestrogen "withdrawal" symptoms during menopause. It is well known that these symptoms can be significantly reduced by synthetic hormone therapy (HT). However, synthetic HT has been proven to increase risk of cancer and other serious diseases. This and previous studies prove that there is a safer and still as effective way of reducing these symptoms simply by taking a daily supplement containing certain phyto-nutrients. It is my personal experience that at least 80 percent of women suffering from menopausal symptoms benefit from taking these natural and side effect-free supplements. But keep in mind that the dosage of these natural phtyo-nutrient supplements needs to be individually adjusted for optimal effect. Some women need double quantities of phyto-nutrients to achieve maximum effect, whereas other women don't need as much to benefit from a significant reduction in menopausal symptoms. These natural phyto-nutrients do not cause cancer like synthetid HT and in fact they even prevent the risk of developing cancer.

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