Hormone Replacement Therapy

by D.M. Murdock

What is the skinny on Hormone Replacement Therapy or HRT? Is is safe and effective? A leading proponent of HRT, Dr. Edmund Chein, a "specialist in anti-aging and longevity medicine," says the following:

Physicians used to believe that our hormone levels fall because we age. Now most acknowledge that we age because our hormone levels fall. By restoring your hormones to young-adult levels, Palm Springs Life Extension Institute can help you avoid age-related illnesses, reverse your biological age, extend your life expectancy, and significantly improve the quality of your additional years.... Studies have shown that Hormone Balancing Therapy can slow, stop or possibly even reverse the deterioration of our organs and cells. This gives great hope for not only a longer life, but a healthy, and active quality of life.1

Dr. Chein's work is in part based around the enzyme telomere, which is the part of "human DNA that controls life span." Telomere itself is not yet available, but it has been discovered that hormones can positively influence it.

Dr. Chein does not recommended self-treatment in hormone replacement therapy using over-the-counter supplements. It should be kept in mind that in using the term "hormone replacement therapy" we are discussing a certain type of hormones that are better prescribed and regulated by an anti-aging and longevity physician, such as HGH, DHEA, testosterone, estrogen and progesterone. We are not discussing hormones such as vitamin D or melatonin, although use of these should also be monitored. While DHEA is widely found over the counter and is generally thought to be safe, it is in fact a powerful "mother hormone" that should be monitored closely. Utilizing too much DHEA has been known to produce agitation and irritability, and the effects of longterm use are not known. Dr. Chein notes that DHEA may be helpful in preventing or treating AIDS, Alzheimer's, arteriosclerosis, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, dementia, diabetes and osteoporosis, and may have a beneficial affect on longevity.2 The recommended daily dosage of DHEA is 50 to 150 milligrams.

The need for hormone replacement therapy becomes clear when the effects of menopause are considered. Says Dr. Chein:

Before menopause, women's bodies are protected from heart disease, for example, by the ovaries' natural production of estrogen and progesterone hormones. But after menopause, heart disease skyrockets, surpassing even the male population. It is the leading cause of death in older women with over a half-million deaths per year in the United States, more than twice as many as all cancer deaths combined.3

Excess hormones - xenoestrogens - in the environment are contributing to "premature puberty in girls, breast and uterine cancer in women, prostrate cancer and impotence in men."  (David Williams)

One popular form of HRT consists of using soy isoflavones, which consist of the phytoestrogens genistein, daizdzein and glycitein, found in that order quantity-wise in soybeans. While these isoflavones may possess anticarcinogenic and antioxidant capacity, they are also known for their estrogenic effect, which is why they are used in hormone replacement therapy. Soy consumption has been suggested for the following ailments, illnesses and conditions

• aging
• athersclerosis
• breast cancer
• cholestrol abnormalities
• heart disease
• leukemia
• lung cancer
• menopausal disturbances
• osteoporosis
• prostate cancer

Based on animal studies, it appears that the main soy isoflavone, genistein, enhances the effects of the enzymes and antioxidants superoxide dismutase (SOD) and gluthatione, which are claimed to increase health.

Caveat emptor!

Nevertheless, caution should be exercised when it comes to soy products, as they have not been proved to be safe, much less beneficial for illnesses, particularly because they are so abundant in phytoestrogens/ isoflavones. Even though it is generally pro-soy, the Physician's Desk Reference includes the following warning in its article on "Soy Isoflavones":

Pregnant women and nursing mothers should avoid the use of soy isoflavone supplements pending long-term safety studies. Men with prostate cancer should discuss the advisability of the use of soy isoflavones with their physicians before deciding to use them. Women with estrogen receptor-positive tumors should exercise caution in the use of soy isoflavones and should only use them if they are recommended and monitored by a physician. Soy isoflavone intake has been associated with hypothyroidism in some.2

Furthermore, while it has been claimed that soy consumption may prevent breast cancer, pertinent studies indicate that soy consumption increases the size of malignant breast tumors:  

"CONCLUSIONS: Genistein and daidzein may stimulate existing breast tumor growth and antagonize the effects of tamoxifen. Women with current or past breast cancer should be aware of the risks of potential tumor growth when taking soy products."3

Animal studies have also indicated that high doses of genistein decreases the activity of sperm in mammals and negatively affect fertility in males.2 Both studies have the caveat about dosage, however, as the first claims high doses decrease breast-cancer growth, while the second implies that low doses may have a beneficial effect on male fertility. In female lab rats, unnaturally high doses of genistein applied in utero caused abnormal menstruation and ovary fuction, premature puberty, lowered fertility and increased infertility.4 While it has been suggested otherwise, genistein and other phytoestrogens consumed during pregnancy has been found to produce a wide variety of hormone-related ailments and birth defects that are applicable to human models. In other words, these studies have demonstrated in lab animals that soy products cause genital birth defects. Whether or not such studies are applicable to humans, and thereby at the root of an increase in such birth defects in humans, which include abnormalities of the penis and testicles, is not considered to have been proved. Again, however, it is not necessary to consume soy products, it would be advisable to avoid them - especially during pregnancy. Akorean study of the effects of genistein on juvenile rats concluded:

"Genistein, a soybean-originated isoflavone, is widely consumed by humans for putative beneficial health effects but its estrogenic activity may affect adversely the development of the male reproductive system.... These results suggest that dietary uptake of genistein during the juvenile period may affect male reproductive development, resulting in a slight decrease in sperm count, but with an increase in sperm motion quality."5

Other studies found that genistein is "genotoxic" at certain dosages, which means it causes genetic damage6, and that in chronic high dosages genistein causes cellular damage.7 Another study determined that feeding soy isoflavones to female rats produced abnormal and scaly uterine cell growth. Contrary to popular belief, however, the isoflavones did not produce a postive effect on bone density.8

Genistein is a known "endocrine-disruptor." A study of the well known harmful effects of soy isoflavones on the thyroid by Doerge and Sheehan concluded:

"Although safety testing of natural products, including soy products, is not required, the possibility that widely consumed soy products may cause harm in the human population via either or both estrogenic and goitrogenic activities is of concern. Rigorous, high-quality experimental and human research into soy toxicity is the best way to address these concerns. Similar studies in wildlife populations are also appropriate."9

Although it is certain that most of these harmful effects of soy isoflavones/phystoestrogens develop because of high doses, it should be kept in mind that one bottle of soy infant formula contains the estrogenic equivalent of five birth control pills. In other words, what many today are consuming in their diets is a high dosage. After their studies determined that the soy isoflavone genistein was more carcinogenic to fetuses than was the toxic pharmaceutical hormone DES or diethylstilbestrol, scientists at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a division of the American government's National Institutes of Health, remarked:

At 18 months, the incidence of uterine adenocarcinoma was 35% for genistein and 31% for DES. These data suggest that genistein is carcinogenic if exposure occurs during critical periods of differentiation. Thus, the use of soy-based infant formulas in the absence of medical necessity and the marketing of soy products designed to appeal to children should be closely examined.11

Genistein-consumption is also linked to heart problems: "The isoflavone genistein in soy was found to inhibit potassium in Guinea pigs, leading to heart arrhythmias (J Biomed Sci 2002;9:321-326)."2

Another study called "Infantile leukemia and soybeans" hypothesizes that "genistein may be largely responsible for the development of IAL" or infantile acute leukemia.11

On the other hand, a study suggests that soybean consumption may prevent urinary tract cancer.12 Nevertheless, the odds of getting such cancer at this time are remote in comparison to the potential side effects of consuming soy phytoestrogens.

Some women claim to have good results from using hormone-replacement creams, such as those that, when placed topically on various parts of the body, deliver progesterone into the blood stream. Femgest is one such popular brand, which  is composed of yam [?] extract, along with aloe vera and grapefruit seed extract. Femgest promises to help with the various changes associated with menopause, including anxiety, hot flashes, irritability, mood swings and low libido.