Raw Food Blog

Women often ask me about natural hormones. So-called bioidentical hormones were promoted by Suzanne Somers’ book The Sexy Years. I cannot say whether bioidentical hormones are helpful or not. I do not know; I have never taken them. I will only tell you why I never considered using them.

Bioidentical hormones are custom-mixed formulas containing various hormones that are chemically identical to those naturally made by your body. These prescription and over-the-counter products are marketed as being tailored to a woman’s individual hormone needs, typically determined through saliva hormone testing.

“Bioidentical” hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is the use of supplemental doses of steroid hormones with a chemical structure identical to endogenous human hormones (hormones naturally produced in the human body). Generally BHRT is prescribed to relieve the symptoms of menopause, though more recent therapies promise anti-aging effects and possible deferral of the diseases of aging. BHRT differs from conventional hormone replacement therapy, which by definition uses animal or synthetic hormones whose structures differ from those produced in the human body.

At fifty, I do not have any menopause symptoms. My near vision is perfect; I sleep like a baby, and I have never had hot flashes! I do not understand what all this fuss is about. When women go raw, hot flashes, irritability, breast tenderness, water retention, and sleeping disorders all disappear or never start.

Let us get it straight: Suzanne made a decision to take natural hormones because she had every menopause symptom in the book. These hormones are supposed to be much better than the synthetic estrogen from horses’ urine. Bioidentical HRT is synthesized in a lab, made from plant extracts. (They definitely have more cachet than Premarin®, which is made from mare’s urine!) The claim is that bioidenticals replicate exactly what our own bodies produce.

So? Just because the body produces it, should we conclude more is better? How presumptuous to think we know how much the body really needs and are qualified to increase natural quantities. Hormones, natural or synthetic, were never meant to be introduced into the body in the form of a cream, pill, or anything else science might think of to make a buck. Such intrusive methods create an imbalance in the natural order.

If you get too much of bioidentical hormones, you have side effects; the same goes for testosterone, DHEA, HGH, thyroid, and the adrenal hormones.”

All these hormones are intended to simulate a calorie restricted diet. You can get all the benefits by going straight to the real thing — “raw and low” instead of pills and shots!
Calorie-restricted monkeys do not show the steep declines in hormone production. The lure of these calorie-restriction mimetics (CRM) to gullible people amazes me. They will do anything, pay any price except to eat less. The simplest, most effective, and, finally, the cheapest solution of all.

Human Growth Hormone, also known as somatotropin, is one of many endocrine hormones. What makes GH special that the body can produce large amounts of GH right into old age. It is the most abundant hormone secreted by the pituitary gland. Just like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, melanin and DHEA, Human Growth Hormone production declines as we age. However, this hormone is superior to all the other hormones because when it is replaced it supposedly not only prevents further biological aging, but reverses its signs and symptoms. Growth hormone levels go up when
insulin levels go down, about four hours after a meal.

James Jamieson and Dr. L. E. Dorman, experts on hormone replacement therapies in the book Growth Hormone: Reversing Human Aging Naturally state: “It is at this point that the fat burning potential of GH tends to be at its daytime peak. But remember, the largest burst of GH is released during the early hours of sleep — hence, our evening eating habits are crucial to maximizing this nighttime secretion. By avoiding food during the last four hours before bedtime we may enhance circadian growth hormone release, and fat burning potential.” More in Quantum Eating: The Ultimate Elixir of Youth

Convert to raw foods. Let your body decide in its own time and its own way what to rejuvenate and in what order. Menopause should give pause for thought. And one of the most useful thoughts we might have could be this: In seeking control of our health, what counts is: when we go raw we must trust our body.