The following article is by Dr. Jonathan V. Wright. The original article appears in the November 2019 issue of the Green Medicine Newsletter. Action Alert!
The September 24th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (“JAMA”) reprinted[1] an article originally published in The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics which told us about the latest “hormone” therapy “approved” by our “public servants” in Washington DC. The article tells us: “Bijuva® is supplied in capsules containing 1 mg of estradiol and 100 mg of progesterone. The recommended dosage is 1 capsule every evening with food. The oral fixed-dose combination….”
Bujiva® is bio-identical (estradiol, progesterone) and “approved,” but not at all safe to use, for two reasons, at least one of which should be known by now to those who do the “approving.” This reason is even mentioned—but not at all emphasized—in the JAMA article, which states: “In the Women’s Health Initiative trials, which randomized postmenopausal women to oral conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) with or without a progestin or to placebo, the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) [blood clots] was significantly higher with hormone therapy.” It’s now well-known to even conventional medical physicians that orally ingested estrogens raise risk of “venous thromboembolism” (blood clots!), and that topically applied estrogens do not! Even this JAMA article tells us: “In a case-control study, transdermal hormone replacement therapy was not associated with an increased risk of VTE.” Apparently our “public servants” either don’t know these facts, or don’t care!
That’s not the only unsafe aspect of “Bujiva®.” The only estrogen it contains is estradiol. Anyone who reads medical journals knows that from the 1960s through the 1980s, Dr. Henry Lemon established (and was never disputed) that estriol (one of three “major estrogens) is anti-carcinogenic, and that women whose bodies have more estriol than estradiol and estrone combined are at much less risk of breast cancer and other “estrogen-related” cancer. Apparently our “public servants” have chosen to ignore this well-researched fact, “approving” the use of estrdiol alone, which carries with it higher estrogen-related cancer risk!
“Bujiva®” is also “one-size-fits-all.” From the JAMA article: “Bijuva is supplied in capsules containing 1 milligram of estradiol and 100 milligrams of progesterone. The recommended dosage is 1 capsule every evening with food.” Don’t we all know that all women are exactly the same, and all of them will do best when using exactly the same dosage of estradiol as all other women? DUH!
What about taking “Bujiva® “every day”? Apparently those who do the “approving” appear not to be aware of the report[2] about 133,744 women using varying hormone replacement therapies for a median 8.6 years. The report told us: “Continuous combined regimens [taken every day with no monthly pause] conferred a 43% (95% CI: 19-72%) greater risk compared with sequential regimens.” Apparently those who do the “approving” don’t mind a 43% increase in breast cancer risk from an “approved” hormone product taken according to instructions, or they haven’t read this study. Even without a research study, it should be obvious that women’s hormones “take a break” every month from menarche to menopause!
The JAMA article lists twenty-three other “approved hormone” products. As none (zero!) of the twenty-three contain estriol, none are as safe as compounded BHRT. Three of the “estrogens” are not bio-identical, one of these is actually horse estrogen! Eight of the “progesterone” containing products aren’t at all identical to human progesterone. Sixteen of the “approved” products expose women to non-stop daily use. And nine “approved” hormones are “one size fits all.”
Real bio-identical hormone replacement (BHRT)—the compounded version which our “public servants” are trying to eliminate—contains only hormone molecules identical to human hormones (“bio-identical hormones”). All compounded estrogens contain estriol, which keeps the therapy much safer. All BHRT progesterone is exactly identical (bio-identical) to what’s found in women’s bodies. Real BHRT “copies nature” with a two to four day “break” every month, which also keeps real BHRT much safer. Compounded BHRT recognizes that women are different—including their hormone patterns, so there’s never any “one size fits all” prescribing.
Women: which type of hormone replacement would you prefer to use? The safer compounded version or the much less safe “approved” version?
[1] Estradiol/Progesterone (Bujiva) for Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms. JAMA;322(12):1206-1207
[2] Bakken K, Fournier A, Lund E, et al. Menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer risk: impact of different treatments. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.Int J Cancer. 2011 Jan 1;128(1):144-56
