Bioidentical Hormones And Aging Gracefully

There's a lot of hype around bioidentical hormones these days. Hormone treatments promise to diminish the signs of aging and maintain youthfulness longer than thought possible 20 years ago. Hormone replacement therapy has been in use since the 1930's, helping women overcome some of the discomforts associated with menopause, but these days doctors recognize that men go through hormonal changes that are equally disconcerting. These hormonal changes are known as “andropause” for men.

Synthetic hormones were developed years ago to try to help women alleviate discomfort and maintain good health beyond menopause. Unfortunately, synthetic hormones are manufactured intentionally to be chemically just a little bit different than the hormones produced by the human body. After years of using these synthetic hormones, higher levels of breast cancer were reported as well as a host of other undesirable side effect, which made people wary of doing hormone replacement therapy unless it was deemed absolutely necessary.

Recently, bioidentical hormones have made an appearance in age management medicine. Bioidentical hormones are structurally and functionally the same on a chemical level to the hormones produced by the human body, making them seemingly less dangerous. So far, studies have not been able to prove whether or not bioidentical hormones have the same side effects and risks as synthetic hormones because of the political milieu surrounding synthetic hormones. Synthetic hormones can be patented and thus represent a source of income for pharmaceutical companies. Bioidentical hormones cannot be patented (because you can't patent things that are produced naturally by the human body). Pharmaceutical companies want a cut of the bioidentical hormone market and until they can find it, they're working on making it seem like bioidentical hormones are as dangerous to use as synthetic hormones.

In reality, no one knows whether bioidentical hormone replacement therapy carries the same or perhaps a different set of risks. Personal experiences with bioidentical hormone replacement has been positive in a number of cases. But the research just isn't available yet. Age management medicine is a new branch of medicine that has been exploring the possibilities of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy in tandem with dietary and lifestyle changes, exercise, and nutritional supplementation. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy does seem to diminish and slow the aging process significantly. Some studies have shown a boost in immune system function as well, which can, in some cases deter the development of cancer. But doctors and scientists still carefully screen individuals who have a high risk of developing cancer before putting them on a bioidentical hormone replacement therapy plan.

Age management medicine is still new and people are just starting to recognize the potential benefits or hormone replacement therapy as well as other treatments geared at maintaining youth longer. Talk with your doctor and other health advisers if you'd like to learn more about age management medicine and the potential health benefits that could increase your quality of life. There are unbiased health experts available at www.ianchat.com to discuss bioidentical hormones as well as ways to control and diminish the signs of aging through lifestyle changes.

For more information about Age Management Medicine, visit http://www.agemed.org/.

To learn more about Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy, visit http://www.bioidenticalhormonesociety.com/