Bio-Identical Hormones

B is for Bio-Identical Hormones. First, what are they? “Bio” means “life” and “identical” means “the same.” A hormone is a substance that circulates and sends a message to part of the body. For example, estrogen tells the ovary to release an egg, progesterone tells the uterus to get ready for pregnancy, and testosterone tells muscles to grow. A Bio-Identical Hormone is one that is identical to the hormone that is naturally produced in the body.
Synthetic hormones include Premarin (synthetic estrogen). Premarin actually comes from PREgnant MAre uRINe (thus the name PREMARIN); the hormonal structure is chemically altered, and the result is the synthetic preparation we know as Premarin. Therefore the structure of Premarin is not the same as that of the estrogen produced by human females.
Bio-Identical estrogen comes from Yams. It just so happens that its structure is the same as that of human estrogen, and thus it is “bio-identical” for humans.
Often the term “natural” is used when referring to bio-identical hormones, and you may hear that bio-identical estrogen is a natural hormone, and Premarin is not a natural hormone. Technically, Premarin IS a natural hormone (for a horse); however, it is just not “natural” for humans. Bio-identical estrogen comes from Yams, so it is NATURAL, and it just happens to also be a natural hormone for humans since its structure is the same as that produced in humans.
Bio-identical hormones also have different risk profiles from synthetic hormones, and that is one major advantage of the bio-identical substances. The risks and side effects of synthetic and bio-identical hormones are subjects for another day!
Hope you learned something!

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