What are the Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy?

When a woman reaches her menopausal stage, it is known that her body ceases producing the hormone estrogen. Women who also have their ovaries removed at any stage of their lives are said to undergo surgical menopause and estrogen production also ceases. For this reason, a number of women, and even men, undergo HRT. So what are the benefits of hormone replacement therapy?

Progesterone is also made by the ovaries and its levels decline as well.  However, this discussion will focus on the benefits of estrogen.

Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy – A Discussion 

While there are some who don’t agree with taking HRT because of the side effects and risks that they claim it could cause, there are still many women who say that this therapy really benefits women who are having the symptoms of menopause to at least, regulate it or remove it totally.

There are a lot of things that a woman may experience when in the early stages of menopause. These are really hard to deal with for women and may give them psychological and physical problems.

Examples are mood swings, hot flashes, decreased vaginal lubrication and osteoporosis. And getting rid or slowing down these issues is the main benefit of hormone replacement therapy.

If you want to know how the treatment relieves some of these symptoms, here’s a short explanation.

The first symptom it addresses are the hot flashes. HRT helps the body get rid of “annoying” symptoms. Estrogen has mood elevating effects, which causes a woman to feel happier and able to function better. It is also known to reduce minor depression and it improve short-term memory.

Perhaps the most famous benefit of hormone replacement therapy is it slows down osteoporosis. The hormone estrogen increases the bone mass by stopping the cells that eat old bones and have it replaced. It helps the bones absorb the calcium they need to stay strong.

Another well-known benefit of hormone replacement therapy is that it lessens the risk of cardiovascular diseases. HRT is commonly used by those who are prone to heart disease because they have a strong family history of cardiovascular disease, smokers, obese and those with high blood pressure.

Other than these major benefits, HRT may also help women reduce colon cancer risk, slow down aging, maintain sexual desire and protects teeth. Even if there are those who question whether the benefits of hormone replacement therapy can be felt by women who use HRT, these has been derived from independent studies, like for reducing colon cancer risk, it was actually taken from a published study in the Journal of National Cancer Institute.

Again, HRT benefits women in many ways. In their psychological well-being, physical health and even sexual health. But it is still up to the individual to decide whether she will use HRT. Do more research and check whether the benefits of hormone replacement therapy outweigh the risks of the treatment.

See related articles.

“Look Who’s Taking Bio Identical Hormone Replacment Therapy”

“Hormone Replacement Therapy Alternatives…..and Their Side Effects”