It’s been said that everything has a beginning. When it comes to beginning of hormone replacement, John Lee, MD certainly was one of the early pioneers, especially in the use of progesterone. Hormone Balance Made Simple really is a simple book for women and for physicians who treat women. Hormone Balance Made Simple was written with the help Virginia Hopkins as Dr. Lee died before the book was completed.
In Hormone Balance Made Simple Dr. Lee discusses his three basic rules for hormone replacement and maintaining hormone balance:
- use hormones only if you need them (have low levels and symptoms related to those low levels)
- use only bio-identical hormones
- use only dosages that create hormonal balance
Many will find chapter 3, “The Hormone Balance Test”, the most useful chapter as Dr. Lee provides a list of six groups of symptoms that enable a woman to better determine which hormone (s) may be out of balance. Physicians will find the symptom grouping very helpful as they attempt to balance hormones in their female patients. The six symptom groups are:
- progesterone deficiency
- estrogen deficiency
- excess estrogen
- estrogen dominance
- excess androgens
- cortisol deficiency
Hormone Balance Made Simple discusses the health risks associated with conventional hormone replacement that uses non-bioidentical hormones. The book also pays considerable attention to the harmful effects of estrogen dominance (too much estrogen relative to progesterone) and reviews 25 ways that progesterone balances the undesirable effects estrogen.
There is an excellent discussion on the differences between progesterone and progestins (non-bioidentical), and the many adverse effects of synthetic progestins.
There’s a section that discusses other causes of hormonal imbalance including stress, toxins, diet, and lifestyle. Recommendations on healthy eating are provided that help optimize hormone balance with attention given to the harm of excess sugar.
Hormone Balance Made Simple makes it easy for women to understand how hormonal imbalances effect they way they feel and the steps that can be taken to restore healthy hormone balance.
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