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Bioidentical Hormones for Long-term Health

by Linda Sechrist

Hormone scholar Dr. Devaki Lindsey Berkson, a nutrition and gut expert as well as a continuing education professor for medical doctors and pharmacists, frequently lectures at conferences to clarify misinformation about hormones, such as the difference between synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and plantbased bio-identical hormone therapy (BHT).

This peer-reviewed, published researcher is the bestselling author of Safe Hormones Smart Women and Sexy Brain: How Sizzling Intimacy & Balanced Hormones Prevent Alzheimer’s, Cancer, Depression & Divorce and a breast cancer survivor of 26 years.

Why do you refer to hormones as nature’s physiologic internet system?

Hormones send invaluable “email” signals to cells throughout the entire body and brain.

What is the difference between HRT and BHT?

Synthetic hormones are altered by pharmaceutical companies to make them profitable. Bioidentical hormones are like those made by the body and designed by Mother Nature. I advise tracking hormone levels every decade throughout life to determine which levels help an individual feel their best. Unfortunately, doctors are still being taught that hormones are mainly important for reproductive or sexy things, addressing issues like peri- or post-menopause, andropause, erectile dysfunction or disease.

How did the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) affect the use of hormones?

Up until 2002, when WHI prematurely stopped one of its hormone study groups which was prescribed a combination of Premarin plus synthetic progesterone, estrogen therapies were the recommended standard of care for menopausal women and the biggest-selling pharmaceuticals in history. Medical journals, research institutions and expert cancer doctors accepted that estrogen was safe and did not increase the risk of breast cancer.

Carried out by the U.S. National Institutes of Health from 2002 to 2008, WHI conducted a series of 40 group studies following the health of 161,809 postmenopausal women. Studies covered various aspects of aging women’s health from diet, bone health and nutrients to heart health and the risk of hormonedriven cancers, as well as two randomized trials on hormone therapies. The resulting claims that the HRT combo of Premarin plus synthetic progestin significantly increased the risks of breast cancer, cardiac events, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke alarmed the public and huge numbers of U.S. doctors stopped prescribing hormones.

What has changed?

By 2004, re-analysis of the combo study demonstrated opposite findings, and a 19-year follow-up WHI analysis revealed that estrogen protects against breast cancer while on it and even 10 years after, while progestins do the opposite. Dr. Leon Speroff, professor at the University of Oregon and the physician who authored Clinical Gynecologic Endocrinology and Infertility, twice concluded after reviewing every statisti-

cal nuance of the WHI, “There continues to be good reason to believe that there are benefits associated with treatment, including improvement of quality of life beyond the relief of hot flushes, maximal protection against osteoporotic fractures, a reduction in colorectal cancers, maintenance of skin elasticity and the possibility of primary prevention of coronary heart disease and Alzheimer’s.”

Although new science clearly showed that hormones rule body and brain health and are critical for staying healthy, fighting illness long-term rather than short-term and lowering mortality timing by preventing heart attacks and strokes, CEOs of Big Pharma companies that provided the synthetic hormones used in the WHI trials continued to fight hard against BHT formulated by compounding pharmacists. Now these very same CEOs have released a BHT combination of estradiol and progesterone and are writing in peer review studies about how much better and safer it is. Big Pharma intends be the sole source of supply. They plan to do that by eliminating their competition: compounding pharmacies.

What is your experience with compounding pharmacists?

The FDA purports that compounding pharmacies are dangerous, unregulated and use items that are too complicated to compound. Not true. Compounding pharmacists are skilled professionals at mixing bioidentical hormones to a doctor’s prescription. I’ve successfully been using compounding pharmacies for more than 30 years. A compounding pharmacist should be part of the health team when natural, bioidentical hormones are prescribed. Their knowledge can provide a wealth of experience for doctor and the patient. Furthermore, they provide an invaluable service at manufacturing a safe product that is unique for a particular patient.

Hormones are so critical that even if you’re prescribed HRT, it’s better than losing out for decades on the hormone signals that keep your body younger and less inflamed. To be without healthy hormone signals is an aging and pro-inflammatory process to the body. In other words, get hormones any way you can. While synthetic is better than nothing, bioidentical trumps synthetic.

DrLindseyBerkson.com offers a podcast archive, blog, newsletter and membership opportunities that include live, monthly, Zoom conversations.

Linda Sechrist is a senior staff writer for Natural Awakenings.

The Gifts of Mercury Retrograde

by Aluna Michaels, M.A.

People often get unnecessarily anxious when they hear “Mercury retrograde”. This common event is certainly nothing to fear, and learning more about it may actually help you look forward to it! This year, Mercury retrogrades May 29 to June 25 and September 27 to October 17. (We have already experienced January 29 to February 20.)

Astrologically, Mercury rules communication, mechanical items and transportation. It represents telephones, computers, cars, travel and machinery. Mercury is your own individual thinking process, getting errands accomplished, leaving messages. Generally, Mercury helps your day run smoothly and allows you to be “in the flow”.

In mythology, Mercury is the god of communication and the divine messenger. One of his jobs was to bring spiritual information from Mount Olympus, the home of the gods, to people on Earth. He also brought prayers from humans up to the gods.

Spiritually, the role of Mercury symbolizes your ability to connect with your Higher Self, which Mount Olympus represents. Mercury is that quicksilver ability that links you with divine knowledge and instant “downloads”. These pieces of information might be profound or they might be simple bits of guidance that make life easier for you.

When Mercury is direct, you often have a clear link with your intuition, especially with a regular meditation practice. Maybe you take your internal guidance for granted. Now, planets of course do not actually go backwards. But from our point of view on Earth, it frequently appears that Mercury stops and turns backwards, and then stops and goes forward again. It’s an illusion created by our perspective in the solar system.

Mercury turns retrograde about three times a year for approximately three weeks. You might have come to dread these times. Things get lost in the mail. The car breaks down. Important voice mails or emails never reach their destination. Misunderstandings and frustrations arise. It takes forever to get across town in traffic. All the areas that Mercury rules go haywire.

Why does this have to happen? Mythology holds some answers. Mercury was a young god and loved to play tricks on his family. He was the trickster and a pain-in-the-butt kid who drove the gods crazy with silly pranks. One way to handle Mercury retrograde is to have a sense of humor. If you get riled up about things, Mercury seems to play more tricks on you. But when the prankster realizes he can’t get to you, the teasing lightens up.

On a deeper level, Mercury retrograde is asking you to slow down your normal pace. In making regular stuff complicated, Mercury causes you to be more conscious of your day-to-day existence. It’s easy to be somewhat robotic when everything goes smoothly. With Mercury retrograde, you have to think more clearly about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and where you’re headed.

Mercury retrograde reveals another layer of spiritual awareness. For the ancient Greeks, Mercury (who they called Hermes) had another task beyond messenger and occasional troublemaker. He also had the role of “psychopomp”, which means “conductor of the soul”. He led departed souls to the underworld, which wasn’t hell as we think of it today. The ancient Greeks saw the underworld as a place of contemplation of the life just lived.

During retrograde times, allow Mercury to lead you into the depths of your unconscious mind. This is your own personal “underworld”. What’s going on in your underworld? Are you being run by negative thoughts? Maybe you need to forgive yourself or others so you can break out of limiting patterns. What talents and strengths have you buried and neglected?

Deeper meditations are possible during Mercury retrograde. Tell your soul you’re willing to see the root of your difficulties. Surrender to the unknown and don’t be afraid to explore the dark recesses of your mind. You may have breakthroughs that illuminate your issues in a more freeing way. You might have dreams that reveal profound answers to longstanding problems.

Once Mercury goes direct, you’ll emerge into the light with added insights, greater healing and increased vigor to accomplish your next spiritual steps. You’ll feel the playful enthusiasm and reassuring smoothness of life once again.

Mercury represents the spiritual ability to adapt to new circumstances and flow gracefully between various modes of life. By all means, enjoy the easy times and effortless connection with your soul. With these new perspectives, hopefully, you will also look forward to the sacred healing opportunities that Mercury retrograde offers!

Aluna Michaels is a second-generation astrologer. She also holds a Masters in Spiritual Counseling and has been teaching and consulting for more than three decades. Her book, Spiritual Gifts of the 12 Astrological Signs, is now on Amazon in Kindle version and as an E-book on her website. Aluna lives in Clearwater and is available for appointments in her home, by phone or Zoom. Call or text 248-583-1663 or visit AlunaMichaels.com. See ad page 44.