Article: Bio-identical or natural?

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Article: Bio-identical or natural?
Are all plant-based estrogens bio-identical? My doctor said Cenestin is natural because it is made from plants.

It's probably all a confusion of terms. All this stuff, even Premarin, is synthesized from a naturally occuring substance, just one is urine and the others are plants. Natural hormones, at least the way we understand the term, are hormones that are bio-identical (just like the ones in your body).

Cenestin is a conjugated estrogen that is essentially the same end chemical as Premarin, just that they start with plants rather than pregnant mare's urine. It has extra atoms attached to it so that it isn't just like the "naturally" occurring estrogens in our bodies. That way, they can make a lot more profit. So, no, it's not natural/bio-identical.

I don't know whether it has fewer side effects than Premarin can have.

Estrace is bio-identical. That is, if you diagram all the atoms in the molecule it looks exactly like all the atoms in the estrogen that your body makes. Yes, it is manufactured.

Conjugated estrogens have MORE atoms in the molecule so that it does not look exactly like the atoms in the estrogen that your body makes. In some people, the extra atoms make no difference at all. In a lot of people, the extra atoms cause more side effects. Since getting the right hormone mix is hard enough, it seems like a good idea to stick with the kind that looks exactly like the kind your body makes.

Hormones are messengers in the body. They are like keys. The cells that actually do things have little locks. When a hormone comes by, it sees whether it fits the lock. Estrogen fits the lock exactly and opens up the cell. With the extra atoms, like an extra bump in a key, conjugated estrogen like cenestin fits the lock less well, so it creaks and jams and the cells don't always open up quite right. Hence, side effects.

However, you might be one of the lucky ones who don't experience any side effects. Of course if this suggested hormone therapy doesn't provide relief from your menopausal symptoms, ask your doctor for other choices. There are many available!

This content was written by staff of HysterSisters.com by non-medical professionals based on discussions, resources and input from other patients for the purpose of patient-to-patient support.