Natural Hormones are Powerful Chemicals
May/June 2008
By Amy Allina
As more women have learned about the health risks of conventional hormone therapy drugs, many have started looking for natural alternatives, such as herbs or dietary supplements. One kind of alternative -- natural hormones, also called bio-identical hormones -- has attracted a lot of new interest. This has been driven, in large part, by unsubstantiated claims by the companies and pharmacies that make and distribute so-called “natural hormones” that their products are safer than conventional hormone therapy drugs.
Many of the claims made about these products are unproven, but most women don't know that and assume that natural products must be safer. The fact is, products are not necessarily safe just because they’re natural. Hormones made from natural substances – just like those synthesized in a lab -- are powerful chemicals that affect many parts of the body.
The natural hormones most commonly recommended for women at menopause are estriol and Tri-Est(rogen), natural progesterone, and DHEA. Natural hormones are prescribed by health care providers and sold at special pharmacies, called compounding pharmacies, which mix the hormones into forms which women can use -- usually pills or topical creams. DHEA pills and topical progesterone creams may also be found over-the-counter.
For years, the NWHN has been urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to exercise better oversight of natural hormones. In January, the FDA finally took action, telling the pharmacies that the safety and effectiveness claims they were making “are unsupported by medical evidence, and are considered false and misleading by the Agency.”
Groups that promote natural hormones responded with an advertising campaign that repeats the unproven claims about natural hormones, and urges women to criticize the FDA’s actions. Organized by the HOME (Hands Off My Estrogens!) Coalition, the ads accuse the FDA of launching an attack on “natural health” and women’s rights, claiming that the Agency is defending the “sales and profits of its clients, the big drug companies.” It’s true that big drug companies wanted the FDA to crack down on the widespread marketing of natural hormones -- but so did the NWHN. And, unfortunately, that’s about all that’s true in the ad. The rest of the text seriously misrepresents what the FDA did and, even worse, repeats the same unsubstantiated promotional claims about natural hormones that led to the FDA action in the first place.
The NWHN believes women need to know about the unproven claims for natural hormones and supports the FDA’s actions. The same questions we ask about drugs need to be answered for alternative therapies too. Women need to know that, even though natural hormones are prescribed by a doctor and sold in a pharmacy, it doesn’t mean they’ve been tested and proven to be safe and effective.
For more information on these products and about the FDA decision, read the National Women’s Health Network's newly updated fact sheet on Natural Hormones at Menopause and Hormones for Hot Flashes -- Is Natural Better? (Women's Health Activist March/April 2008). If you see ads or other promotions for natural hormone therapy that make unproven claims, please send them to us at nwhn@nwhn.org.
