There was a lot of hype in the English newspapers yesterday about a new study to come out of Denmark regarding menopause hormonal therapy and dementia, so I thought I would go directly to the source of this hype and read the research for myself.
In the British Medical Journal (BMJ) the research entitled “Menopausal hormone therapy and dementia: nationwide, nested case-control study” was published on 28th June 2023.
The study was a nationwide study carried out in Denmark, with 5589 cases of dementia and 55890 age matched controls that had been identified from the entire Danish population of Danish women between the ages of 50 and 60 years in 2000. The study population was identified between 2000 and 2018, ie 18 years. In 2000 these women had no history of dementia or any contraindications for using HRT.
The results were really interesting. Comparing the population study with those that had never used HRT, those who had received oestrogen-progestogen therapy had an increased rate of dementia. The conclusion was that even women who had received treatment at 55 years of age or younger had a positive association with the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The results were similar for continuous use of HRT or cyclic use. 79.4% of the women who took HRT developed dementia, and 26.1% developed Alzheimer’s disease. Those women who only took progestogen hormone therapy and vaginal oestrogen were not associated with dementia.
Another interesting thing about this study is that the research that was done around this study found large scale observational studies that associated long term use of menopausal hormone therapy with the development of dementia, with results from the largest randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial on the topic confirming this result. The conclusion to the Danish study is that exposure to menopausal hormone therapy is positively associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, even when HRT is used for short term use.
My motto is always to try natural medicine first, then drugs, then surgery. Always give natural medicine a try. It’s been around since human beings could think, and even if we’ve come along way away from a natural lifestyle, it’s not too late to revisit some of nature’s cures. The older medicinal systems all have remedies for imbalances. I don’t like to use the word disease around menopause because it’s just not a disease. It’s part of life’s journey through the different stages, just like birth, childhood, puberty and death. Therefore, in my humble opinion, just like those different stages, menopause should be treated as a temporary imbalance in your life and finding a natural help (not cure) is the way forward.
Traditional Chinese medicine is one such system that can really help improve your menopausal symptoms; just as European herbal medicine, ayurveda, naturopathy, oriental medicine, native American traditional herbal medicine, indigenous medicine, in fact each culture has it’s own traditional medicine and they can all help. It’s about finding what will help you and have the patience to use it and wait for the effects to take place.
Nowadays we just don’t take notice of our imbalanced mind and body until it becomes such a big hindrance to our busy lives that we need an immediate solution, which is what drugs offer us. If we tune in to our mind and body earlier on in our journey, those imbalances wouldn’t necessarily scream blue murder at us and we would have more patience to make little tweaks to our lifestyle that would help those symptoms go away, or at least sit in the corner and not bother us.
We were all born differently (so Lady Gaga says!) and we all live our lives differently, so why would a drug be a one fit for all? It doesn’t make sense to me. Even if our symptoms appear to be the same as the next lady, the effect on our life and relationships is completely individual.
If this makes sense to you, maybe you would benefit from a helping hand in a natural way. I can offer an individual program, tailored to your needs, your life, your lifestyle.
If you no longer want to suffer menopause by yourself and would like me to help you on your journey to wellness, click here to book a FREE appointment online.
Thank you for reading my thoughts and please share with your friends. You never know how far-reaching your thoughts, words and shares can affect the lives of others. Have a great rest of your day.
Manage Menopause Naturally 
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