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Deborah

by Deborah
(South Africa)

Hi Wray,

I am very pleased to have come upon your site as it is full of very interesting and logical sounding info.

I am 55 years old and have been lucky during my perimenopausal state to have suffered very few of the symptoms associated with this period in a woman's life. The worst appears to be the thickening of my waist and belly as I have always had a slim figure and my mother was slim right up to her death at the age of 67 ( she was on HRT for 10 years or more and died very suddenly in my arms from a pulmonory embolism, no doubt cause by the long term HRT).

Needless to say I have no desire to embark on HRT or any other chemical process. I did some research and decided to take soya isoflavones supplement (Phyto Soya - one 17.5mg capsule per day as opposed to the dosage of 1 capsule in the morning as well as one capsule in the evening) due to the fact that my symptoms are very mild.

I have been taking these supplements for about a year now and have not had a period for again about a year.

However, having now read on your site that I should possibly be taking progesterone supplements, I am concerned that by taking the soy isoflavones I may be making myself estrogen dominant.As there are many benefits gained from taking soy isoflavones I would like to know if I could safely take a natural progesterone supplement as well as the soy isoflavones.

Or should I first take a saliva test to see what the levels of my estrogen and progesterone in fact are before proceeding further with anything, and if so, should I first stop taking the Phyto Pause for a while to revert to my natural hormonal level before I do the saliva test?

Best regards,
Deborah
23rd September 2012

Comments for Deborah

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Sep 24, 2012
 Deborah
by: Wray

Hi Deborah Thanks for the kind words. I would agree with you about your mother and HRT, not something I would ever recommend. They're still trying to push it, albeit for only 3-5 years from Menopause. The thickening waist is due to excess testosterone, see here. This causes an increase in visceral fat, see here and here. Progesterone suppresses excess testosterone. If bound to SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) testosterone becomes inactive, progesterone raises levels of SHBG, see here, so preventing the rise of free testosterone. SHBG drops if sugars are eaten, even those found in all grains, legumes, dairy and sweet starchy fruits and vegetables. Fructose, sucrose and glucose, reduce SHBG by 80, 50 and 40% respectively, see here. Thereby allowing testosterone to rise. It's best to avoid all the foods and sugars mentioned. Soy, and anything made or extracted from it, is always oestrogenic. Although fermentation seems to destroy this effect. There are studies showing it's benefits, but to my mind they all reflect the attitude of the researchers and their beliefs. One of which is women need oestrogen once in menopause. I don't share their view! Phytoestrogens are found in all foods, see here, here and here. These papers here and here, on infertility in sheep, show how a high level of phytoestrogens in food can affect the reproductive organs. And these are more on soy, see here, here, here, here and here. Continued below.
Sep 24, 2012
 Deborah Part 2
by: Wray

Hi Deborah Plus we now get over 100 oestrogen mimics from the environment, see this excellent website Our Stolen Future for more info. Saliva or serum tests can help determine the ratio of the two hormones, but are not essential, as symptoms are a good guide. We do run Saliva Tests you could look through. I normally recommend 100-200mg/day, more if symptoms are severe. But if you continue taking the isoflavones, you'll probably need a higher amount to overcome the oestrogenic affect. Please use sufficient progesterone if you should consider it. All too often too little is used, which often exacerbates symptoms or creates new ones. We have more info on our page How to use progesterone cream. And please see this page on Oestrogen Dominance too. We do have a distributor in SA who could give you advice, if you'd like to contact her, please do so via her website here. Take care Wray

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