What We Now Know About Hormones and Menopause: Recent Game-Changing Research

For decades, women were told by doctors that they were crazy when they complained of hormone shifts.

Hot flashes? Must be anxiety.

Irritability? Maybe you're hysterical.

Mood swings, fatigue, weight gain, or brain fog? Probably just stress—or worse, just being a woman.

Midlife women were regularly dismissed by doctors—most of them male—who misunderstood (or simply ignored) the nuances of female hormones. Many women were handed prescriptions for antidepressants, sedatives, or tranquilizers when the real issue was unaddressed trauma, exhaustion, and the biological truth of perimenopause.

And when that era finally began to shift, we entered a new one:

The age of pharmaceutical overreach.

When “Hormone Help” Became Another Experiment

After years of dismissal, women were finally offered relief—but often in the form of blanket hormone therapy, mass-produced in labs, with little customization or understanding of individual needs.

These synthetic hormone treatments—like Premarin (made from pregnant horse urine) and Provera (a synthetic progestin)—were not molecularly identical to what the female body naturally produces.

And while they did offer some intial symptom relief, they also carried risks. The now-infamous Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study in 2002 linked synthetic hormone therapy to increased rates of breast cancer, blood clots, and stroke.

What the headlines didn’t explain was that those results were based on non-bioidentical hormones and outdated protocols—not the tailored, bioidentical options we now have access to.

So What Do We Recommend Today?

We believe in a new approach. One that’s:

• Informed by current science

• Respectful of the wisdom of the body

• Personalized to each woman’s unique needs

Hormone therapy can be a powerful tool—but only when it’s thoughtfully used, based on real data, and rooted in the goal of restoring balance—not overriding it.

What Are Bioidentical Hormones?

Bioidentical hormones are compounds that are chemically identical to the hormones your body naturally produces—like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

Unlike synthetic hormones, which are often one-size-fits-all and derived from non-human sources, bioidentical hormones:

• Are often derived from plant-based sources, like yams or soy

• Can be compounded specifically for you (dose, type, delivery method)

• Work in harmony with your body’s natural receptor sites

• May carry fewer risks and better symptom relief when monitored properly

But here’s the key: you may not need everything.

Sometimes, just a small dose of progesterone or testosterone cream can help dramatically. Sometimes, supporting your liver, nervous system, or thyroid can bring hormone levels back into range without medication.

There is no universal formula—and that’s the point.

What We Know Now: Hormones Are Not a Mystery

Thanks to functional labs, gut and liver research, and trauma-informed perspectives, we now know:

• Perimenopause symptoms can start as early as your 30s

• Supporting blood sugar and cortisol is just as important as estrogen balance

• The gut-liver-hormone axis plays a huge role in everything from mood to weight

• Estrogen protects the brain, bones, skin, and heart—and declining levels shouldn’t be ignored

• Many women who are prescribed “anxiety” or “sleep” medication find their symptoms disappear when they are supplemented with a bit of natural progesterone cream.

• A woman’s emotional landscape often shifts in menopause as repressed truths rise to the surface What was once called “crazy” in midlife women is often just her body screaming out to be heard.

Final Thoughts: Aging Isn’t a Breakdown. It’s a Breakthrough.

Menopause isn’t a disease—it’s a transition of power.

And today, we have more tools than ever to support it intelligently, naturally, and with full ownership of your body.

You don’t need to “push through” your symptoms.

You don’t need to accept the old myths.

You just need to ask:

What is my body really asking for?

Let the answer be rooted in evidence, intuition, and care—not fear.

If you’re ready to discover more, I invite you to book a private wellness coaching call with me. Click here for details.