Talk Show Icon Begins Series of Shows Focused on Hormone Imbalance
and Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

“If you’re a woman who’s planning to live past the age of 35, at some point you’re going to face hormone imbalance,” Oprah Winfrey said during her January 22 show titled Bioidentical Hormone Therapy: Part 1. “All women need to be armed with this information…. We’re opening a national conversation about hormone replacement therapy. This is about your hormones being out of whack, and you don’t even know – we haven’t had a language to talk about it yet.”

Oprah’s focus has given ‘hormone imbalance’ a place in the conversation, which is certain to help redefine the meaning of ‘aging’ in our culture.

A prescription for balance

“Oprah spoke for so many of the women who come to me when she described the symptoms of peri-menopause and menopause as ‘having the life force sucked out of you’ and feeling ‘flat’,” says Dr. Stanton. “What was so important was the discussion about how to correct and balance the hormones responsible for the symptoms. A comprehensive approach, including bioidentical hormones, diet, nutritional supplements and an exercise plan, are what make the difference for my patients.”

And there’s more to come…

Thanks to Oprah, the conversation about hormone imbalance, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and a new outlook on aging will continue – and deepen. In addition to showcasing hormone imbalance and available treatments on her show, Oprah’s February Issue of O Magazine included Mary Duenwald’s Special Report: What Nobody Tells You About Hormones, which explores the history of hormone therapy and its effect on menopause, “the storm inside.”

Duenwald invigorates the conversation by uncovering not only past successes, failures and risks surrounding hormone therapy, but also ongoing studies and some of the latest findings, which include the benefits of starting hormone therapy earlier than previously considered. She adds, “… researchers do know a lot more about hormone therapy today. Since the WHI (Women’s Health Initiative 2002) shake-up, they have begun to explore—and shed light on—how the formulation and timing of natural hormone therapy may lower its risks and improve its benefits. And the result is a more nuanced knowledge of how the treatment might be most safely applied.” This is good news for women currently dealing with the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.