Women, educated on the harmful effects of synthetic hormone replacement therapy, are now beginning to realize the great benefits of natural hormone replacement therapy that women in other parts of the world have known for ages.

The proof of natural hormone replacement therapy’s healthful effectiveness is found in pocket regions of the world where women routinely lean on nature’s remedy for menopause with natural hormone replacement therapy.

A high concentration of women in Asia and some Mediterranean and Latin American countries use natural hormone replacement therapy through diets high in natural hormone replacement substances instead of synthetics and these women typically breeze through menopause.

The women using natural hormone replacement therapy with diets high in natural hormone replacement substances report fewer hot flashes and other menopause symptoms, improved mental states and better sleep patterns. Women in these cultures using natural hormone replacement therapy with diets high in high in natural hormone replacement substances have less heart disease and less breast cancer.

• A 2001 New England Research Institutes survey found that Asian-American women who consumed a diet high in natural hormone replacement substances reported fewer hot flashes and night sweats than their American counterparts.

• A 2001 University of California literary review and international studies also show that women with diets high in natural hormone replacement substances have lower rates of osteoporosis, cancers, and heart disease.

Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy: The Phytoestrogens Connection.

Phytoestrogens (plant-derived estrogen) are a key group of natural substances in natural hormone replacement therapy. Natural plant estrogen, also know as phenolic estrogen, is what Asian and Latin American women consume daily in their normal diets.

Although it is best to add these plant-derived estrogen substances through whole foods, the typical American diet is often void of foods high in natural hormone replacement therapy substances.

That is why supplementation is so important for women in menopause and beyond.

Aging (wherein neuro-signaling may become impaired) and the dietary and tissue/ovarian deficiencies that may arise because of menopause or other change of life patterns, cause higher demands for these specially targeted elements in women’s bodies.

An effective aspect of the scientific Preserve formula is the multi-dimensional plant-based estrogen complex of black cohosh, dong quai, and sage. This combination is widely used in Europe and Great Britain as a safe alternative to synthetic hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy and provides more complete coverage for menopause symptoms than soy products. With Preserve no longer available, these individual ingredients may be obtained at your neighborhood health store.

According to Reginald B. Cherry, M.D. in his book, God’s Pathway to Healing - Menopause, "plant or phenolic estrogens can attach to receptors for certain organs of the body, such as the breast and uterus. They actually modulate or block the effect of a woman’s own estrogen on these tissues. The bottom line is that plant estrogens can protect a woman from breast, ovarian and uterine cancer in her later years!

This is likely a major reason that breast cancer, for example, is so low in Asia and parts of Latin America - people in these nations consume phyto (phenolic) estrogens in their foods most of their lives."

During a woman’s childbearing years, a woman’s ovaries produce what are known as steroidal estrogens. This type of estrogen causes the ovaries to produce eggs and enables a woman to have a baby. Although the steroidal estrogens are necessary for reproduction and do protect women from heart disease, bone thinning and other problems, they are not totally benign. The longer women are exposed to naturally produced estrogen, the greater the risk she will have in later years for developing ovarian and breast cancer.

Breast cancer is higher in women who begin their periods early and go through menopause late. Women who have many children are at lower risk because the body ceases estrogen production during pregnancy. So when a doctor prescribes a steroidal estrogen like Premarin for a menopausal woman, she may feel better, but her cancer risk increases. Women using HRT/hormone replacement therapy are simply adding those steroidal estrogens to their bodies much longer than nature intended.

Fortunately, women have safe and effective natural hormone replacement therapy alternatives with good diet choices to ease them through menopause without the risks associated with non-natural hormone replacement therapy.