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Home > Quick Shop > Specialty Products > Renewed Balance > Renewed Balance Info

Renewed Balance: Product Information

A natural answer to cellular imbalance

Many health practitioners believe that an imbalance between two important hormones, estrogen and progesterone, causes the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and menopause and the accelerated bone loss after menopause. If you are suffering from PMS or any of the symptoms associated with menopause-hot flashes, water retention, weight gain, mood swings, lack of concentration, dry and thin skin, bone mineral loss (osteoporosis), and others-these two hormones may not be in balance.

In the past, many health practitioners dismissed PMS as "psychological" or "inconsequential" and recommended nothing in particular to treat it. Menopause symptoms were recognized, however, and health practitioners generally recommended Estrogen Replacement Therapy (ERT) to manipulate hormone levels and thus relieve the discomforts of menopause. However, in the mid-1970s, studies linked the use of synthetic estrogen to uterine cancer. This spurred the use of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), which often combines synthetic estrogen with synthetic versions of progesterone (progestins, such as Provera). This therapy was also said to reduce the risk for both heart disease and osteoporosis.

HRT also has drawbacks, however. Using synthetic progesterone and estrogen has resulted in many side effects-fluid retention, nausea, insomnia, depression, high blood pressure, and hair loss. Even more worrisome is that studies have indicated that older women who take synthetic hormones are at significantly greater risk for breast cancer and that adding progestins to estrogen does not reduce this risk. Today, many women are becoming aware of the drawbacks of ERT and HRT and want a natural product that can help them balance their hormones. One solution is natural progesterone: a substance that is safe, effective, and easy to use.

Progesterone and natural progesterone

Progesterone is made in the ovaries. Progesterone production begins just prior to ovulation and increases rapidly until it reaches an average production of about 20 mg per day. If an egg is not fertilized, progesterone production tails, triggering the menses. Progesterone is necessary throughout gestation for the survival of a fertilized egg, the resulting embryo, and the fetus. During pregnancy the placenta produces 300 mg to 400 mg of progesterone per day.

Progesterone has many other functions, among them protecting against breast fibrocysts, helping the body use fat for energy, and helping to normalize blood clotting and blood sugar levels. Today, many health professionals claim that the symptoms associated with PMS and menopause are due not so much to estrogen, but to a deficiency of progesterone and an overabundance of estrogen. It is believed that progesterone balances estrogen and that an over production of estrogen can lead to health problems. Too much estrogen is known as estrogen dominance.

Natural progesterone is progesterone. It is derived from a natural source and then converted to progesterone. Natural progesterone has the same molecular configuration as the progesterone produced by the body and can be used to supplement the progesterone produced by the body and to balance estrogen and progesterone levels. Natural progesterone has no recorded side effects when 20 mg to 40 mg a day is used; however, some women experience sleepiness when using large amounts.

Natural progesterone and PMS

Many people believe that progesterone is the culprit in PMS because PMS occurs about 10 days before a woman's period-when progesterone levels are high. However, according to John Lee, M.D., women with PMS tend to have lower progesterone levels than normal at this time in the cycle (when progesterone is supposed to be dominant). This means estrogen is dominant and that the two hormones are not in balance. Using natural progesterone can help restore the balance.

Natural progesterone and menopause

The prevailing belief is that menopausal symptoms are due to an estrogen deficiency. However, estrogen levels drop 40 percent to 60 percent at menopause, while progesterone levels drop to nearly zero. This great drop in progesterone means that the two hormones are unbalanced. Using natural progesterone can help restore the balance.

Natural progesterone and osteoporosis

Estrogen and progesterone also contribute to osteoporosis. Estrogen is often used to fight osteoporosis after menopause because a lack of estrogen speeds up bone loss. However, Dr. Lee theorizes that progesterone is more important than estrogen in treating osteoporosis.

Dr. Lee points out that bone loss in women starts in their 30s, before estrogen production has greatly decreased. At this time, however, progesterone levels are falling, due to periods without ovulation (unovulatory periods). Thus, the bone loss may be due more to a lack of progesterone than to a lack of estrogen. Dr. Lee also points to studies that indicate that there are receptors for progesterone in the osteoblasts, the cells involved in new bone formation.

In a summary of his own report on osteoporosis reversal (original report published in the June' 990 issue of the International Clinical Nutrition Review), Dr. Lee states that, in a program including small amounts of estrogen and a 3 percent progesterone cream, "a 5- , 0 percent increase in bone mineral density was found to be routine during the first year." In Natural Progesterone, The Multiple Roles of a Remarkable Hormone, Dr. Lee states that "Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a disease of inadequate osteoblast-mediated new bone formation secondary to progesterone deficiency. Progesterone restores osteoblast function."

Natural progesterone, wild yam, and progestins

Many people confuse natural progesterone products, wild yam products, and synthetic progestins. In natural progesterone products, such as AIM Renewed Balance® diosgenin, a phytoestrogen (plant estrogen) is derived from the wild yam or soy plants. The diosgenin is converted into natural progesterone in a three-step process. This natural progesterone has the same molecular structure as the progesterone created by the body and can be used to supplement and balance the body's progesterone and estrogen levels.

A wild yam extract product also uses diosgenin from the wild yam plant. However, it is not converted to natural progesterone and thus does not have the same molecular structure as the progesterone produced by the body. Although wild yam extract products do have progesterone-like effects, they cannot be considered natural progesterone products. The active ingredient in a wild yam product is diosgenin, not natural progesterone.

AIM Renewed Balance® is a natural progesterone, not a wild yam extract. This may be confusing. Just remember this: In AIM Renewed Balance® the diosgenin from wild yam and soy plants is converted to natural progesterone. In wild yam extract products, the diosgenin from wild yam is not converted to natural progesterone.

Finally, many people consider synthetic progesterone (known as progestins) the same thing as natural progesterone. Synthetic progestins are often derived from progesterone or testosterone and converted to natural progesterone, but they are then further altered by introducing a new atom. This inhibits progesterone metabolism and prolongs its activity. It is no longer natural progesterone. There is a long list of contraindications and side effects that accompany these synthetic progestins. As noted, these symptoms include fluid retention, nausea, insomnia, and depression.

Estrogen dominance

Estrogen dominance is the term used by many health practitioners when estrogen and progesterone are out of balance; generally there is more estrogen relative to the progesterone. It is important to remember that this does not mean that there is too much estrogen; simply that estrogen levels are relatively higher than progesterone levels. According to Raymond F. Peat in Nutrition for Women, among the side effects of estrogen dominance are face puffiness, feet swelling at night, excessive uterine bleeding, PMS symptoms, increased fat storage, low blood sugar, and memory loss.

Estrogen dominance, and its side effects manifested in PMS and menopausal symptoms, may be more prevalent today because of the synthetic estrogen found in foods and the many chemicals prevalent in our environment that have estrogen-like effects.