Book Review: "The Natural Superwoman"

I am participating in a MotherTalk blog tour for "The Natural Superwoman," by Dr. Uzzi Reiss and Yfat Reiss Gendell. Part one of this review, which deals with my own personal experience with the author, can be found at my main blog, SoCalMom.

I was not worried about getting older. I figured it would go easy. All I had to do was obtain a prescription for hormones at the sign of my very first hot flash and go on with my life.

Then came the announcement that a major study of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by the Women's Health Initiative had to be halted, because so many of its subjects had developed heart disease and breast cancer -- as a direct result of the therapy.

This was especially shocking because it was well known that these two hormones, when naturally produced in balance in women's bodies during our reproductive years, protects us against coronary disease.

In an instant, millions of women were told to abandon the therapy they had come to rely upon to relieve the many discomforts of menopause. They were now very, very worried about their health. And I resigned myself to a future where I would just have to grin and bear it.

Not so fast, say Dr. Uzzi Reiss and his daughter, Yfat Reiss Gendell, authors of The Natural Superwoman. While the WHI study did prove that the drugs most often prescribed for HRT were harmful to the women who took them, it doesn't equate to an abandonment of HRT altogether.

The problem with traditional HRT, according to Reiss and Gendell, lies within the drugs WHI tested: Premarin ("a chemicalized medication used in place of bioidentical estrogen") and Provera ("a chemicalized medication used in place of bioidentical progesterone").

The key words in these descriptions are "chemicalized" and "bioidentical." The "chemicalized" hormones in Premarin and Provera are collected from a "variety of estrogen [and progesterone] types collected from the urine of pregnant mares." These hormones are meant for another species, and that's one of the reasons their effect on the human body was not the same as human estrogen and progesterone.

The term "bioidentical" refers to a hormone that is EXACTLY the same as the substance produced by the human body, and they cite studies that prove that HRT using bioidentical hormones can greatly enhance a woman's health and well-being during menopause. (The authors do not indicate the actual source of the bioidentical hormones, but my guess is that manufacturing this type of medication is a lot more costly.)

So far, I may have given the impression that this book is targeted just to menopausal women. In actuality, Reiss and Gendell cover a wide range of health issues for women of ALL ages (the chapters on HRT were just the ones most pertinent to ME).

They lay out a life plan that shows how obtaining a balance of good nutrition, physical activity, hormones and mind and mood (what they call the Four Pillars) can boost health and longevity, and they explain a wide variety of supplements that can help any woman attain a better quality of life.

Most interesting are Dr. Reiss' recommendations for preventing breast cancer: When was the last time someone told you that wearing a bra could be hazardous to your health? He also advises women on foods, supplements and bioidentical hormones that protect against breast cancer, to get enough physical activity, and to stop using underarm deodorants (parabens and aluminum found in these products and other cosmetics are toxic substances). If you've ever been pregnant or if you become pregnant after finishing cancer treatment, your odds of surviving increase. Breastfeeding, nipple stimulation, and breast massage can decrease your chances of developing breast cancer.

I was overwhelmed by the amount of information in this book, and will be giving it a second reading. And while it is possible for anyone to immediately implement the nutrition, activity and mood pillars, the third one --hormonal balance -- cannot be done by woman alone. She needs the help of a well-informed doctor, one who will run the necessary tests to determine what, if any, hormone deficiencies she might have, and who can interpret the results. This is the part of the formula that might derail a lot of women, especially those who are stuck in HMO health plans that won't pay for this kind of testing.

Reiss and Gendell offer an extensive list of research supporting the assertions in the book, and full information is available on Dr. Reiss' website. They hope that when women understand the full scope of hormonal deficiencies they may be experiencing, and the benefits of replenishing them with bioidentical hormones, that they will demand change in the way their practitioners treat them.

These studies are available to anyone in the medical community, but after five years, the party line is still HRT = Bad. Our overworked, overstressed, dysfunctional medical system doesn't leave our doctors much time to learn about these developments. I personally can't imagine getting my own doctor to listen to Reiss and Gendell's recommendations, I know I would have a hard time getting him to do a workup on my hormones, and forget about his ability to interpret the results (Reiss points out again and again how patients whose results are within established "normal range" turned out to be deficient, because of the way "normal" has been defined.) So anyone serious about pursuing the Hormone Balance pillar may need to look long and hard for a doctor qualified to help her.

But I am convinced that is a quest worth pursuing.

After finishing this book, I told my husband I would like to see if I could return to Dr. Reiss as a patient.

My health depends upon it.