Today's blog
topic was sidetracked (Come to find out, disappointingly, The Green Boheme is
closed on Wednesdays!) so we'll try that post next week.
This week we’d like to
focus on women. Specifically,
women, hormones, and the skincare products we use.
I think society has
instilled this great fear in us as women; this fear of aging, fear of not being
as beautiful as we once were. Most
of us have fallen for it in some way or another; the creams, lotions, and
products that promise we stay young, beautiful, firm, and smooth.
Many of us have bought
into, in some way, the idea that we are what we look like. We are the outward appearance of
ourselves, our bodies, and our skin.
My husband calls them
laugh lines, which I prefer, and didn’t realize I had until he pointed them out
to me some five years ago. I have
since had a love-hate relationship with these ever-present wrinkles, but since
hearing my mother’s story and knowing cancer runs in our family, have
reconsidered the use of anti-aging creams for the time being. I often put extra virgin coconut oil on
my face or aloe vera. TropicalTraditions makes safe face and body lotions with no parabens or hormones in them.
“The anti-aging industry is
expected to gross more than $291 billion worldwide by 2015” (Voss, 2012).
In using these
products with good intentions, we have unknowingly subjected our bodies to huge
increases in hormones that needn’t be labeled on packages, though they can have
huge impacts on our own health. Dr. Monroe has a personal story to share to this effect, with
the hopes that it helps more women realize the hormonal changes that can be
caused by these products and help women use this knowledge to empower other
women.
Dr. Monroe: “I’d like to share my story of hormone overdose
and why it has become a commitment to my patients to prevent this from
happening to other women.
About a year ago I was having a great deal of trouble
sleeping. I could fall asleep, but
woke up within a few hours and couldn’t get back to sleep again. Also, I was experiencing anxiety and
trouble keeping weight off, as well as mood swings. I decided to have my
hormone levels assessed by a lab, one of few labs who do hormone panels well.
It came back with my E2 levels (which should have been between 2 and 10) at
greater than 99. My progesterone
was also elevated at a level of 481.
This level should have been around 95.
In a state of stress and increasing
anxiety I called the lab to see what was going on. The response was that these
results were normal for someone on Hormone Replacement Therapy. I replied, “I’m not on HRT,” and their
response was, “Yes, you are!” Since I was only using one product on my skin (an
anti-aging cream purchased at Costco), I decided to call their company and see
if they had hormones in the product. I was placed on hold for several minutes
while the pleasant receptionist did some checking. She came back on the line
and responded “No.” I wondered if
she was not telling the truth or if
she didn’t know the truth. (From the lab I learned that the FDA
allows companies to put hormones in their products without ever putting it on
the label.)
I stopped using the product and repeated the lab test a few
months later. By this time I was sleeping wonderfully again. The results on my new lab work came
back with my E2 at 6 and my progesterone at 200. This is a very good ratio, and
I was pleased with these new results since I stopped using the cream.
The difficulty I experienced as my body adjusted to the
decrease in estrogen from greater than 99 down to 6 was like going through
menopause all over again on my brain.
I experienced poor memory for several months as this shift was
occurring. At about this same time
I had a dear friend diagnosed with breast cancer. Now many of us know loved
ones with this diagnosis, but to me it took on a new meaning. The traditional
medical world puts women on Tamoxifin to block the estrogen effect on women who
have estrogen positive breast cancer. The problem to me is that their estrogen
levels aren’t monitored. Since many skincare products have hormones in them, it
has become a challenge to me to get women monitored. Thus protecting them from
exogenous hormones and helping the women who are naturally estrogen dominant to
become balanced.”
I’d love to work with women who are questioning if this
could be a problem for them. I can be reached at my office number, 916-448-9927
or at drpjmonroe(at)gmail.com.
--Dr. Priscilla Monroe RN, ND
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The Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act enacted in 1938 governs skin creams, including
anti-aging creams. “Currently,
even if a skin cream behaves like a drug by affecting the structure or any
function of the body, it will generally be considered a cosmetic under the Act
if the manufacturer refrains claiming that the AHA product works like a drug.
Products classified as cosmetics under the Act are relatively unregulated; the
Act does not subject them to most of the restrictions imposed upon drugs- including
mandatory registration, premarket safety and effectiveness testing, premarket
FDA approval, and postmarket surveillance to monitor safety” (Hensel, 1995).
So, next time you’re
considering that eye cream or anti-aging night cream at the drugstore or beauty
counter, consider the price you may be paying for it in the long run, and
decide for yourself if it’s really worth it.
Have a safe and
healthy weekend… (wrinkles and all)!
--Briana
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Additional resources: http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/93/dhensel.pdf
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2011/11/survey_asks_1000_portland_wome.html
http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2011/11/survey_asks_1000_portland_wome.html
