Another fascinating conversation with Dr. Kenna Stephenson, M.D., a pioneering Family Medicine physician who has dedicated her life’s work to helping women in menopause find safer solutions for symptom relief and quality of life as we age backed by science and rigorous research. Early in her career Dr. Kenna recognized that within the medical profession, there was a notable lack of scientific approach to menopause medicine, and a tendency among traditional doctors to delegitimate hormonal issues in aging women. Over and over again, she heard from women patients how hard it was to find a doctor who took their symptoms seriously, how they had been dismissed with insensitive comments such as “it’s all in your head,” OR “you’re getting older, get used to it,” OR “you’re just depressed,” and waved away with a prescription for Prozac. Dr. Kenna was all too aware that few if any studies in the scientific literature researched the health risks among women in menopause (or perimenopause the years leading up to it), or looked into the benefits of safer alternatives to the ubiquitous use of synthetic hormones shown to have adverse effects (increased heart disease, stroke, blood clots, breast cancers) over time. As a physician dedicated to the art and science of women’s medicine, Kenna knew that there were better alternatives than HRT, as evidenced by the symptom relief and positive health benefits of the patients she was treating with plant-based bioidentical hormones. At the same time, it was deeply disturbing to her that the great majority of women who could and should benefit from these more natural hormone approaches were “missing out”. As her concerns amplified, Kenna set out to provide hard core evidence that bioidentical hormones were a viable alternative to HRT, one used in Europe and available to providers and patients in the US. Thus was conceived the landmark CHOIICE study that looked into the effects of compounded bioidentical hormone therapies in peri and postmenopausal women. In this fascinating discussion Dr. Stephenson talks openly with Kyle and Candace about her uphill battle to breathe life into the CHOIICE study, to recruit suitable subjects and find the funding and support so crucial to conducting an independent study without the backing of Big-Pharma. She describes the many obstacles that stood in her way from the critics and naysayers to Hurricane Katrina, and how through sheer perseverance of her research team and dedicated subjects the roadblocks were painstakingly overcome one by one. The project prevailed and the published results of the peer-reviewed CHOIICE study * clearly proved that bioidentical hormones work! And that the BHRT (Bioidentical Hormone Restoration Therapy) model of care when administered in physiologic doses tailored to individual need, significantly relieved menopausal symptoms AND improved health outcomes in all the major areas studied -cardiovascular, inflammatory, immune, mood and quality of life bio-markers – with NO adverse effects. This is exciting, groundbreaking research to write home about, or more specifically share with your doctor, especially if he/she is a doubting Thomas or Thomasina! You can learn more and follow Dr. Kenna on UTUBE Here’s a great interview with Dr. Kenna: https://www.healthwatchersnews.com/2009/11/bioidentical-hormone-research-shows-heart-benefits/ * The effects of compounded bioidentical transdermal hormone therapy on hemostatic, inflammatory, immune factors; cardiovascular biomarkers; quality-of-life measures; and health outcomes in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23627249/

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.