Midlife part 4(b)
A podcast not to be missed, HRT options + my own anecdotal ups and downs
This is a long one, for a better reader experience, go directly to the Feel Good Studio substack website thesoberglow.substack.com, or open up the browser from the button on the top right of this email, or download the app. xx Mia
Out of the whole Midlife series, if I were to recommend one podcast to listen to in its entirety, it’s this one. It will gobsmack you with information.
“Let us say we are not here trying to increase sales of hormones. What we want to do, just to make it clear, is empower women so they not be given some curt answer when they ask about it.”
- Avrum Bluming M.D.
The quote below is taken from the Drive Podcast episode page in which Dr. Peter Attia, who I wrote about at length in the last email sits down with Avrum Bluming M.D., and Carol Tavris, Ph.D.
In this episode, Avrum Bluming, hematologist, medical oncologist, and emeritus clinical professor at USC and Carol Tavris, social psychologist and author of Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), discuss their collaboration on their recent book, Estrogen Matters. Their book takes on the very polarizing and confusing topic of hormone replacement therapy for women suffering with symptoms of menopause. In many ways, the story and history of HRT is in striking parallel to the bad science that led up to the dietary guidelines being set forth in 1980. Carol and Avrum make a compelling case that most women benefit greatly from being on postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy, and can do so without increasing their risk of breast cancer. We also cover the history of HRT, the impact of the Women's Health Initiative, and take a deep dive into each of the clinical conditions for which HRT should be considered, such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, and osteoporosis, to name a few.
Further reading of this email, you will find more must-read books, a long list of HRT options with pros, cons, and considerations, some key FDA information, a different way of looking at and understanding stats, and the personal choices I have made while in this phase of life with all the ups and downs of getting to where I am now, which is feeling really good.