Q: I am fed up with medical flip-flops. Whether it is hormone replacement therapy, calcium supplements, eggs or salt, first we get told one thing, and then doctors change their minds. In the meantime, we consumers are left wondering what to believe and whom to trust. I am still baffled by whether salt is as bad as I have always been told. A: We understand how hard it is to make sense of contradictory evidence from medical research. You are right that there have been major reversals regarding eggs, calcium and salt. For decades, Americans were told to avoid eggs to control cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart disease. Current science does not support this belief (Advances in Nutrition, September 2012). Salt is another hot-button issue. An analysis of 167 randomized controlled trials found that reducing sodium intake lowers blood pressure modestly (American Journal of Hypertension, January 2012). Sodium restriction also raises cholesterol, triglycerides and stress hormones. An eight-year study of 3,500 people found that those consuming the least sodium were at the highest risk of dying during the study (Journal of the American Medical Association, May 4, 2011). This isn't to suggest that people should be increasing their … Continue reading →

Medical experts are buzzing about a new hormone therapy study that shows short-term estrogen and progesterone treatment is safe for some menopausal women -- and the study data isn't even out yet. Results from the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study, or KEEPS, will be presented tonight at the North American Menopause Society's annual meeting in Orlando. Researchers reported finding that hormone pills and patches relieved patients' symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, but didn't necessarily increase their risk of heart problems, as other studies have shown. "We're so excited about results that are going to be released in just a few hours," NAMS Executive Director Dr. Margery Gass said from Orlando. She said the KEEPS data is preliminary and the paper hasn't been written yet, but doctors all around her are talking about the summary they've seen. "This study, however, is looking more at the immediate effects of hormones on quality of life issues and then markers of chronic disease... It's not the final results, such as broken bone, a heart attack or a stroke because those things don't really happen that much in this age group." Findings released to the media this week in a press release … Continue reading →

Medical experts are buzzing about a new hormone therapy study that shows short-term estrogen and progesterone treatment is safe for some menopausal women -- and the study data isn't even out yet. Results from the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study, or KEEPS, will be presented tonight at the North American Menopause Society's annual meeting in Orlando. Researchers reported finding that hormone pills and patches relieved patients' symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats, but didn't necessarily increase their risk of heart problems, as other studies have shown. "We're so excited about results that are going to be released in just a few hours," NAMS Executive Director Dr. Margery Gass said from Orlando. She said the KEEPS data is preliminary and the paper hasn't been written yet, but doctors all around her are talking about the summary they've seen. "This study, however, is looking more at the immediate effects of hormones on quality of life issues and then markers of chronic disease... It's not the final results, such as broken bone, a heart attack or a stroke because those things don't really happen that much in this age group." Findings released to the media this week in a press release … Continue reading →

Healthy middle-aged women who take hormones to ease the misery of hot flashes and night sweats have fewer depressive symptoms, less anxiety and tension, and better and more sex than those who do not, according to a new study. Though the long-term effects of hormone replacement therapy could not be measured by the new research, it did offer some reassuring findings. It suggested that some women's cholesterol profiles and metabolic function might improve on hormone replacement therapy and that blood pressure did not rise during or after a relatively brief stay on hormone replacement. Participants taking oral hormone replacement pills reported, on average, a slight improvement in their ability to recall printed materials they had read. But for women who received hormones through a transdermal patch, subjective reports of memory problems increased slightly, as did their severity. As expected, women who got hormone replacement maintained more bone density than those who did not. The results from the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study, known as KEEPS, were presented Wednesday at the North American Menopause Society's annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. The study is likely to fuel a growing willingness among American women and their physicians to turn to replacement hormones, after … Continue reading →