Chinese Medicine (CM) is about balance, polarity, substance and force ... about yin and yang. Every aspect of our bioelectrical chemistry can be categorized as either yin (-) or yang (+) and this is fundamental to diagnosis and treatment in CM. Everything that’s living has this polarity and it’s what keeps living organisms growing and thriving. Think of the battery in your car because it works in a similar fashion. Without opposing charges, it would be dead.

Your body is a dynamic system producing millions of chemical reactions and transformations each second, Most people are not able to fully grasp this dynamic state. Instead they view the body as being in a state of equilibrium. If this were true, the body would be dead. People look at one reaction at a time, instead of the millions of reactions that are occurring in a single second. So unlike a dead building, a living system is a constantly moving architecture from the molecular/cellular level to the tissue/organ/system levels.

When the body is in a state of balance, the substance and force are transforming and transmuting back and forth smoothly and the physiological processes cannot be seen. A process is only seen when the system becomes imbalanced.

Disturbances that occur in perimenopausal women are simplistically attributed by Western Medicine (WM) to the decline of ovarian function and the consequent cessation of estradiol secretion. A complex biological and cultural event has been reduced to a single problem ­- estrogen deficiency - with an apparently uncomplicated and obvious solution - estrogen replacement. Whereas estrogen levels decline by 50 percent at menopause, progesterone levels can drop nearly to zero. Thus we have the myth of the estrogen deficient woman. This myth has justified the rationale for a multi-billion dollar drug industry that is supplying estrogen (along with progestins such as Provera) to women not only for the relief of hot flashes and vaginal dryness but also as an anti-aging drug that will supposedly prevent skin from wrinkling, bones from disintegrating and hearts from failing, etc. It has also found its way as treatment for the myriad of symptoms plaguing perimenopausal women to help boost their supposedly flagging estrogen levels. The Pill has even become a popular treatment for the perimenopausal woman.

With the new saliva testing, we now know that perimenopause is not a time of declining estrogen levels at all. But rather a time when the body is doing it’s final hurrah trying to stir those ovaries into action thus making some of the highest levels of estrogen ever made by the body. Perimenopause is really a time of high but fluctuating estrogen levels along with low progesterone (perimenopausal women are irregular in their ovulation). High estrogen levels and low progesterone production causes an estrogen dominant condition. Thus, it is totally inappropriate and dangerous to give the Pill or HRT to perimenopausal women since they already have high estrogen levels circulating through their body. Adding even more estrogen can cause many uncomfortable side-effects as well as serious health risks.

Unfortunately what the medical experts believed were symptoms of estrogen deficiency are really estrogen excess symptoms. Estrogen dominant symptoms include: weight gain, migraines, fluid retention, high blood pressure, fatigue, aging skin, thinning hair, fluid retention, PMS, low libido, muscle aches and pains, memory fogginess, fibroids, endometriosis, depression, fibrocystic breasts and miscarriage. The more serious, life-threatening conditions of estrogen excess are: reproductive cancers, strokes, blood clots, compromised immune system, toxic livers, gall bladder disease, auto-immune diseases (lupus, MS, rheumatoid arthritis), glucose intolerance, pancreatitis, and interfering with the uptake of thyroid hormones.

Estrogen excess, progesterone deficiency and thyroid imbalance have a very intimate relationship. Correcting hormonal imbalance naturally can effectively assist the recovery of thyroid function.

HERE IS THE YIN AND YANG OF IT! Estrogen dominance simply means that a woman’s progesterone levels are too low in comparison with her estrogen levels. It does not mean, that she has too much estrogen. Estrogen and progesterone are both important reproductive hormones. And the balance between these critical yin and yang chemical messengers is particularly critical to women, young and old, because these two hormones play a significant role in how well they feel and function.

Dr. John Lee, an early pioneer in hormone research says, "When estrogen becomes the dominant hormone, and progesterone is deficient, the estrogen becomes toxic to the body; thus progesterone has a balancing or mitigating effect on estrogen." That is not saying that, estrogen is bad for women, but that estrogen (-) unopposed by the balancing effects of progesterone (+) can result in some extremely serious health problems. For example, estrogen dominance, is the only known cause of endometrial cancer, and has been linked to an increase in breast cancer risk, PMS, and certain types of strokes. So, what is causing a large percentage of women today to have to deal with over 70 symptoms brought on by this extremely serious hormonal imbalance?

Adrenal blow out! In Chinese Medicine (CM) the "kidneys and adrenal glands" govern the entire hormonal system and they are the secret to the anti-aging process of the body and the mind. Some WM doctors are even willing to admit it. Dr. Alvin Pettle, researcher in gynecological issues says, ".... the reason that most women experience menopausal symptoms is that their adrenal glands have been overworked and undernourished for most of their lives and struggle to produce the female hormones required for this transition. It is known that Chinese women breeze through menopause."

Nature did not make a design fault in women’s bodies causing their health to deteriorate when then arrive at menopause. Menopause is not a downhill slide nor an "estrogen deficiency disease." At menopause there is an adjustment in estrogen levels reducing the output by the ovaries by about 40-60 percent. Just low enough so that the menopausal woman won’t be maturing eggs (the post-menopausal journey is a time to nurture our passion and creativity not to bear children). Nature has also provided a back-up system in the estrogen department...both the fat cells and the adrenals produce estrogen . If they have any "meat on our bones," menopausal women are generally making plenty of estrogen, even if they have had a full hysterectomy!

However, with menopause there is a cessation of ovulation. When we ovulate, the site, known as a follicle, from which an egg bursts forth turns into an endocrine gland that makes progesterone. When ovulation ceases, this primary supply of progesterone is not available. Thus, there is a precipitous fall in progesterone levels at menopause. However, once again, nature’s back-up system makes progesterone from the adrenals. If the adrenals and their sister organs, the kidneys are weak, the delicate balance between estrogen and progesterone is altered, causing low progesterone levels and high estrogen levels - the resulting imbalance is called estrogen dominance. When estrogen is in excess, it is toxic to the body.

ACUPUNCTURE AND CHINESE HERBAL MEDICINE BUILD ADRENAL POWER to stabilize hormone levels. Empowered adrenals assure a sufficient supply of progesterone to offset estrogen. Progesterone has the following very important functions: 1. Relaxes coronary blood vessels and the uterus; 2. Facilitates the use of body fat for energy during pregnancy; 3 Activates osteoblasts to increase new bone formation (preventing osteoporosis); 4.Protects against fibro-cystic formation in breasts; 5. Normalizes blood sugar levels; 6.Protects against endometrial, breast, and ovarian cancer.

Aside from acupuncture and Chinese herbs, your CM practitioner will recommend the following to maintain your kidney/adrenal health. Eat a diet heavy in vegetables, fruits and whole grains, and extremely light in meat products. Avoid dairy , alcohol, cigarettes, warm blooded animal products, and sweets. Do weight bearing exercise and practice deep breathing to oxygenate the cells.

Only as a last resort, if adequate progesterone levels are not achieved with the above, should a women use a progesterone supplement. Natural progesterone is preferred such as the naturally occurring plant sterol diosgenin from Mexican yams, which can be converted into a steroid compound molecularly identical to human progesterone. Transdermal natural progesterone creams, gels and patches have fewer side effects than Provera and other progestins. Transdermal delivery circumvents the digestive system so the cells absorb the hormone more efficiently and rapidly dispersing it into the blood. Orally taken supplements can be harmful to the liver and gall bladder.