Continuing with my Hormones theme for this month, let’s focus in on how we think about menopause care and HRT.
For many women, botanicals and lifestyle are powerful allies in smoothing the rocky transition of perimenopause: supporting mood, sleep, vasomotor symptoms, and metabolic health as hormones start to swing.
➡️ But once ovarian senescence is underway and the ovaries truly retire, no herbal protocol can fully replace the estradiol and progesterone the body no longer makes; it can only complement and enhance a thoughtful hormone strategy, or help with the transition to the physiological state with much lower hormones.
We’re also in a pivotal transition culturally and clinically. For decades, mainstream guidance (shaped heavily by large epidemiologic work like the Nurses’ Health Study and the fallout from WHI) reduced HRT to “the lowest dose for the shortest time,” often with non‑bioidentical hormones and flat, continuous dosing.
That paradigm is now being challenged by emerging data, renewed focus on bioidentical formulations, women demanding better and more meaningful options, and clinicians asking a different question: not “How little can we get away with?” but “What’s physiologic and protective for a woman’s whole lifespan?”
In that context, I’ve been diving into the work of Dr. Felice Gersh, a triple board-certified integrative OB/GYN, researcher, and menopause expert who proposes a very different model for HRT: one that attempts to recreate the rhythm of a healthy menstrual cycle with bioidentical estradiol and progesterone, rather than simply suppressing hot flashes. I think it is important women know their options.
Her approach is not the standard of care you’ll see in most clinics, but it’s compelling, metabolically literate, and deeply aligned with how the endocrine system actually works.
This carousel breaks down her rhythmic HRT framework and how it might shape the next era of menopause medicine, alongside the continued, important role of botanicals. To see the full post and downloadable PDF, go to the post on LinkedIN:
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/kerry-hughes-941353_hrt-according-to-dr-gersh-activity-7427365835322826753-S6k3?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAANEoEBzLdbgS9fjLoyZvrkZbXD8Nj5SFM
*This post is for educational purposes only, and not intended as medical advice.