Hi, it's Mark Sisson from Marksdailyapple.com.

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The pros and cons of hormone replacement therapy for primal women.

A primal woman's first reaction to the prospect of taking synthetic hormone replacements for

menopause? Probably skepticism. We in the ancestral health community tend to view pharmaceuticals as

a last resort, interventions that are over-prescribed by vested interests, create their own set of

side effects, and may even do more harm than good. To suggest that we need this or that prescription raises our hackles.

Besides, it's not like menopause is a product of modernity or an aberration our ancestors never experienced.

It's a physiological stage that evolution has protected and selected in humans. It's perfectly natural. Rather than the

debilitating, miserable experience many women report having, menopause should be easier, graceful even.

But it often isn't. And nature, unfortunately, doesn't care about that. Menopause is nature's way of preventing

undue discomfort and reducing genetic damage to the group. Your average 50-year-old woman has a lot

to offer the tribe in terms of wisdom, child care, and general know-how. But natural selection

has also determined that it's better for everyone if middle-aged women

don't easily get pregnant. Menopause achieves this by down-regulating the hormones and

weakening the tissues necessary for conception. The problem is that these same hormones and

tissues also figure prominently in a woman's enjoyment of life and overall

health.

What can happen when Mother Nature decides to step in?

Anxiety, irritability, loss of libido and vaginal atrophy, night sweats, hot flashes,

...