bioidentical hormones therapy, and traditional chinese medicine theory

to “live in harmony with your environment” is one of the basic tenents of TCM preventative medicine.  for example, using nightshade to block out the sunlight so that you can sleep is not living in harmony with your environment – this is an example of trying to over-ride your environment.  similarly, using artificial lights once the sun has gone down to extend the “day” is a non-harmonious side effect of our industrial revolution.  traditional chinese medicine theory posits that humans have different energetic needs in different seasons – we are most in balance when we follow the cyclical rhythms of nature.  this is why shift work, or the graveyard shift, can be so hard on the body, from a traditional chinese medicine point of view.

bioidentical hormone therapy refers to a treatment used for menopausal symptoms which utilizes hormones identical to those found in the body during reproductive years.  the “wiley protocol” is a popular, but highly controversial, form of compounded bioidentical hormone therapy, advocated by celebrities but not modern medical research.  the founder of this form of therapy (who, incidently, has no medical credentials) believes that the artificial lighting which has altered our daily structure (i.e., created TCM’s disharmony with our environment) has thrown our hormonal rhythms out of whack, which is why some of us suffer during the transition of menopause.  the solution, according to this unvalidated hypothesis, is to restore the body’s serum hormone levels to those present during menstruation by using rhythmic, cyclical dosing of estrogen & progesterone.

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while wiley’s theory that our external environment can affect our internal physiology does sync with the ideas of TCM, there is one important factor which i believe the wiley protocol has overlooked.  the female reproductive cycle ITSELF has a rhythmic lifespan, and attempting to override the natural transition out of the reproductive years by using reproductive hormones is yet another example of trying to override our environment instead of trying to live in harmony with it.  after all, women went through menopause before humans invented lightbulbs.  the traditional chinese medicine approach to  treating the discomforts of menopause seeks to balance the energies of all of the systems of the body, which enables the natural transition into the post-reproductive years to occur with ease.