Hormone therapy done the right way

Seymour resident Anita Heffner could be considered a little ahead of her time. She is a strong proponent for hormone replacement. Hormone replacement isn’t a new idea but what Heffner teaches her clients about HRT’s.
Having suffered for years because of chemical imbalances in her body, Heffner had pretty much given up hope in finding a cure for her debilitating migrane headaches. She decided to see a message therapist in Sevierville in hope of alleviating at least some of the pain. What message therapist Summer Hayes gave Heffner was a solution to her pain and a new career.
Hayes gave Heffner a progesterone cream to apply topically. For years migrane headaches plagued Anita Heffner, she had tried everything, within months of using the progesterone cream her headaches were gone.
The progesterone cream is made by a company call Arbonne, who specializes in all natural hormone replacement therapy products. The cream Heffner used was a natural progesterone cream containing added botanicals to help balance hormones naturally.
Doctors have been prescribing HRT drugs for years however, recent studies have shown that the #1 drug prescribed in America, estrogen, is harmful for a woman’s body.
“Women need to balance of estrogen and progesterone. Too much of either hormone is not good,” said Heffner.
The problem is that things created in society as well as natural occurrences with a woman’s body cause levels of estrogen to become increasingly high. Heffner said that estrogen is used to grow or increase objects in size. Most meat companies use the estrogen hormone on their products. “That’s why girls are developing so quickly. They are taking in more estrogen and therefore it is affecting their growth cycle, it speeds it up,” add Heffner.
Studies also show that people who are susceptible to cancer face a higher risk when using estrogen. “It can make the cancer grow more quickly,” Heffner mentions.
Upon realizing that estrogen created a health risk, doctors added progesterone I hormone replacement in hopes that a cancer risk would be reduced. However, a recent study showed that the combination increased a woman’s risk of breast cancer.
“Women produce estrogen naturally, the things we eat and the packages food is placed also use estrogen. The idea is that women don’t need a combination of estrogen and progesterone they simply need progesterone. When synthetic version of these hormones (estrogen and progesterone), are combined it becomes harmful.
Dr. Mercola, a board certified medical director in Illinois, found that breast cancer cells do not multiply when a woman is on progesterone. Progesterone has also worked for the cancers affecting the ovary and uterus. However, he warns that too much progesterone is counterproductive. Heffner agrees with that, “Too much of anything is not a good thing. The key is to find a balance.”
Heffner said that estrogen is found in so many products that women are consuming far too much and they are being thrown off balance. “Synthetic estrogen can be found in plastics, styra-foam cups, and various other products, particularly meat products.”
The unnatural estrogens are called zeno estrogens and once the body has consumed too much of the synthetic hormone it begins to counteract with the natural estrogen, creating an imbalance problem. “It’s a lifestyle change,” says Heffner. “We (my family) were able to find a meat company in Knox County that doesn’t use hormones in their products.”
A benefit to progesterone is that it can aide in fertility, it helps women get through chemotherapy more comfortably, and it is also used to treat menopausal symptoms.
Anita Heffner isn’t the only believer. Through seminars and word of mouth she is creating other believers as well. Seymour resident Jo Hart met Heffner a few months ago. Heffner, Longaberger Basket collector, introduced herself to Hart and they began to talk. Heffner shared information on HRT and Arbonne products with Hart. Since this past April Jo Hart has seen very positive results. “I am very impressed with the products, especially the cream. Almost right away I saw results, my concentration went up, I have less irritability it’s wonderful,” says Hart.
Heffner says that blood tests are used to determine estrogen levels, those same blood tests completely ignore progesterone levels. “People can have a saliva test taken to determine progesterone levels, but that isn’t always accurate,” notes Heffner. “There are symptoms people can look for. The main thing is that people use a natural progesterone that will assimilate itself with the body.”
Heffner added that the main reason natural HRT isn’t as widely discussed is the fact that drug companies don’t support it because they cannot patent a natural source. Since drug companies control doctors and the media, little is heard about natural progesterone.
Heffner however, is making sure everyone knows about it. She is scheduled to hold another seminar at Citizens National Bank in Seymour on July 30th at 7:00 p.m. If you are interested attending the seminar or learning more about HRT’s, you can reach Anita Heffner at 865-579-3844.