RECOMMENDED READING: “Sex, Lies & Menopause”

Sex, Lies, and Menopause: The Shocking Truth About Synthetic Hormones and the Benefits of Natural Alternatives, is the full title of this book by T.S.Wiley, first published in 2003. A friend of mine suggested it to me. She knew I was nearing the point of throwing in the towel and taking hormones to relieve my menopausal symptoms. There seem to be an equal number of women who are either highly critical of the book, or who claimed it changed their lives for the better. (Take a look at reader reviews on Amazon). In any case, it’s good learning and I believe Sex, Lies & Menopause should be on every woman’s reading list – particularly those in their 20s who still have their reproductive years and lots of choices ahead of them. The authors address not only the perils of using synthetic rather than plant-based hormones, but also how modern lifestyles (namely delayed childbearing, limited breastfeeding, use of birth-control pills) are contributing to cancer and/or accelerated aging in women. If nothing else, reading this book will make you think twice before filling a doctor’s prescription for HRT. It does seem like a risky shortcut to take when there are alternatives that are worth trying. I’m headed to a Naturopathic Doctor this week for saliva testing - the first step in this journey in finding the right “natural” or bio-identical products that have the potential to work for me. Both my internist and gynecologist have discouraged me from going down this path but since they’re not offering any other solutions, I’m going to look out for myself and give it a try.