They can affect not only the quantity of hormones circulating in the blood, but also the body s ability to respond to those hormones. What is meant by a natural hormone is a substance that precisely matches in molecular configuration what the body itself produces. Natural has less to do with where it comes from, and everything to do with its biochemical structure. The naturally occurring plant sterol diosgenin from Mexican yams can be converted through a simple laboratory process called hydrolyzation into a steroid compound molecularly identical to human progesterone. Possible side effects of Provera include fluid retention, weight gain, depression, fatigue, nausea, acne, migraine, breast tenderness, spotting between periods.
Hormones taken orally enter the bloodstream from the small intestine, and go directly to the liver.
Because the liver is not accustomed to receiving large amounts of hormones, it begins to break them down, leaving only a small percentage of the ingested hormone available to cells. Transdermal delivery circumvents the digestive system cells absorb hormones more efficiently, rapidly dispersing them into the blood via capillary beds in skin and muscle. Martha Howard, M.D. says, oral pharmaceuticals can be harmful to the liver and gall bladder. Oral administration is outmoded. Plant-derived creams fit better in the body s receptors.