Estrogen supplements can have serious side effects. They are particularly risky for women with clotting disorders, undiagnosed vaginal bleeding, liver disease, a past history of breast cancer, or a strong family history of breast cancer. They increase the risk of breast cancer, whether progesterone is added or not. Women taking estrogen supplements have 30 to 80 percent more breast cancer risk than other women. Most of the push relates to osteoporosis and heart disease.
Osteoporosis is very common in Caucasian women, less so among other races.
About one-quarter of white women over 60 have compression fractures of their vertebrae, and many develop hip fractures due to the gradual loss of bone. But estrogens are not nearly as good at protecting the bones as women may be led to believe, and they rarely arrest bone loss. At their best, estrogens simply slow the rate of bone deterioration. Other approaches can be much more effective, and they do not cause cancer. Cutting salt intake can reduce your calcium losses even further.