Before the menopause, your ovaries produce three main types of hormones:
Oestrogens (for example, oestradiol)
Progestogens (for example, progesterone)
Androgens (for example, testosterone)
It’s the loss of oestrogens that results in most menopause symptoms. And while all women’s testosterone levels gradually decline from our 30s, this impacts some of us and not on others. You can find out more about testosterone here.
Put simply, HRT aims to replace the declining levels of oestrogen that your ovaries used to make, and this, in turn, helps to reduce your menopause symptoms. It also has long-term health benefits, more crucial than ever as women’s life expectancy is increasing.