By Stephanie Taylor-White, ND

Osteoporosis is a degenerative disease that is preventable and treatable. In this article, I will present the role of natural hormones in preventing and treating osteoporosis. When you combine good nutrition and balanced hormones, you get healthy, strong bones.

Many women know about the importance of estrogen in preventing bone loss, but not many know the new evidence that progesterone is more important for stimulating bone formation.

In 1981, John R. Lee, MD, began a study of the effect of progesterone on women with established osteoporosis. He had the women apply a progesterone cream to their skin as the form of treatment. Within three years, the patients reported that aches and pains in their muscles and bones had disappeared and height loss was stabilized; furthermore, they reported no fractures related to osteoporosis. 63% of the participants had dual-photon absorbency of their lumbar spine taken to monitor bone density and all of the participants demonstrated some level of bone density increase. The women in the study averaged a 15.4% increase in bone density over a period of three years.

Healthy bone is constantly remodeling itself, a normal activity. This remodeling is a balance of bone formation and bone "resorption" (meaning bone loss). From the previous discussion, we see that progesterone seems to stimulate the bone formation half of the equation.

Estrogen, on the other hand, has long been known to prevent the excess bone resorption process found in menopausal women and women with osteoporosis. Hence, estrogen can prevent the progression of osteoporosis but has not been shown to actually increase bone density. Taking only estrogen replacement is not the whole answer.

DHEA is a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands and the ovaries; its levels seem to decline with age. It has direct effects on the body by itself, and it is a precursor hormone to estrogen and testosterone.

There is no direct evidence that DHEA will effect bone density; however, in diseases that decrease the function of the adrenal glands thereby reducing DHEA levels in the body, bone density also decreases. We can thus infer that DHEA may be helpful in treating osteoporosis.

Please note that DHEA is the only hormone available over the counter and should be taken only when there is an observable deficiency (measured in blood or saliva). It is important to limit the length of time on DHEA. A dosage appropriate for women is no more than 5 mg. per day, and for men no more than 25 mg. per day unless otherwise prescribed by a physician.

Testosterone is found not only in men. Women do make a small amount of testosterone in the ovaries and adrenal glands. Some women do suffer from insufficient testosterone, although it is rare.

This hormone does help build bone density, which partially explains why men suffer less from osteoporosis than do women. The very high levels of testosterone found in men increase their muscle mass and bone density as compared to women.

In order to successfully address hormone replacement with regards to osteoporosis, I suggest that you educate yourself as much as possible. I highly recommend reading Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis, by Alan Gaby, MD, and having a qualified physician help you plan your hormone replacement for optimal success.

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