Everyday Wellness: Midlife Hormones, Health, and Science for Women 35+ BONUS: Perimenopause and Menopause: What you Didn't Know with Dr. Felice Gersh
Oct 13, 2025
Join Dr. Felice Gersh, a dual board-certified OB-GYN and Integrative Medicine expert, as she unravels the mysteries of perimenopause and menopause. Discover how the Women's Health Initiative misled women's health perceptions and learn the nuances between synthetic and bioidentical hormones. Dr. Gersh shares insights on the impacts of hormonal shifts on mental health, metabolism, and even body odor. She also highlights the role of diet and lifestyle in mitigating menopause symptoms, revealing how crucial pre-menopausal health is for future well-being.
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WHI Used Non-Human Hormones
- The Women's Health Initiative used non-human conjugated equine estrogens and a synthetic progestin, creating results that do not generalize to bioidentical hormones.
- Felice Gersh argues the study produced widespread misinformation and fear about all hormone therapy.
Estrogen Is Not One Thing
- Estrogen is a family of different molecules (estradiol, estrone, estriol) that bind different receptors and have distinct effects.
- Treating all 'estrogen' as one ignores receptor specificity and physiology, leading to poor conclusions.
Differentiate Synthetic From Bioidentical
- Do not conflate synthetic conjugated equine estrogens and progestins with human bioidentical hormones when discussing safety.
- Use physiologic, bioidentical estradiol and progesterone when clinically appropriate rather than labeling all hormones 'unsafe'.
