Much of what is thought about hormone replacement therapy is outdated and untrue. We do a deep dive into what is HRT, what are the benefits, and who should and should not be taking it. What happens during a women’s hormone journey from childhood to post-menopausal? How are hormones and a woman’s brain connected? What happens in a women’s body during menopause? What is hormone replacement therapy? Does HRT increase the risk of breast cancer? What is the relation between hormones and the cardiovascular system? How does menopause impact sleep? 

Dr. Rebecca Dunsmoor-Su is the Medical Director of Menopause services at the Women’s Wellness and Gyn Specialties Clinic at Swedish Medical Center. She is also the Chief Medical Officer at Gennev. Dr. Dunsmoor-Su joins us on the SuperAge podcast for an information-dense episode all about menopause. She explains what happens leading up to and during menopause, some of the symptoms like weight gain, trouble sleeping, brain fog, and how they are addressed, how we can use hormone replacement therapy to improve symptoms and longevity for women post-menopause, and much more. 

What you will learn in this episode:

• What a woman’s body goes through in terms of hormones from childhood all the way through post-menopause 
• The impact of menopause on the brain
• Everything we need to know about hormone replacement therapy and some of the myths around it
• How menopause impacts sleep and what can help 
• How menopause impacts brain health and the cardiovascular system 

“Estrogen replacement does not cause breast cancer. And I like to shout that from the rooftops. We have many studies that tell us that estrogen replacement does not cause breast cancer.” 

“Women who start hormone replacement therapy within 5 years of their last period actually reduce their cardiovascular risk. They also slightly reduce their risk of colon cancer and they reduce their all cause mortality overtime.” 

“When women are transitioning through menopause, we’re talking about 5-10 years of disrupted sleep. That’s a lot of impact to the brain.” 

“Menopause is fine and functional if you’re going to live to be 65. You’ve got 10 years to survive menopause, you’re going to be okay. We live to 95, 100, 105! That’s a long time, that’s almost half your life without the hormones that sort of keep things going. So I think that we need to adjust.” 

Listen to the SuperAge podcast wherever you get your pods. 

Connect with Dr. Rebecca Dunsmoor-Su:
https://swedishfoundation.org/frontline-Dunsmoor-Su
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-dunsmoor-su-92a4997b/ 
Gennev: https://gennev.com 

Check out the app, CBT-i Coach, that Dr. Dunsmoor-Su recommends for at home Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/cbt-i-coach/id655918660 

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