It is unbelievable to me that I should still have to write about the dangers of synthetic hormones. There is no reason anyone should still use synthetic hormones when there are natural, bioidentical versions of hormones readily available.

Hormones are secreted by glands and travel through the bloodstream where they enter cells and bind to their receptors. After binding to their receptors, a chemical reaction takes place and the effect of the hormone is realized.

Synthetic hormones bind to and occupy receptors, thereby blocking the natural version of the hormone from binding.

Many synthetic hormones have been found to overstimulate the cell’s receptor, which can cause adverse effects.

Doctors have to stop prescribing synthetic hormones like Provera (which is commonly used for female hormone replacement therapy). The Women’s Health Initiative found that the use of Provera caused a 26 percent increase in invasive breast cancer.

Once women were told to stop using Provera, their risk of breast cancer dropped back to a normal level.

As I have often noted, we are experiencing an epidemic of breast cancer. And it is being caused, in large part, by doctors prescribing toxic synthetic hormones to their patients.

Unfortunately, synthetic hormones aren’t the only things we have to worry about. We are swimming in a sea of xenoestrogens — naturally occurring and synthetic substances that mimic estrogen. They are found in plastics, pesticides, animal feed, and birth control pills.

When exposed to xenoestrogens, adult male fish have a 50 percent decline in fertility.