*(Adapted from Dr. Lee's Book: What Your Doctor Might NOT
Tell You About Menopause pages 318-326, Chapter 20.)

Why would I need Natural Progesterone?
Premenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women experience a sharp decline in progesterone production due to the slowing or cessation of ovulation each month. A woman's body is supposed to produce about 240 milligrams of progesterone during the 12 days immediately after ovulation at mid-cycle (12 days after the beginning of menstruation).

It is suggested that menopausal and post-menopausal women, apply one ounce of a Natural Progesterone product with 480 mg/oz to the skin over 2-3 weeks after the normal ovulation would occur. For pre-menopausal women, it is suggested a lighter dosage of Natural Progesterone such as 1/2 to 3/4 of an ounce over the 2-3 weeks between cycles.

Why gel or cream instead of pills?
Mother Nature never puts its hormones into the stomach which directs the hormones through the liver and metabolizes them for excretion in bile. About 90% of any progesterone taken orally is lost via the bile or converted to metabolites that are not the same. Doses of 100 to 200 mg PER DAY must be taken orally to match the 20 to 24 mg obtained daily through the skin.

Natural Progesterone is absorbed into the bloodstream from the fat layer beneath the skin and is attached to fatty components in the blood. A good Natural Progesterone product provides 480 mg per ounce.

Why is Natural Progesterone better than estrogen or synthetic progestin?
During the years before actual menopause, estrogen may be decreasing only slightly and ovulation has ceased or is rare. Without ovulation, progesterone production is essentially zero making a woman estrogen dominant. Further supplementing the dominant estrogen simply does not make sense, and synthetic progestins have undesireable side effects.

What Natural Progesterone products should I use?
According to Dr. Lee, a product that contains at least 480 milligrams of progesterone per ounce is needed. There are now many products on the market that contain less than 10 milligrams per ounce which are likely to be ineffective.

How much Natural Progesterone should I use??
Please see How To Use Our Gel Formula or How To Use Our Cream Formula for explicit directions on how to apply and use our Natural Progesterone products.

How long should I use Natural Progesterone?
Dr. Lee told his patients, "...continue until age 96 and then we'll reevaluate."

What should I do if my own doctor doesn't know about Natural Progesterone?
Your doctor or health care professional is truly interested in seeing you regain and maintain good health. Have him or her simply follow along with your use of Natural Progesterone. Another option is to supply a copy of one of Dr. Lee's books.

• What Your Doctor Might NOT Tell You About Menopause
• What Your Doctor Might NOT Tell You About Premenopause
• Natural Progesterone: the Multiple Roles of a Remarkable Hormone
  (BLL Publishing, P.O. Box 2068, Sebastopol, CA 95473).
  Also available as a free audio CD or cassette tape.

Can I use Natural Progesterone for birth control?
Folklore describes herbal and other plant sources such as the Mexican wild yam as being effective for birth control. Theoretically, progestational effects are the key mechanism which, if taken early in the cycle, could inhibit ovulation in the same manner progestins do in birth control pills.

However, Dr. Lee mentions, "I have no clinical experience using Natural Progesterone for this purpose and am unaware of any scientific studies testing this hypothesis and, therefore, cannot recommend it."

How can I check my hormone levels?
Blood serum levels were used in the past. Newer saliva tests are probably better as saliva hormones represent those biologically available. Serum hormones are not biologically active, so these tests cannot be as accurate. The saliva tests are less expensive, more accurate, easier to obtain, and more relevant.

Check hormone levels around day 18 to 21 of the menstrual month, counting day one as the first day of the preceding period. Progesterone levels are apt to be highest then. If levels are low, you can be sure you are missing ovulation that month.

Testing Labs

Aeron Lab 1933 Davis St., Suite 310 San Leandro, CA 94577 phn: 800-631-7900 fax: 510-729-0383

Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory 63 Zillicoa Street Asheville, NC 28801-1074 phn: 800-522-4762 (for doctors) phn: 888-891-3061 (for consumers)

What are the actual ingredients in your gel and cream?
An ingredient list of each of our products is below:

Why did you develop your own Natural Progesterone products?
When first suggesting Natural Progesterone for our patients' use, we found that too often the products they purchased were not of sufficient strength.

By developing our own gel and cream containing the suggested amount of Natural Progesterone (480 mg/oz), we were sure our patients would get a product meeting our specifications. We do not, however, cooerce our patients into using only our brand.

By providing Naturezone Natural Progesterone at a very reasonable market rate, we've given our patients and others a reliable, cost-effective, and convenient source of Natural Progesterone.

Why isn't Naturezone mentioned in Dr. Lee's books??
Naturezone Natural Progesterone products were not available at the time Dr. Lee's books were published, but it matches every criteria he mentions for an excellent Natural Progesterone source.

Who should use estrogen supplements?
According to Dr. Lee, if a 3-month trial of Natural Progesterone, proper diet and magnesium/B6 supplements do not relieve hot flashes or vaginal dryness, only then does he suggest a low-dose natural estrogen. However, he does NOT recommended it for women with a history of breast or uterine cancer, obesity, diabetes, clotting, or vascular disorders. It is his opinion that you should use the lowest dose possible to aleviate hot flashes. Products containing natural estrogen or estriol are recommended for vaginal dryness twice a week for three weeks each month.

Other than the above, Dr. Lee feels there is no other reason to use estrogen.

Shouldn't I be taking estrogen for my heart?
Dr. John R. Lee feels the benefits of estrogen for cardiovascular health is still questionable despite all the advertising. A report titled "Serum Total Cholesterol and Long-Term Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) Mortality in Different Cultures," by W. M. Monique Vershuren published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes that other factors (diet or antioxidants) are probably more important in heart disease prevention than is estrogen. (More in Dr. Lee's books.)

My periods are very irregular. What should I do?
The shedding of the bloody endometrial lining is triggered primarily by the fall of progesterone levels 12 days or so after ovulation. Irregular periods in the years before menopause are most likely due to a deficiency in progesterone as you are probably not ovulating every month. If you are not ovulating, then there is no fall of progesterone to trigger a proper shedding.

Dr. Lee suggests a plant-based diet, vitamin E, magnesium and vitamin B6 supplements, plus Natural Progesterone used from day 12 (ovulation time) to day 26 (48 hours before expected period) in your cycle.

I have hot flashes, water retention, poor sleep and mood swings along with periods. What should I do?

During the years before actual menopause, estrogen may be decreasing only slightly and ovulation has ceased or is rare. Without ovulation, progesterone production is essentially zero making you estrogen dominant. Further estrogen supplements only partially alleviate the problems or make them worse. Synthetic progestin has undesireable side effects.

Dr. Lee suggests a plant-based diet, vitamin E, magnesium and vitamin B6 supplements, plus Natural Progesterone used from day 12 (ovulation time) to day 26 (48 hours before expected period) in your cycle.

I'm 43 years old and still having periods but have lost interest in sex. What's wrong?
Libido (the desire for sex) is mistakenly thought by most doctors to come from estrogen; but if you are still menstruating, you have plenty. Since most doctors are unaware of progesterone's role in libido, some give women testosterone. This choice is less desirable for Dr. Lee because of the masculinizing effects of testosterone.

Low progesterone also slows libido which is most probably your case. Dr. Lee suggests a plant-based diet, vitamin E, magnesium and vitamin B6 supplements, plus Natural Progesterone used from day 12 (ovulation time) to day 26 (48 hours before expected period) in your cycle.

My sister developed breast cancer at 45 while still menstruating. My periods are changing and I'm 43. What should I do?
The actual causes of breast cancer are still largely unknown, but most authorities agree that estrogen is at least a promoter.

In industrialized countries progesterone deficiency and estrogen dominance has become epidemic among women in their mid-thirties. (Probably due to what Dr. Lee calls "xenobiotic" or petrochemical toxins which affect ovary development during the earliest stages.)

Dr. Lee feels that estrogen dominance increases the risk of breast cancer. In his opinion, you should follow a plant-based diet to avoid "xenoestrogens" in red meat and dairy foods, and supplement with Natural Progesterone. It is his opinion that synthetic progestins may increase breast cancer risk.