Simply put, bioidentical hormones start out as steroids in plants such as wild yams and soy beans, which are then processed in a laboratory to create hormone molecules identical to those in the human body. I know what you're thinking: "This sounds like a lot of bunk. These hormones are produced in a laboratory just like the synthetic ones. How are they any better?"
An identical molecule is an identical molecule. An estrogen or progesterone with the exact molecular structure of that produced in the human body will create the same reaction in the human body as its own hormones.
Since a bioidentical hormone produced from plants in a lab is molecularly identical to the same hormone produced in the human body, the U.S. Patent Office considers the lab-produced bioidentical hormone to be a natural substance. And natural substances cannot be patented.
Synthetic hormones are purposely synthetic. They have similar molecular structures to a woman's own hormones, but are not an exact match. They have structures not found in nature (making them patentable and more lucrative). They are much more powerful than a woman's natural hormones and are meant to overpower the natural hormones to provide their own action on the body. This is how synthetic hormones are used for birth control. All birth control pills, rings, pellets, injections, etc. utilize synthetic hormones to prevent a woman from ovulating. Over the years I have tried to find out if bioidentical hormones could be or are used for birth control. This is just not possible because they do not function in the human body like synthetic hormones.
So, synthetic hormones have given us easy, reliable birth control methods and happily for the drug companies, they can be patented because they are not a natural substance. However, for doctors to prescribe these same synthetic hormones for hormone replacement therapy for perimenopause and menopause is unacceptable when there is the choice of biodentical hormones.
