Best Natural Alternatives to Premarin

Premarin is a conjugated equine estrogen made from the urine of pregnant mares, prescribed as a form of menopause hormone therapy (MHT) to relieve symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, low libido, and vaginal dryness. Although effective for many women transitioning through menopause, Premarin is a synthetic hormone that can produce more side effects than bioidentical hormone options.

Today, more women are looking for natural alternatives to Premarin that support hormone balance without the risks of synthetic or animal-derived estrogens. Options like bioidentical hormones, plant-based remedies, and lifestyle therapies can offer relief while aligning more closely with the body's natural rhythms.

In this guide, we'll explore the best natural alternatives to Premarin to help you ease menopause symptoms, support your well-being, and feel more like yourself again.

Natural Alternatives to Hormone Therapy for Menopause

In cases where hormone therapy is not recommended or non-hormonal alternatives are preferred, several supplements, herbal remedies, and lifestyle changes can ease perimenopause symptoms and prevent the onset of more serious conditions after menopause.

Food Choices

Some key dietary adjustments can make a big difference in the occurrence and severity of perimenopause symptoms, as well as your overall well-being during and after menopause.

Eating foods plentiful in calcium can improve bone health, and magnesium-rich foods encourage restful sleep and good moods. Foods high in vitamin B6 can help balance hormones, and omega-3s can help sustain healthy blood pressure and heart health.

Soy products, flax seeds, and sesame seeds contain phytoestrogens that can help reduce hot flashes, however, 30-50% of the population cannot metabolize phytoestrogens into their active form, making them ineffective. And foods high in dietary fiber can aid in digestion and metabolism to prevent weight gain.

Helpful Supplements

When dietary adjustments are not easy or affordable, supplements can be helpful. For example, omega-3s, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, and vitamin B6 can all be consumed as a daily supplement.

A daily probiotic is also helpful to protect and sustain a healthy gut microbiome and the estrobolome.

Vitex agnus-castus (Vitex) is a phytoestrogen derived from the chasteberry tree and has been used as a women's health supplement for centuries. These days, it's available in supplement form like the Intimate Rose Vitex Supplement and is highly recommended for easing breast tenderness, hot flashes, anxiety, irritability, poor sleep, and low libido during perimenopause.

Herbal Remedies

Several herbal remedies are touted for relieving menopause symptoms, however, evidence on their efficacy is scant. One herbal remedy known to help is St. John's Wort. By aiding in the release of serotonin, it can improve low moods and mild to moderate depression. It's also known to ease night sweats, improve sleep, and reduce fatigue.

Although successful for many, St. John's Wort can have serious interactions with certain medications including hormone therapy, antidepressants, blood thinners, and anti-seizure medications. Women are advised to consult their healthcare provider before considering St. John's Wort.

What Else Helps Ease Perimenopause Symptoms Naturally?

In addition to making the right food choices and considering effective supplements or herbal remedies to ease your perimenopause symptoms, regular exercise, pelvic care, and vaginal health can be game-changers.

Regular Exercise

Numerous research studies reveal that regular exercise alleviates the severity of several menopause symptoms when compared to non-exercise control groups, with benefits including improved heart health, bone regeneration, muscle tone, mental health, emotional stability, sleep, and metabolism.

Relieving this wide range of menopause symptoms requires a regular combination of aerobic exercise, flexibility, balance, strength training, and pelvic floor exercises. And with the help of a personal trainer or fitness app, this is easily achieved.

Pelvic Care

Hormone changes and aging often deteriorate the elasticity and coordination of the pelvic floor, resulting in tight (hypertonic) or weak (hypotonic) pelvic floor muscles. Tight pelvic floor muscles can result in pelvic pain, pain during sex, difficulty urinating, or constipation. A weak pelvic floor can also cause pelvic pain, but due to the lack of support for the pelvic organs, urine leaks, pelvic organ prolapse, and a lack of feeling during sex are common.

Kegel Weights are highly effective for re-strengthening a weak pelvic floor, and Pelvic Wands are just as good for relaxing a tight pelvic floor. For both, we recommend the pelvic tools from female health experts, Intimate Rose. Shaped and sized to perfection, and made from the highest quality, body-safe, medical-grade silicone, their Kegel Weights and Pelvic Wands are world leaders in pelvic care.

If you have pelvic pain, it's wise to see a pelvic floor physical therapist to determine if you are experiencing pelvic floor dysfunction and understand which pelvic care tools will be helpful.

Vaginal Health

With the decline in estrogen, the production of vaginal lubrication can also decrease. In real terms, this manifests as vaginal dryness or vulvar irritation and can often cause friction and pain during sex.

Although local Estradiol can be safely used in almost everyone to treat vaginal dryness, those seeking an alternative approach can invest in an organic vaginal moisturizer to ease irritation during the day, and water-based or silicone-based lubricants to relieve pain during sex.

How to Know if MHT or Natural Alternatives is Right for Your Menopause Symptoms?

Even though it's a natural stage of life, navigating the menopause transition from perimenopause to post menopause can be challenging. When seeking treatment, it's, therefore, always wise to start with an evaluation of your symptoms, age, uterus status, and medical history. This is best performed by a menopause specialist, as opposed to a primary care physician who may have little training around menopause.

Although it may feel embarrassing to discuss intimate symptoms, it's crucial to answer honestly to ensure your healthcare provider can prescribe the appropriate type of menopause treatment for you.

If you can't find a menopause expert near you, Intimate Rose offers a free menopause assessment to set up a consultation with their menopause specialist. After the consultation, you'll receive a personalized hormone treatment plan to ease your symptoms based on bioidentical hormones, and they ship directly and discreetly to your door.

Intimate Rose also ships their Vitex supplements, probiotics, and pelvic care tools trusted by pelvic therapists and female health experts, including me, all over the world.

Traditional Hormone Therapy During Menopause

The hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone work in tandem throughout the reproductive phase of life to support development, menstruation, pregnancy, and lactation.

Estrogen also contributes to the health and function of the brain, bones, heart, muscles, metabolism, and the largest organ in the body, the skin. Progesterone aids in sleep, moods, and regenerating bone, while testosterone boosts the female sex drive, sleep, and energy levels.

The reproductive stage of life typically begins to wind down in the early to mid-40s, signalling a decrease in the production of estrogen and progesterone (testosterone drops gradually in our late 20's or early 30's). But the hormone decline does not happen uniformly, and fluctuations occur haphazardly throughout perimenopause.

These hormone fluctuations cause hormone imbalances and result in perimenopause symptoms intensifying and easing without warning. These fluctuations occur differently for each woman, meaning symptoms can vary, and the journey through menopause is unique for everyone.

Due to the support provided by the sex hormones to several parts of the body, menopause symptoms are not limited to the reproductive system, as you might expect, and usually arise in numerous other parts of the body too.

Hormone therapy is therefore prescribed to supplement and balance hormones as women transition from pre-menopause to post-menopause. Doing so can relieve the symptoms linked to the declining production of hormones and hormone fluctuations such as: anxiety, brain fog, hot flashes, depression, heart palpitations, loss of muscle & bone density, dry skin, and vaginal dryness.

Additionally, hormone therapy is recommended to prevent the loss of bone density from escalating to osteoporosis later in life, as well as poor sleep developing into insomnia, and to avoid heart disease due to low estrogen levels.

Is MHT Safe?

Yes, MHT is considered safe and effective despite the widespread confusion following the 2002 Women's Health Initiative study. Despite the study's conclusion suggesting that hormone therapy increased the risk of cancer and clotting in all women, experts later proved the study was poorly reported.

Since then, research has proven that MHT is safe and effective when the right type and dose are prescribed on an individual basis.

There are, of course, cases where MHT may not be suitable. Those with a history of breast cancer or certain reproductive cancers, for instance, may be advised to avoid it or proceed with caution.

Similarly, it's wise for each woman contemplating MHT to consult with a menopause expert or female health specialist to determine if hormone therapy is right for them, and if so, which type and dose.

In many cases, MHT involving bioidentical hormones may be more beneficial and less risky, with fewer potential side effects.

Bioidentical Hormones: What Are They?

The difference between bioidentical and synthetic hormones used in MHT is their molecular structure, source of origin, and potential side effects.

Bioidentical hormones, such as Estradiol, are derived from natural sources (like yams or soy) for their molecular similarities to natural hormones produced in the body. Bioidentical hormone therapy is widely recommended by menopause experts as it is as close to the body's natural hormones as you can get and appears to have a decreased risk of developing blood clots.

Synthetic hormones do not resemble the molecular structure of natural hormones produced by the body, which can result in additional side effects, including risk of blood clots for some. Additionally, Premarin is not available in as many formulations as estradiol which can be very important in figuring out the best menopausal regimen. Because Premarin contains a mixture of estrogens, this may provide a broader estrogenic effect for some women.

Side Effects of Estradiol vs Premarin

When taking Estradiol or Premarin, noted side effects may include bloating, breast tenderness, nausea, or bleeding.

That being said, all side effects do not affect all women.

Conclusion

As a conjugated equine estrogen made from the urine of pregnant mares, Premarin may not be suitable for easing menopause symptoms in every woman. Natural alternatives, such as bioidentical hormones like Estradiol, are often recommended instead of Premarin for their body compatibility, smooth absorption, and natural hormone balance.

Whether you are taking Estradiol or Premarin to reduce menopause symptoms, it's important to follow up with a healthcare provider for regular check-ups. MHT types and doses can be easily altered, reduced, or increased for an improved and continued quality of life.

Certain foods, helpful supplements, herbal remedies, and regular exercise are also natural methods of easing hormone fluctuations and symptoms during the menopause transition. And when pelvic floor dysfunction or vaginal dryness is lowering your quality of life, pelvic health care in the form of Kegel Weights, Pelvic Wands, lubricants, vaginal moisturizers can help.

If you're seeking more clarification on the best menopause treatment plan for you, have a look at the Telehealth Menopause Assessment system at Intimate Rose. The initial assessment is free, and they deliver discreetly to your door.

References

Mayo Clinic - Conjugated Estrogens - https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/conjugated-estrogens-oral-route/description/drg-20075319

News Medical - What Does Estradiol Do? - https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-does-Estradiol-do.aspx

British Nutrition Foundation - Managing Menopause with Diet - https://www.nutrition.org.uk/nutrition-for/women/menopause/managing-menopause-symptoms-with-nutrition-and-diet/

National Library of Medicine - Physical Activity and Health During the Menopausal Transition - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3270074/

National Library of Medicine - St. John's Wort extract: efficacy for menopausal symptoms of psychological origin - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10623319/