HRT, Estrogen and Menopause, New Scientific Findings: Dr. Rebecca Dunsmoor-Su

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outdated and untrue.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 


Say hi to the AGEIST team!