The Healing Power of Estrogen: Why Everything You’ve Been Told Is Wrong with Dr. Devaki Lindsey Berkson
Keeping Abreast Podcast ~ March 2025
Podcast Recap
by Tracy
Oh I love Dr. Lindsey Berkson!!! It’s amazing that she looks 50, but she’s actually almost 78 years young! She says this in many of her podcasts and it rings true for me: “Why would Mother Nature make hormones, the very things that drive humanity, carcinogenic?” “Hormones are the greatest and most powerful signaling molecules in the body. They rule the brain, eyes, kidneys, heart, GI, muscle, and sense of self. They rule the show.” 🩶 Short on time? Scroll to the end for “Tracy’s Takeaways”.
Hormones: Why They Matter
Hormones are the body’s most powerful signaling system. Dr. Berkson makes a great analogy: hormones run the body's Wi-Fi, delivering messages/emails to our cells. When the Wi-Fi goes out, aka hormone deficiency, then our body doesn't receive the necessary signals, and issues start to arise. Aging and disease can further disrupt these signals.
Despite their importance, hormones are not deeply emphasized in medical training. This has contributed to widespread fear, especially around estrogen and breast cancer, largely influenced by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study in the early 2000s. However, closer analysis suggests the increased cancer risk was linked to synthetic progestins, not estrogen itself!
Hormone decline plays a major role in aging and is associated with increased risk of heart, lung, and kidney disease, cognitive decline, and bone fractures, hello osteoporosis!
Bioidentical vs. Synthetic Hormones
Bioidentical hormones: Structurally identical to what your body naturally produces. ALWAYS ask your Dr. for BIOIDENTICAL HORMONES!
Synthetic hormones: Chemically altered versions, often designed for patenting and profit
A Better Approach to Care
Dr. Jen Simmons, the podcast host, and who is also a former breast cancer surgeon, puts it bluntly:
“If your provider doesn’t address diet, nutrition, exercise, sleep, movement, and toxin exposure, and only gives a prescription for a drug, you don’t have a provider; you have a drug dealer.”
The 2023 “10 Million Study”
A large NIH-backed study of women 65+ examined hormone therapy and long-term health outcomes.
Key findings:
~19% longer lifespan in women using estrogen
Lower rates of breast, colorectal, and lung cancers
Possible protection against additional cancers
Reduced cognitive decline (varied by hormone type)
Important Findings
Some studies (The Habit Study) showing higher breast cancer rates included women taking estrogen-blocking drugs (like tamoxifen), meaning they weren’t actually experiencing estrogen’s full effects, an important nuance when interpreting risk.
Hormones work by binding to receptors in the body, but environmental toxins (like plastics and chemicals) can interfere with this process, potentially blocking normal function. Try and elimnate plastics from your every day life. Don’t put food in microwave in plastic, get rid of all plastic food storage containers, and stop drinking out of plastic water bottles.
🩶 Tracy’s Takeaways
Hormones are the body’s master signaling system—they regulate everything from brain to metabolism
Hormone decline is a major driver of aging, disease, osteoporosis, and cognitive decline
Fear of estrogen largely came from misinterpreted studies—risk was more tied to synthetic progestins, not estrogen
Bioidentical hormones (body-identical) are preferred over synthetic versions
Large studies show hormone therapy may be linked to longer lifespan, lower cancer risk, and better brain health
Toxins (like plastics) can disrupt hormone signaling