Natural Progesterone - What is it?

Natural progesterone is the same identical molecule that your body makes. Natural progesterone is also known as bioidentical progesterone. Again, bio identical progesterone is the same identical molecule your body makes. Therefore, it cannot be patented. Therefore, there are many competitors that provide natural progesterone. Therefore, the price of natural progesterone is relatively inexpensive. Back in the 1950s, progesterone was isolated, then it was mass-produced in high quantities at reasonable prices. Because no monopoly existed to produce progesterone, the price remained low. This makes for a poor business model.

The Rich Big Pharma Business Model

A better business model is to create a monopoly. Thus, the pharmaceutical companies are focused on producing progestins. A progestin is a chemically modified progesterone. Thus, it can be patented. Thus, exorbitant amounts of money can be charged. Thus, the person or corporation who owns the patent for this novel molecule that is a variation of progesterone can become rich. The excess profits owned from this pantented progestin may be used to buy expensive drug reps that costs hundred thousand dollars or more in salary per year. Just the clinical testing alone to get FDA approval for the drug, costs a hundred million dollars in 2015. Then, there are TV ads to be bought. Then, there are ads in the medical journals to be bought. Then, there is advertising on the Internet to be bought. If the physician prescribes enough of the drug, he may get a free vacation from the drug company. He certainly will get free meals at nice restaurants. All this money that goes to FDA approval and marketing of the drug comes from a monopoly. The monopoly comes from patenting the drug. For the drug to be patentable, it must be new and novel and different  from what is found in nature. Unfortunately, because of this slight molecular difference, the body will react to the progestin in quite different ways than the molecule was originally first designed and used by your body. According to the physicians desk reference in 1998. synthetic progestins can cause malignant mammary tumors in Beagle dogs(breast cancer). John Lee, M.D. notes that if the woman takes birth control pills before the age of 18, and before the breast tissue matures, the rate of increase for breast cancer is 600%. The birth control pills contain synthetic patented progestins. Synthetic brand-name progestins are listed in the physicians desk reference to create birth defects.

The Poor Natural Progesterone Business Model

In contrast, there is no money to do studies on natural progesterone. If I spend $100 million to do a study a natural progesterone, my competitors could use that data to promote their product. I cannot make $100 million back. I would be flushing $100 million down the toilet. Since there are multiple competitors to sell natural progesterone, the price is low. If the price is low, there are no or little profits. No or little profits means no little advertisements. No or little profits means no expensive drug reps to push the drug on doctors. No or little profits means no TV ads. No or little profits means no magazine ads. No or little profits means no Internet ads. No or little profits means I canNOT send prescribing doctors on vacation or buy them free meals at expensive restaurants. In short, selling natural progesterone is kind of a lousy business model.

Big Business Does Not Like the Natural Progesterone Model

For instance, to do an operation for endometriosis may cost the patient $30,000. Of course, the operation only works for a couple years, and then, the endometriosis comes back. Then, another operation for endometriosis is done and another $30,000 is required. After several years, the endometriosis comes back again. Finally, the patient does a total abdominal hysterectomy taking both uterus and ovaries in an effort to get rid of endometriosis and yet, another $30,000 is required. The success of a total abdominal hysterectomy for endometriosis is only 50%. This is a $90,000 paying customer. I have been using natural progesterone and the avoidance of xenoestrogens since 1999 to 2015 in over 25,000 patients. For most endometriosis patients, that are very persnickety about avoiding xenoestrogens, they only need to take natural progesterone for several months. (If you are NOT persnickety about avoiding xenoestrogens then the endometriosis never goes away). The pain is gone. The nausea is gone. The vomiting is gone. Typically, if they are very careful about avoiding xenoestrogens they may only spend $24-$48 to control and get rid of their endometriosis. Who do you think would be upset about this type of treatment of endometriosis? The doctors who are missing out a $90,000 would be upset. The vendors that sell cosmetics lotions and toiletries that contain chemicals or herbs that act like estrogen and stimulate the endometriosis to grow would also be upset. This is a lousy business model. Certainly, most of the people already entrenched in the industry would oppose this kind of therapy because it cuts into their bottom line. If you would like to do more reading on this progesterone therapy and the avoidance of xenoestrogens I suggest that you look at our videos and read the book "What Your Doctor May Not You About Menopause" by John Lee M.D. under the topic of endometriosis and natural progesterone and xenoestrogens.

Fertility Medical Doctors Routinely Use Natural Progesterone to Protect the Test Tube Pregnancy - (Natural Progesterone Must Be Safe for Baby)

Fertility medical doctors that specialize in conceiving test tube babies routinely use natural progesterone to protect the pregnancy and prevent miscarriage. Natural progesterone is normally found in the body. Natural progesterone is neither female nor male. Natural progesterone is used by the body to signal the uterus to maintain the pregnancy. If you have insufficient levels of natural progesterone due to not producing enough progesterone, then this will create a miscarriage. In my book, if you have a miscarriage from 5 to 8 weeks of gestation, this is a progesterone deficiency until proven otherwise. This deficiency in progesterone during the first trimester is known as a corpus luteum defect. Typically, natural progesterone used to maintain the pregnancy is first produced by the corpus luteum on the ovary at levels starting at 20 mg per day for the first trimester. Then, the placenta begins to form and produce progesterone for the second and third trimester. The placenta begins to ramp up production until the production of natural progesterone reaches 400 mg during one day of third trimester pregnancy. The first trimester is dominated by the production of natural progesterone produced by the corpus luteum. During the second and third trimester the production of natural progesterone is dominated by the placenta. Thus, usually if a woman is prone to a corpus luteum defect and does not produce enough natural progesterone, natural progesterone need only be given during the first trimester. This is because the placenta begins produce massive amounts of progesterone during the second and third trimester and takes over and surpasses corpus luteum production of natural progesterone. Is extremely important that when you taper off the transdermal progesterone, you do it slowly. Stopping progesterone suddenly or forgetting to take progesterone the next day can actually cause a miscarriage because of the dropping progesterone levels. The body may interpret the sudden dropping progesterone levels as a signal to miscarry.

First trimester miscarriage may also occur by herbs and chemicals that are put on the skin that block progesterone at the receptor level. Thus, these hormone disruptors commonly found in cosmetics and toiletries can interfere with the action of progesterone on its receptor and can cause a miscarriage. For instance, mint or aloe or rosemary is used to traditionally create miscarriages in women who do not want their babies. (I do not morally agree with this.) If you want a full list of these herbs that are traditionally used to create miscarriage please buy any product from us and you'll get that list.

For some patients, that are extremely allergic or have an autoimmune disease like Hashimoto's thyroiditis, they may develop antibodies against progesterone according to the late Beer, MD.  For these patients, you can take progesterone throughout the entire pregnancy with no ill affect all the way up to the day of delivery.  Antibodies to progesterone can attack progesterone in the water fraction of blood that are bound to binding proteins that make the antibodies water-soluble. Topical progesterone put on the skin in contrast is not water-soluble and is in the oil fraction of the blood. Topical natural progesterone applied transdermally is stored in the chylomicrons, small oil droplets in the blood, and on the red blood cell membranes according to John Lee, MD. Topical natural progesterone, since it is in the oil fraction of blood cannot be attacked by water fraction antibodies. Thus, a woman with antibodies against progesterone will not be able to attack topical progesterone because it is not in the water fraction of the blood.

Fertility Doctors Do NOT Use Brand Name Progestins in Early Pregnancy Because of Birth Defects

So natural progesterone is routinely used by fertility medical doctors to stop miscarriage and preserve the pregnancy both for early miscarriage and preterm delivery without the fear of birth defects or adverse effects. Fertility medical doctors do not use brand-name synthetic progestins to preserve the pregnancy because of the threat of birth defects.

However, one synthetic progestin now is approved by the FDA to prevent preterm delivery, hydroxyprogesterone caproate. Hydoxyprogesterone caproate is NOT used in early first trimester miscarriage prevention because of the concern of birth defects. However, all the other brand-name synthetic progestins according to the physicians desk reference routinely causes birth defects. Nevertheless, the industry lobby has insisted that the side effects between brand-name synthetic progestins and natural progesterone is the same. The FTC has also agreed that side effects between brand-name synthetic progestins and natural progesterone is the same.[1] Can you say big Pharma wins? Upon the urging of big Pharma watchdog marketeer's, the FTC will call natural progesterone vendors and cite them for marketing violations. This is how the game is played. There is an old adage that says if you want to find out the cause of particular problem, you just have to "follow the money".

A month long treatment with hydroxyprogesterone caproate to prevent preterm delivery costs the patient $5000.  A month long treatment to treat preterm delivery with Natural Progesterone costs the patient $48.  Who wins?  Big Pharma, of course.

This is the formula for natural progesterone versus brand-name synthetic progestins.

You can see that for most the most part the molecules are the same except for one or two substitutions. It is these one or two substitutions that cause cancer, bloating, and breast tenderness and stroke. Sorry, natural progesterone will never be the same as brand-name synthetic progestins.



1. Mari Golub, PhD., Farla Kaufman PhD., Marlissa Campbell, PhD., Ling-Hong Li, PhD.  Reproductive and cancer hazard assessment section, Evidence on Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity of Progesterone, reproductive and cancer hazard assessment section office of environmental health hazard assessment California Environmental Protection Agency, 2004. Note: This document talks about synthetic brand-name progestins (progestagens) and labels them as progesterone. This is a misnomer. Differences between natural progesterone and progestins in this paper is blurred. Natural progesterone and progestins are grouped together in this paper. They did NOT consider the interaction between progesterone and xenoestrogens. They assumed of the side effects between natural progesterone and progestins were the same.  They assigned the side effects from synthetic progestins and natural progesterone to be the same by default. So, if you found a side effect from a progestin, those were automatically assumed to be present in natural progesterone as well.

Can you say big Pharma wins again?