New horizons: Suzanne Somers is happy proof of life beyond menopause

Suzanne Somers has hit her prime again. The 57-yearold's career has taken the big leap from actress/entertainer to best-selling author. Semers recently penned The Sexy Years, which complements her New York limos best-selling diet books.

Turning 50 was a difficult experience for Somers. "Yes, that was quite a birthday," she recalls. "I was sitting with my family, having this nice dinner, and my son was giving a speech every mother only dreams about. I suddenly was so hot ... I wanted to rip all my clothes off. All I could think of was, 'When is this dinner going to be over so I can gel some air--stop with these speeches!' And then it was just downhill from there."

Searching for Relief

"I spent a year suffering, and I don't use the word 'suffering' lightly," she says. "I truly believe that menopause is suffering." Seeking help for what she calls "the Seven Dwarfs of Menopause"--Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty, Sleepy, Bloated, Forgetful and All-Dried-Up--she went from doctor to doctor. One recommended the usual synthetic hormones; another prescribed black cohosh and yam extract.

Her odyssey continued with a physician who "patted me on the back and said, "The drug companies know best, dear.' And I thought, 'You old fool.'" Finally Somers round an endocrinologist who had chosen to specialize in natural bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

"After monthly blood tests, we found what my body requires as far as balance. It has to be monitored, and it's not easy, but once you find the balance, the patient and doctor work together in concert, and it's beautiful. It's not about the one-pill-for-everyone scenario."

Naturally Healthy

Currently, Somers, a breast cancer survivor, takes 1 milligram (mg) of estradiol three times a day as well as 5 mg of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) per day. And on days 1-14 of the month, she takes 95 mg of progesterone twice daily. But, she cautions, "this is what I take, and you have to find your own balance of bioidentical hormones. My whole approach to my health is proactive."

Since learning about natural bioidentical hormones, Somers has discovered that the second half of her life has been more rewarding, fun, purposeful and sexier than her youthful years. And she credits her bioidentical hormone therapy for this. "Synthetic hormones are pharmaceutical drugs. They're not what our bodies make, so it's not so much hormone replacement but a symptom suppressor.

"When you give a woman a synthetic pharmaceutical drug, it takes away the hot flashes, some of the short-term memory loss, but nothing is being replaced. It takes away the symptoms, so it looks like we're okay, but it's creating hormonal imbalance, which results in weight gain. After awhile, the internal metabolic self starts shutting down, and that's when the diseases of aging start coming. The diseases we all expect to have as we age aren't natural; we're supposed to die healthy, old and happy. Let me give you all analogy: If you don't water a house plant, it will live for awhile, then start looking a little dried out, the leaves will get a little brown and curled, then it will lean over, choke and die."

Bioidentical hormones are exact replicas of what our own bodies make. Therefore, our bodies accept them because they mimic naturally occurring hormones. "And here's the irony," says Somers. "Fifty years ago, before the pharmaceutical companies got involved, doctors were giving bioidentical hormones shod-term to help women get through the uncomfortable withdrawals of hormone loss. Through the years, drag companies took the concept and changed it so that theirs has become the standard normal treatment."

Somers backtracks a bit on her pharmaceutical stance, though. "I have to say I am not anti-pharmaceutical and I am not anti-Western doctors. I am a breast cancer survivor, and I would not have wanted to do without the drugs I needed at that time and without my wonderful doctors. But when I don't have to lake a drag, I would much rather not do so. Ever since I started on these bioidentical hormones at age 51, my life has taken a turn for the better. This is the best I have ever felt."

Looking Forward

Not that the 5'5" beauty has abandoned exercise and good eating habits. She continues her fitness philosophy of "fit, not fanatic, with strength training moves" plus some yoga classes. Weight training, in particular, promotes bone growth, so being relive is important, she stresses. Somers also enjoys eating wholesome foods along with healthful fats--and she shuns processed foods, trans fats, sugar and chemicals.

"Eat real foods and enough of them. Years of poor eating habits add up to damaged cells, and we age faster, not only externally but internally as well. It takes more work and discipline to look good as you age. I look 57, but I look good for my age, and that's what I want. I don't pretend to be anything other than 57, especially since this age has brought me such joy. This is what grandmothers look like now. We, as women of this generation, have embraced exercise, diet, lifestyle and therapy--all these things add up to why we look the way we do today. Again, I will never tell women what they should do, but I can always hold myself up and say, "This is what I did, and if you want what I'm having, this is it.' I'm a pioneer, as we all me in menopause. [The women of] our generation are pioneers in general. We burned our bras and wanted equally. We wanted better relationships with our children and spouses."