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" I admitted yesterday that I have estrogen envy, and mostly I&amp;#039;d like more of the hormone for whatever preventative brain, heart, and bone health possibilities there are \u2013 some proven and some not. And to get rid of the hot flashes, which a steady stream of estrogen would do. Of course plumper looking skin would be a nice added bonus, but that&amp;#039;s a risky beauty regime, one I&amp;#039;m not quite willing to take for that reason alone. And yet, writes Louanne Brizendine, MD, in The Female Brain, &amp;quot;There&amp;#039;s a brief window, it seems, when estrogen provides maximum protective benefits for the brain.&amp;quot; Brizendine was referring to a Canadian researcher who had found that those women who took estrogen replacement right after surgical menopause had memory function like those of their premenopausal sisters. Those who did not take estrogen right away had declining verbal memory. Brizendine cites other studies showing that women who take estrogen show &amp;quot;less shrinkage in the brain areas for decision making, judgment, concentration, verbal processing, listening skill, and emotional processing.&amp;quot; I&amp;#039;m at that brief window, give or take a year. And I kind of like the view on the other side. I&amp;#039;ve read the studies, many of them contradictory or inconclusive on taking hormones during perimenopause, and when I see my gynecologist next month, we will undoubtedly weigh the options. I don&amp;#039;t feel quite as cranky or that I&amp;#039;m losing my mind as much \u2013 and I have this blog in part to thank. Writing it out works. And I don&amp;#039;t need a study to tell me that. So thank you dear readers, for reading. And I&amp;#039;d love to hear about the view from your side. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/a45118/confession-part-ii-2125/>