Perimenopause and Menopause, Explained Through the Evidence
Estradiol and progesterone are two of the most misunderstood hormones in medicine, partly because the evidence base shifted substantially after the original Women's Health Initiative reporting, and partly because marketing on both sides of this topic tends to outrun the data. These guides state plainly what the current evidence supports and where it stops.
Signals First, Symptoms Second
Estradiol and progesterone are cell-signaling hormones evaluated the same way every intervention on this site is: what receptor they act on, what that changes metabolically and at the tissue level, and what the clinical trial evidence actually shows follows from that. The full reasoning behind that approach is on the Cellular Medicine page.
Perimenopause, Estradiol, Progesterone, and Testosterone
Perimenopause
Why the transition produces estradiol volatility and falling progesterone instead of a steady decline, how it's staged clinically, and why hot flashes are a brain phenomenon, not just a hormone one.
Read the Guide EstrogenEstradiol
Menopausal hormone therapy's most studied component, what the evidence shows on symptom relief, bone health, and cardiovascular and breast cancer risk depending on timing and route of administration.
Read the Guide ProgestogenProgesterone
Bioidentical progesterone versus synthetic progestins, endometrial protection, sleep, and mood, and where the two get conflated in casual conversation but shouldn't be.
Read the Guide AndrogenTestosterone Therapy in Women
Randomized trial evidence for low sexual desire, the biochemistry linking testosterone to estrogen production, and what influences the choice between delivery routes.
Read the GuideHave a Question, or Want to Find a Clinic?
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