Jill D Davey, author of The Menopause Cure: Hormonal Health, began researching restorative medicine and bioidentical hormone therapy when she realised she was in the clutches of the menopause. Here, Jill tells Live to 100 all about her personal journey and shares some sound advice on coping with our health.
Q. Before we talk about all the wonderful benefits you’ve written about in your book and blog, can you tell us a little bit about you and why you are the voice for menopausal women in the UK and Europe?
I was born in the UK, and I have lived in Italy for over 30 years and have two beautiful grown up boys.
When I was 51, I was sad and tired, moody and itchy. I thought sex was never going to be as good again. I was continually waking up drenched in sweat. I was breathless, bloated and just couldn’t understand what was happening to me.
One minute life was amazing. I had a loving husband, a successful business and a great family life. The next minute–enter the menopause–and with it came something I couldn’t control or name. I felt as though I was losing myself, my head.
That’s when I remembered my mother’s personality change, she was about the same age. Her mood swings, hot flushes, sleepless nights and more. I didn’t realise why at the time…I do now, of course.
In my disbelief and ensuing panic, I began looking for answers. I went to doctors and gynaecologists alike, to find a solution. Doctor after doctor shooed me out of their office, with one word, “Menopause.” Not me, far too young, or so I believed.
Inside I was terrified, all I wanted was their professional help. All they could do was hand out antibiotics, antidepressants and HRT which, in their world, would solve my problem.
Luckily for me, I always think positively. I reflect and look at every possible choice, I never give up.
To make matters worse, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. She was 47 when she was first told she had breast cancer.
That was when I decided things had to change. I immersed myself into research, desperate to find answers that would help us both.
The one thing that kept coming back at me, the one thing that really stood out was restorative medicine and bioidentical hormone therapy. This was the one thing that really made total sense to me. I started attending conferences around the world, listening, hanging on to every word these amazing restorative doctors and bioidentical experts were saying.
It was during one of these conferences that I met one of the world’s leading experts in restorative medicine, Dr Sergey Dzugan. He soon became my mentor and taught me that, “Hormones are the essence of life.” When you use natural hormones you leave the world of menopause and all its related horrors behind—forever.
Today I write about restorative medicine and how to stay young, energetic and sexy, and how to hold back the years and age gracefully.
Q. Exactly what is restorative medicine?
Restorative medicine is a medicine that builds the body up. It strengthens the immune system, restoring the body to a state of optimal health, with the use of bioidentical hormones and specific nutritional supplements, offering us the possibility to live a disease-free life. It uncovers the signs of ‘body breakdown’, or so-called ageing, and its related illnesses before they have time to take hold. Restorative medicine helps us stay younger for longer, and in some cases, can even reverse damages already done. It can help turn back the clock, it is possible to feel and be as positive and dynamic as you were in your mid-30s. To feel vital and sexy. To be and feel like you again.
Q. From reading your book, anyone can conclude you’re an expert in the field of bioidentical hormone therapy.
I discovered bioidentical hormones when I was desperate to find a better, safer, more efficient way to help me through menopause. However, what I truly found was life. Bioidentical hormone restorative therapy (BHRT) doesn’t only correct the symptoms of menopause but, at the same time, it extends lifespan in a positive way—in other words, it offers you healthy longevity.
I couldn’t (and still can’t) understand why more women didn’t know about BHRT, and why it wasn’t more widely available. It became my passion, my mission to learn as much as I could and to share this knowledge with other women.
Along the way, I have learned an awful lot and am considered an expert by some of the best doctors in this field. However, I am fully aware that there is always so much more that can be learnt.
Q. Who is this Dr Sergey A Dzugan?
Dr Dzugan is a retired heart surgeon who has helped thousands of people across the globe achieve optimal health, stay young, fit, vital and positive through his company DzLogic. What’s more is that he’s mastered slowing the ageing process and avoiding age-related diseases. Dr Dzugan is the author of seven books, over 150 published studies, and is on the medical advisory board of Life Extension magazine.
Q. So how can women live to 100 and still enjoy a great life?
Well, that is the million-dollar question! It’s my belief that if you balance your hormones using bioidentical hormones, together—of course—with a balanced and healthy lifestyle, it is possible to live a long disease-free life.
Our immune system weakens as we age, which is largely due to hormonal decline. A loss of immune function leaves us wide open and vulnerable to all chronic diseases, including cancer. Restorative medicine is not only there to help correct menopausal symptoms, but also to help prevent disease ever happening. To catch ‘it’ before ‘it’ catches you. It is possible to live to 100 and beyond in a positive, healthy and energetic way.
Q. Can you tell us a little about bioidentical hormones?
Bioidentical hormones are exactly the same in molecular structure as the ones we have in the body. The body understands them, accepts them, uses them and excretes them in exactly the same way we use our own. The body needs these hormones to enable it to survive and thrive healthily. When we restore these declining hormones, we are giving the body exactly the hormones it is missing. When hormones are low and declining, we age at a greater rate and die at a greater speed. Bioidentical hormones give us life, they extend it.
Q. How can women restore their hormones?
It is extremely important to find an experienced and expert doctor in restorative medicine & bioidentical therapy—hormones should not be messed with. Make sure you go to a doctor qualified in this field. Also, before you do anything, educate yourself so you know what to ask when speaking with your doctor. You can then be sure where you are going. “What is it they say? Information is power!” So true.
To all you wonderful women out there, aged 40 and above, you can now say goodbye to hot flushes, broken bones, fatigue, weight gain, etc, and, at the same time, help protect yourself against age-related diseases as well as the three major killers, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and cancer.
I invite you into my world of feeling good, with boundless energy and vitality, a healthy libido, sensuality and sharp thinking. Life is just beginning.
You can find lots of information on Jill D Davey’s work at www.menopausewoman.co.uk.
Read more about managing the menopause on Celebrity Angels
