Here’s one way that Canada shows some concern for risks to women’s health: the owner of a New Brunswick health food store was fined $7500 for smuggling a progesterone-laced cream from the U.S. The cream, called Aim Renewed Balance, is purported “to help restore balance between the hormones that cause premenstrual syndrome and menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes and mood swings.” It is not approved for use in Canada.
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This also highlights an important aspect of the Bioidentical Hormone controversy:
In the US, compounded hormone preparations such as this progesterone cream are unregulated, and can be offered over-the-counter by people without medical or pharmacy training. They are not subject to the same controls as other medications. Much of the rhetoric about bioidentical hormones is about the extreme and unsupported claims that are made by some celebrities, and about competition for market share for hormonal therapies.
In Canada (and in other countries internationally), compounding pharmacists are regulated, and progesterone creams are controlled by the same requirement for a prescription as are other medications.
Progesterone cream and compounded progesterone to be taken orally are available in Canada, but you don’t find them at the health food store, you buy them from a compounding pharmacist, and you get them with a prescription. (See Jerilynn Prior’s guest blog about bioidentical hormones for more information).