Is Hormone Replacement Therapy a thing of the pasta? Not quite . . .

PASTA was once considered one of the healthiest foods. Stuff your face with pasta, proclaimed experts.

Then there was a carbohydrate scare and pasta was the dietary devil. Definitely don’t eat pasta, the same experts seemed to exclaim.

The truth, as ever, was a bit more complicated – foods such as pasta are fine in moderation.

Hormone replacement therapy was popular among women going through the menopause, or whose ovaries have stopped working.

The average age of the menopause is 51 and some women experience no problems at all.

Others, however, can have quite a troublesome time, which can last for years.

Hot flushes several times a day, for instance. Some of my patients end up with night sweats that require fresh bedsheets.

They’ve been beset with palpitations, giddiness, fatigue, irritability and mood changes.

The lack of oestrogen can also result in thinning of bones.

That’s why Hormone Replacement Therapy became so popular – it seemed like a magic cure.

But the early 2000s saw a couple of big studies which suggested HRT raised the risk of breast cancer – as well as stroke and heart disease.

Suddenly HRT to post-menopausal women became like a plate of spaghetti carbonara to a weight watcher – something to be avoided.

But HRT can make a big difference to women whose menopause symptoms are troublesome.

Most studies have only shown an increased risk of breast cancer after taking HRT for five years – so it’s worth trying to stop it after that.

I tell some of my patients that using HRT then gradually weaning off is a bit like resetting the thermostat.

If you think it might be of help, then chat with your GP.