The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women: Exploding the Estrogen Myth

by Barbara Seaman

Book Overview

With the ardent tone of a close friend, Barbara Seaman draws on forty years of journalistic research to expose the "menopause industry" and shows how estrogen therapy often causes more... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786887346
• ISBN13: 9780786887347
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 332 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.7" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Regain confidence in your intuition

Barbara Seaman's work is a women's must read because it encourages women to take complete ownership of their health and bodies. Seaman details story after story of why women should question their doctors and pharmaceutical companies. From taking drugs that destroyed their babies to taking cancer provoking concoctions, women have served as uninformed guinea pigs for years. Accordingly, Seaman gives women a reason to say "No" to new drugs and new therapies that promise to make our lives easier in the ever popular crusade to ease "woman problems". The female physique is inundated with mystique. That which is not understood faces constant scrutiny and treacherous attacks. Seaman sends a message loud and clear to all women- Take control of your own health because there are thousands of people out willing and waiting to experiment with your well-being while hailing promises of new found youth and renewed vigor. I suggest your cross read The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women with Uzzi Reiss' Natural Hormone Balance for Women. Reiss claims that estrogens have a "bad" rap because studies such as those covered by Seaman only address synthetic hormones or those derived from horses. I did not find Reiss' arguments compelling, it just offered another view of the women's hormone scene.

cheers! here's to making informed decisions!

finally! found here: what my gyn didn't have enough time to explain, what i didn't understand in medical journals, what friends didn't know or care about. found here: a relevant history tracing back to the 1930's and a clear understanding of the impact of "medicalization." and all in ms. seaman's confidence-inspiring voice (examples: "basically the stallions kicked over the collection buckets" and "don't worry, the research is easier to understand than the title"). plus, thankfully, ms. seaman touches on what i know is imperative even today: amending permission forms/risk releases before going into (any type of) surgery. cheers! here's to accepting responsibility and making informed decisions!

The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed on Women by Seaman

This work teaches contrary to conventional orthodoxies.Barbara cautions the reader on hormonal products as a cure-allfor women. She points out how the pill can impact the liveradversely resulting in jaundice and irregular sugar metabolism.There is a section describing the downside of oral contraceptives. The author debunks the myths about the breakageof bones . She goes on to state that bones break due to a lackof lean muscle mass, cigarette smoking, tranquilizers etc.Bone mass may be preserved with a rigorous exercise regimen.This book is helpful in identifying the science or lack thereofwith regard to a number of health products directed toward women.I would recommend this book as an integral part of anyhealth library for adults readers.

A Fascinating Book

The Greatest Experiment is a fascinating book. It offers a valuable history of estrogen use from World War II to the present. Barbara Seaman, a well known science writer, has been following the estrogen story for years and was able to interview many of the major figures in the field. The story of how menopause came to be viewed as disease, how a dangerous drug was prescribed to women as a tonic for brittle bones, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease on the basis of circumstantial evidence is, indeed, compelling. The struggle to expose the side-effects of estrogen-derived birth control pills is also told. This led to Congressional hearings and forced drug companies to provide information on the side effects and dangers of birth control pills. The Greatest Experiment contains much more including the tragic story of the DES daughters (whose mothers received diethylstilbestrol, an estrogen derivative, to prevent miscarriages and gave birth to daughters who experienced life-long reproductive problems.) Also told is the troubling use of DES by farmers who still use it to fatten livestock. Finally, the book has an excellent Appendix on the options now available to women who seek treatment for symptoms of menopause.

What every woman needs to know

The information in this book is crucial to women of all ages. Ms Seaman presents her thorough research in a clear, direct and engaging manner. I found myself outraged by the comments of some 'respected' doctors, researchers and drug companies. I was also amused by some of Ms. Seaman's comments. The spirit of feminism is alive and well, thanks to Barbara's work.