Bone
When women stopped hormones after 2002, bone paid the price. In one study of about 80,000 women, those who stopped had 55% more hip fractures over six years than those who continued.
Kristy King, MD
What changed about hormones
In 2002, a large study called the Women's Health Initiative reported risks from one hormone regimen, tested mostly in women a decade past menopause. Millions of women stopped their hormones and a generation of women in their fifties went without relief. In November 2025 the FDA removed the boxed warnings from menopausal hormone therapy labels.
Hormones start in your mitochondria
Every steroid hormone your body makes, including estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and cortisol, begins inside your mitochondria, where cholesterol is converted into the first hormone in the chain. When mitochondria are strained by insulin resistance, poor sleep, chronic stress and life away from natural light, hormone signaling suffers too. So we start with energy: blood sugar and insulin, sleep, morning light, movement and food. Then, where hormones are truly low, as they are after menopause, we replace them with care. Fixing the foundation and replacing what is missing are not opposites. Most women need both.
Plants as medicine
Where the evidence supports them, we use botanical medicines alongside or instead of prescriptions, such as black cohosh for hot flashes and ashwagandha for stress, and we tell you plainly how strong the evidence is for each one.
Brain
Whether estrogen protects against dementia is one of the most important open questions in women's medicine. Some large studies show lower risk when estrogen is started in midlife; others show no effect. We will tell you exactly where the science stands.
Heart
For most healthy women starting near menopause, the fear of heart attacks was overstated. Hormones are not prescribed to prevent heart disease, and your own risk profile guides the decision.
Your hormones, your choice, with full information.
We can talk about your options and whether Return to Rhythm fits.
Book 15 minutes with Dr. King