Pharmaceutical compounding provides a way for medical providers and compounding pharmacists to customize individualized prescriptions for the specific needs of each of their patients. Compounding provides solutions not easily met by commercial products. Bio-identical, human identical, or natural hormones are delivered through the compounding process.

NP Note:  In my writings and on the pages of my website, I use the terms bio-identical, human identical, and natural interchangeably. These are different words that I use to mean the same thing, and I define them collectively as hormones that are identical in molecular structure to the hormones produced endogenously by the human body.

However, I strongly caution my readers to be careful NOT to assume that whenever they see the word “natural“ in print on sources other than on this website, particularly on food labels, that their definitions will be as straight forward or honest. For example, in many food-grade products on grocery store shelves today, there is misleading and deceptive use of the word “natural.” From hundreds of examples, I will share just ONE here:

Manufacturers have become acutely aware that many consumers would prefer NOT to have MSG (monosodium glutamate) in their food. Some manufacturers have responded by using “clean labels,” i.e., labels that contain only ingredient names they think consumers will not recognize as containing MSG — names such as “hydrolyzed soy protein.”  Others advertise “No MSG,” “No MSG Added,” or “No Added MSG,” even though their products contain MSG.

Here’s a sample label from a common food product – ORGANIC Free Range Chicken Broth:
Ingredients include “natural flavor” — but the manufacturer doesn’t tell what is in the “natural flavor” and/or provide an analysis of the amount of processed free glutamic acid in their product!!

So, I encourage you to be well informed and make sure you have done enough research to know what product labels really mean. This will be an ongoing project just to stay up-to-date, as manufacturers develop new ways to label their wares. Please do not assume that if a food label contains the word “natural” that it has the same inference that I use in my writings and on this website for defining bio-identical, human-identical, or natural hormones. 🙂