[bryony]

My understanding is that progesterone in Microgest is what is known as "nature identical" in that it has exactly the same chemical formula and structure as progesterone produced naturally in the body.
Progestins OTOH are synthetic chemicals which are similar in structure/composition, and which therefore bind to the same sites and have similar effects but which are chemically different and therefore have other less welcome effects as well - as a very simplistic illustration, it's a bit like sodium chloride and potassium chloride, both taste salty but they have different effects in the body ( sodium chloride is ordinary everyday 'salt' in case anyone doesn't know).

Hope this clarifies things a bit?

Whether anyone wants to go taking Microgest, or not, is a different matter.

Yes - that's what I was driving at. However, the point I was making was that all forms of Progesterone or Progestin ("natural" vs "synthetic") have to be produced in a lab, as there are no naturally occurring herbal progesterones, only precursors which women can use (presumably) to manufacture it internally, but men cannot.

Hence, the more important point is that there is no "natural" herbal tradition associated around progesterone, and therefore there is an additional (unquantifiable) risk attached.

All herbal experimentation is at an "own risk" basis, but I feel a lot more comfortable eating something like PM or Maca which have both been sources of native nutrition for ages.

Progesterone, on the other hand, is what Julie calls a "hard" hormone.

It's the real deal, and a very real form of self-medication.

I think it's stretching the bounds of the definition of "natural" as in "natural breast enlargement", because the only source of progesterone is a synthesised pharmaceutical product, and is as "natural" as Premarin. Precursors extracted from Wild Yam and Soya and then modified in a lab is no more natural to me than Mare's urine subsequently treated in a lab.

Both "natural" but is it NBE? nah.

"Natural" to me means breast enlargement by natural means, ie. stretching the tissues by vacuum or massage, or by ingesting food supplements.

Only my opinion, but there it is.

B.