August 2003

I hope that all of you (in the northern hemisphere) are enjoying your summer. I was unable to write the August Strong Women Newsletter this month. I am taking time to be with my family for an extended leave this summer. There are a couple of items that I wanted to bring to your attention however.

First, the Stonyfield Farm Strong Women Summit is filling up fast. If you are interested in joining Erin Brockovich, myself and other inspiring women on November 14, 15 and 16th, I suggest that you register soon. There are only a few spots left! The Stonyfield Farm Strong Women Summit will celebrate, educate and motivate women to believe that positive thinking and activism begin with health, good nutrition, exercise and attitude. Net proceeds from the Strong Women Summit will benefit the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, where I work.

To find out more about the Stonyfield Farm Strong Women Summit or to register go to: www.stonyfield.com/strongwomen. Or call: 1-800-PRO-COWS for more information.

Finally, I received several thoughtful letters from readers regarding the hormone replacement therapy and dementia study that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in May. There was some confusion in the July newsletter. I should have made it clear that the data reported from the Women's Health Initiative only refer to estrogen and progestin therapy, PremPro (0.625 mg of conjugated equine estrogen and 2.5 mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate). We do not know if there would be similar increased risk of mild dementia with other forms of hormone replacement therapy or other doses. As you will recall, over the course of the study 61 women were diagnosed with dementia out of 4,532 women. More women in the HRT group (40) were diagnosed with probable dementia than women in the placebo group (21). Despite the fact that we still don't know if other preparations of HRT cause this increase, I still believe that the blank recommendation to take HRT at the time of menopause is not wise. The decision to take any type of HRT is one that needs to be made with a well-informed doctor who knows your personal health history.

I will be back in September with the full newsletter. Please take some time out if you can to be with your family and friends. Until then, have a safe and happy summertime.

More power to you,
Miriam Nelson