Pt 1 Hormone Black Box Warnings Removed: Should we be concerned?

Hey Welcome in fascinating ladies, super excited to have you join us here for another edition of Label to Table with my cohost Danni Macfarland

Hold on to your yam cream, because this one goes straight into the heart of women’s health, fear based marketing and what happens when regulators quietly remove black box warnings from hormone replacement therapies. This Label to Table is a wee bit different and is in two parts. Part 1, Danni and I unpack the history behind the hormone Black Box warnings, the new drugs being celebrated, and the subtle ways women are being groomed into a lifetime of prescriptions. From teenage birth control to menopause Telehealth to the very real role of cholesterol and the gallbladder, this conversation is about helping you question the norm, protect your power, and make choices that actually align with your body, your season of life, and your wisdom.

What is Label To Table

We meet every Wednesday Live to decode the ingredients, read the fine print on what goes on your plate, your skin, and in your space, translate the science, and help you choose with confidence so you can sage with sass and grace every day life. You can join us on my Substack Wednesdays; 9 am pacific, 10 am mountain, 11 am central 12pm Eastern.

Are you curious?

If you have a product or ingredient for us to yay or nay? Leave a voicemail at (656) 222-0848 or message me in the show notes. We would love to hear from you.

What to expect

By the end of this episode you will understand more clearly what a black box warning is, why its removal matters, and how hormone prescriptions fit into a much bigger story of women’s health, money, and marketing. You will leave with better questions to ask your practitioner, a new appreciation for your liver, gallbladder, and cholesterol, and a reminder that your symptoms are not a sales pitch. Most of all, you will have language and perspective to stay in the driver’s seat instead of handing away your power with a signature on a prescription pad.

This is not an episode about shaming anyone who uses hormones. It is about refusing to let your body, your cycles, and your season of life be defined as a disease that must be medicated from puberty to post menopause. When you see how studies are framed, how fear is used, and how new drugs slide in as warnings slide off, you can sage with sass and grace instead of silently going along. Your hormones are not a marketing segment. They are part of how you think, feel, love, create, and live your very real second half of life.

Thank you for joining us

Thank you to those who joined in on this live. I did not get all of your names but here are a few:

Cory, Betty Boldbrew, Alain Hajjar, KJ, Gloria Brewer, Jo Blackwell, and others.

Welcome in

If you are new here, 👋welcome! I do hope you will join me for podcasts, recipes and live interviews to help you sage with sass and grace in every day life. Hit this button below and get everything easily into your inbox and thank you.

Show Notes

• If a five question online quiz can hand you powerful hormones, you deserve at least five pages of real information first.

• What black box warnings are and why they exist on drug labels in the first place

• How a recent federal announcement removed black box warnings from certain prescription and compounded hormone therapies

• Taking away a black box warning does not erase the biology of estrogen, progesterone

• The original Women’s Health Initiative study, what it looked at, and why it was stopped early

• Why the study population matters and how using women already years past menopause changes the meaning of the data

• How fear based language about menopause primes women to say yes to more prescriptions

• Your hormones are not a deficiency of pregnant mare urine or the latest brain targeting hot flash drug

• The introduction of new menopause drugs including a generic version of Premarin and a hot flash drug that targets temperature regulation in the brain

• Why calling hot flashes a disease opens the door to more “medication solutions”

• How telehealth and quick online questionnaires are reshaping hormone and weight loss prescribing patterns

• The potential conflicts of interest when leaders connected to policy also have ties to menopause telemedicine companies

• The way women are being targeted younger and younger, including perimenopause ads aimed at women in their thirties

• How starting girls on birth control in their early teens can set up long term hormone disruption

• Danni’s personal story about her daughter’s hormone crash in her early twenties after years on the pill

• When Big Pharm medicalizes every chapter of a woman’s life, it does not empower her, it breaks her down

• Key side effects connected to hormone therapies including cardiovascular disease, blood clots, and gallbladder issues

• Why the gallbladder shows up so often in women’s health and how emotions like regret may be part of the picture

• Cholesterol is not the villain in the story. It is the raw material our body uses to make hormones.

• Why aggressively lowering cholesterol with statins can interfere with hormone building blocks

  and much more.

Products mentioned

These products can be purchased through my store with your own safe online portal. Free to join.

If you are purchasing through my online store and you have questions, please either message me here on my publication or message me (656) 222-0848 and I can answer any questions you may have. You can also email me hellokarenlangston@gmail.com Or leave me a message (656) 222-0848

Bezwecken (number one): offers a full line of natural and bioidentical support for women in mid-life, including vaginal moisturizers, intimacy suppositories, plant based hormone support like PhytoB-L 4x, and compounded style hormone products such as DHEA and estriol formulas. Their products focus on comfort, moisture, and gentle hormonal balance using ingredients like organic coconut oil and Vitamin E. Search “ Bezwecken” in FullScript for their entire product line.

Professional Formulas: offers homeopathic hormone support designed to gently encourage the body’s own balancing mechanisms. Their lineup includes remedies for progesterone, growth hormone, tri estrogen, testosterone, and pregnenolone, along with other endocrine focused blends. These microdosed, non synthetic formulas aim to support hormonal harmony without acting like direct hormone replacement. Search “ Professional Formulas” in FullScript for their entire product line.

Quicksilver: offers highly absorbable, liposomal and nanoparticle based supplements designed for rapid delivery into the bloodstream. Their formulas focus on detoxification, hormone and metabolic support, mitochondrial energy, and targeted nutrients. Products like their liposomal pregnenolone, DIM, glutathione, and adaptogenic blends are crafted to help the body process hormones more efficiently, clear toxins, and support overall vitality in mid life and beyond. Search “ Quicksilver” in FullScript for their entire product line.

Emerita offers natural, over the counter hormone support for women using plant derived, bioidentical ingredients. Their bestselling products include progesterone creams, phytoestrogen blends, and vaginal moisturizers designed to ease mid life symptoms like dryness, mood shifts, and hormonal fluctuations, all with a clean, body friendly approach. Search “ Emerita” in FullScript for their entire product line.

BioMatrix offers targeted endocrine support using bioidentical, professionally formulated supplements for hormone balance. Their lineup includes adrenal support, pregnenolone, DHEA, bioidentical progesterone creams, and glandular blends designed to help regulate stress hormones, stabilize mood, and support overall hormonal resilience through mid life and beyond. Search “ BioMatrix” in FullScript for their entire product line.

What can you do?

• Check in with your doctor

• Geta full urine, spit or blood hormone panel done

• Find out where your nutrients may be failing you and your hormone production

• Share this episode with a friend who is being told her only option is more hormones and does not feel totally at peace with that answer.

• Make a short list of your current hormone related prescriptions, past birth control use, cholesterol or statin history, along with symptoms and what you have researched and bring it to your next appointment so you can ask more specific questions.

• If you are new here, 👋welcome! I do hope you will join me for podcasts, recipes and live interviews to help you sage with sass and grace in every day life. Hit this button below and get everything easily into your inbox and thank you. Part two will be with you next week and effortlessly fall into your inbox so you do not miss it.

Have a great week and we will see you for part two.

Cheers,

~Karen

References

The announcement was made by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH, at a press conference.(HHS advances women’s health, removes misleading FDA warnings on hormone replacement therapy. FDA. November 10, 2025.

Menopausal hormone therapies: too many to list. Here is a list from the FDA along with the risks, and side effects —or should I say “Less serious common side effects”

“Black Box” Warnings from Menopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy Products

Approval for a non-hormonal treatment for moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms, such as hot flashes, associated with menopause.

The term “ménopause” coined in 1821 French physician, and real medicalization of menopause as a treatable condition ramped up in the later 1800s and early 1900s.

Modern standards widely used long before Premarin.

Japanese women in classic studies reported hot flashes at about one-third the rate of North American women.

Rural Mayan women reported very low rates of hot flashes; symptoms were rare unless women moved to urban/Westernized settings. Downloadable PDF

Multi-ethnic sample found combined hot flash, night-sweat prevalence around 18% in Japanese women, 21% in Chinese, 31% in Caucasian, 35% in Hispanic, and 46% in African-American women. Downloadable PDF

Culturally responsive care for menopausal women

The fine print

*The information shared in this post and audio reflects the personal experiences and opinions of the author s and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as medical, psychological, or professional advice. Any tests, products, or methods mentioned are for informational and educational purposes only and are not intended for diagnosis, treatment, cure, or prevention of any disease. This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider regarding any health concerns, conditions, and, or a nutritionally informed physician before making any changes to your health routine, including trying any products, methods, or recommendations mentioned here.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.