The truth about Hormones

Some adult education colleges offer women's health courses, and if a man should accidentally turn up at one he would probably be rather embarrased. I sometimes had a feeling of this sort while reading this book, since its a book written by a woman and is clearly aimed at women readers. However, further on I felt the book progressed towards its main subject, that is sorting out some of the myths about hormones and treatments based on them. Some, such as HRT are well researched, others such as slimming or anti-aging treatments are less so. Anyone who is contemplating such a treatment or is worried about the effects of hormones in the environment would do well to read this book.

The first chapter is entitled 'A bluffer's guide to hormones', and is there to introduce the reader to the subject. However, I felt that this was unnecessary - the book doesn't go that deeply into the science of hormones, and introducing new words in the first chapter gives no benefit over introducing them when the need arises.

I have to say that I found the last few chapters of the book the most interesting, as they moved away from sex and reproduction, and on to the involvement of hormones in biological clocks, appetite and ageing. I'll probably follow up some of the references for these chapters - always a good sign.