Menopause is the time when symptoms of low estrogen levels usually manifest themselves. Low estrogen levels, however, can be a problem for premenopausal women also and when that is the case, natural estrogen supplementation is often well advised.
The safest form of estrogen to use is estriol. While it is weak, it does have a protective effect against breast cancer development. The most effective estrogen is estradiol, but it does carry some risk. Synthetic estrogens, such as Premarin are not advised.
Often a combination of 2 or 3 different bioidentical estrogens are used by Holistic doctors in formulas with names such as BiEst and TriEst, prepared by a compounding pharmacy.