Originally posted on Forbes.com
Written by Steven Aquino
In a press release published on Wednesday, health and wellness company Rebalance Health announced results of a study in which the company found “significant reduction in menopausal symptoms” after using Rebalance Health’s Hot Flash System. The abstract is being published in the North American Menopause Society's Menopause Journal, and full study outcomes will be released in Q1. In addition to menopausal care, Rebalance Health offers anxiety and testosterone products which promise similar efficacy and similar benefits to people.
“The IRB-approved, open-label study led by Dr. Todd Dorfman, chief medical officer at Rebalance Health, involved 101 females with a mean age of 53 years old, from various ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds that had not used hormone therapy in the past 12 months and were experiencing hot flashes,” Rebalance Health wrote in its press release. “The participants were given a 90-day supply of The Hot Flash System, consisting of three lozenges per day. They reported the number of hot flashes and provided feedback on a daily questionnaire. Participants who consented also had four separate blood draws taken (before starting the supplement and every 30 days until the study ended) measuring a variety of hormones and other menopausal parameters.”
Menopause affects 47 million women annually, with periods lasting anywhere from 7 to 14 years. 80% experience debilitating symptoms including fatigue, poor sleep, cognitive difficulties, and more.
In an email interview with me ahead of the announcement earlier this week, Rebalance Health co-founder Justin Hai told me women coping with menopause is an “underserved market [that] deserves our undivided attention” and that his company is “poised to have a significant impact” even if it’s only a fraction of the 47 million women who enter menopause annually. In a nutshell, what Hai and team at Rebalance Health are striving to do is make menopausal care more accessible to all women. The company’s story, like with all the other health tech companies I’ve covered in this column, is yet another point in the intersection of health, technology, and accessibility. After all, disabled women can experience menopause like anyone else.
Hai explained Rebalance Health was born in 2020 out of “a relentless quest for solutions” after his wife was diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome, a condition characterized by what Hai described to me as “persistently high” levels of the body’s “master hormone” in cortisol. In 1995, Hai’s wife suffered a traumatic brain injury which left her in a coma for three days, resulting in her needing relearn how to read, walk, and write. She lost a quarter of her brain’s right frontal lobe due. Her diagnosis is one “devastating side effect” of her injury and included complex hormonal issues. Those medical concerns motivated Hai to try to help his wife.
“Traditional pharmaceutical treatments weren’t an option, so I launched a mission to find a natural, effective and safe solution that would actually reduce her symptoms,” he said.
Hai went through months of research, which led him to hone in on cortisol, which he calls the “master hormone” because every molecule in the body contains a cortisol receptor. His hypothesis was that excessively high levels of cortisol is to blame for a “cascade of physical and mental health challenges.” When cortisol is too dominant throughout the day, Hai said, the body is unable to enter deep sleep needed to produce vital hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. This leads to poor functioning the next day that Hai likened to a “cortisol hangover.”
“When high cortisol levels persist over long periods of time, which is incredibly common in today’s stress-inducing world, our bodies start to generate symptoms like fatigue, low libido, restless sleep and brain fog—which is essentially Cushing’s syndrome on a lesser scale,” Hai said of starting Rebalance Health. “Rebalance Health emerged not just as a lifeline for my wife, but as a potential global solution to the pervasive issue of excessive cortisol levels. The journey of product development has yielded remarkable results, far exceeding our expectations.”
Of the aforementioned study, Hai hit the high points of the results. He noted the study, which involved the participation of 101 menopausal women, 90% reported reduced symptoms, with 80% experiencing a drop in hot flashes and other issues. A quarter, or 25%, experienced the elimination of hot flashes altogether. Furthermore, Hai said participants reported positive changes in other areas such as “sleep, mood, libido, mental clarity, workout recovery and skin [and] nail health.” All told, the study’s findings “highlight the breakthrough and transformative impact of our approach on various aspects of menopausal well-being.”
When asked about feedback, Hai told me it’s been “overwhelmingly positive,” adding Rebalance Health is “thrilled to offer” an effective alternative to HRT, or hormonal replacement therapy. The company’s product can be combined with lower doses of HRT to minimize risks, according to Hai. Moreover, Hai alluded to the accessibility benefits of digital-native healthcare companies such as his, noting Rebalance Health “offers a direct, prescription-free solution, making it accessible to millions of women who were previously underserved in menopausal treatments, without the need for access to a hormone specialist.”
Looking towards the future, Hai said it’s “incredibly motivating” for him to know that not only is he helping his wife live better, he’s also transforming the lives of countless other women as well. Before the advent of Rebalance Health, Hai said there were no viable solutions that addressed the severity of menopausal symptoms, leaving a “huge gap in care.” Thus, Rebalance Health is meant to be the stop to that gap.
“I’m not merely a founder. I’m a dedicated husband who, when faced with adversity, discovered a solution that transcends the personal sphere,” Hai said of dedicating his life to this cause. “We’re beyond thrilled that this journey has paved the way for Rebalance Health to touch the lives of more women than I could have ever imagined.”