John R. Lee MD

JOHN R. LEE, M.D. (1929–2003) was internationally acknowledged as a pioneer and expert in the study and use of the hormone progesterone, and on the subject of hormone replacement therapy for women. He used transdermal progesterone extensively in his clinical practice for nearly a decade, doing research which showed that it can reverse osteoporosis. Dr. Lee also famously coined the term “estrogen dominance,” meaning a relative lack of progesterone compared to estrogen, which causes a list of symptoms familiar to millions of women. Dr. Lee had a distinguished medical career, including graduating from Harvard and the University of Minnesota Medical School.

After he retired from a 30-year family practice in Northern California he began writing and traveling around the world speaking to doctors, scientists and lay people about progesterone. Dr. Lee also taught a very popular course on “Optimal Health,” at the College of Marin for 15 years, for which he wrote the book Optimal Health Guidelines. His second self-published book, written for doctors, was Natural

Progesterone: The Multiple Roles of a Remarkable Hormone.

He then teamed up with Virginia Hopkins and

129 others to write the best-sellers, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Menopause and What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Premenopause, as well as What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Breast Cancer and Dr. John Lee's Hormone Balance Made Simple.