Since the 1940s, women of a certain age have had the option of taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to treat the symptoms of the menopause. When first introduced, it was heralded as the elixir of youth. How things have changed. It has been so dogged by controversy and mixed messages from the medical community that women now don’t know what to do for the best. It’s got to the stage where menopausal sufferers are wary of even considering it, while those who do take it, often do so in secret. Only last week, presenter Davina McCall revealed she was embarrassed to admit she turned to HRT. But why?