Estrogen is one of the key sex hormones in both men and women. It plays various important roles, especially in the female reproductive system. But what exactly is estrogen and how does it impact our bodies?
Estrogen refers to a group of hormones that promote the development and maintenance of female characteristics in the body. The three major types of estrogen in women are estrone, estradiol, and estriol. Estradiol is the predominant one before menopause.
What Does Estrogen Do?
Estrogen impacts a wide range of tissues and processes. Here's an overview:
- It stimulates breast growth during puberty and helps maintain breast tissue.
- It regulates the menstrual cycle and enables reproduction by thickening the uterine lining. Irregular cycles often indicate issues with estrogen levels.
- It aids in maintaining the health of tissues like skin, hair, nails, arteries, etc. This helps explain why estrogen depletion after menopause can negatively impact these areas.
- It influences body fat distribution giving women their stereotypical hourglass figure shape. Declining estrogen shifts more fat storage to the abdomen.
- It impacts bone density, helping build calcium in youth, then sharply declining at menopause, increasing osteoporosis risk.
- It plays a role in cholesterol balance, helping raise "good cholesterol" or HDL levels. Declines can negatively impact heart health.
- It has effects throughout the brain and may influence mood, depression risk and possibly dementia risk.
As you can see, maintaining proper estrogen balance is essential for a woman's overall health and wellbeing. But what causes declines or imbalances?
What Causes Estrogen Imbalance?
There are various root causes of
low estrogen including primary
ovarian failure, menopause (surgical or natural), extreme exercise, eating disorders, autoimmune disease, chemotherapy and radiation, stress, hypothyroidism and more.
Certain lifestyle factors like obesity, smoking, alcohol abuse and poor nutrition can also contribute by disrupting hormonal pathways. Environmental toxins in products and food might also play a role.
Treating Estrogen Imbalance
If you suspect an imbalance, see your doctor and get testing done. They may prescribe synthetic estrogen therapy, such as birth control pills or menopausal hormone therapy.
But lifestyle and diet changes could help too! Losing excess fat, managing stress, consuming cruciferous veggies, soy foods and supplements like maca or DIM might support healthy estrogen metabolism. Herbs like black cohosh show promise as well. Consider getting personalized guidance from our naturopaths at
Vitality Balance Clinic who specialize in evidence-based, holistic hormone therapies!
In closing, maintaining proper
estrogen levels has widespread impacts on female health. Get informed about causes of imbalance like menopause or sub-optimal lifestyle habits. Then take action - whether through medical estrogen therapy or tailored lifestyle/diet changes - to restore balance and vitality! Reach out if we can help you on your hormonal health journey!