Estrogen Produced in the Human Body
There is not just one estrogen produced in the human body. Men produce estrogen also, but in smaller amounts than women. "Estrogen" is a term that blankets three estrogens that naturally occur together in a woman's body: Estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). Estradiol is the strongest estrogen and is dominant in non-pregnant women until menopause. Estriol is the primary estrogen during pregnancy, and estrone is the most prevalent estrogen after menopause and is produced by the adrenal glands and fat cells. Estrogen is what turns girls into women, causing the development of the reproductive organs and breasts during puberty and the onset of menstruation. Estrogen, along with progesterone, are the hormones of youth. These are the dominant hormones we lose during perimenopause and after menopause.
During the menstrual cycle (day one is the start of a menstrual period), estrogen starts out at a low level and gradually increases until it peaks around day 12. This causes the base lining of the uterus to grow. Ovulation then occurs and estrogen levels begin the gradually decrease. Progesterone starts to be produced after ovulation and increases until its peak around day 21. This causes the upper layer of the lining of the uterus to plump and change in preparation for a fertilized egg. Then both estrogen and progesterone levels stay quite high and then drop off if pregnancy does not occur, causing the uterine lining to shed with the next menstrual cycle.
My reading on the subject has never given me any concrete data on how much of each of the estrogens is produced during the menstrual cycle, but estradiol is the dominant during womens' reproductive years. Estradiol has also been given the reputation for causing cancer due to the fact that it causes breast and endometrial (uterine lining) cells to proliferate. Estriol, a weaker estrogen, is dominant during pregnancy, and produced in significantly larger amounts than estradiol. From what I have read, many compounding pharacists seem to feel that estriol and/or estrone should be included with estradiol in hormone replacement. For example, an estriol and estradiol transdermal cream is called "bi-est." A bi-est preparation usually seems to contain 80% estriol and 20% estradiol. This creates a contradiction for me. This does not seem to be how women produced estrogen in their youth when they were not pregnant. It seems to me that the estrogen proportions are in reverse. I suppose it is because estriol us considered the weaker and safer estrogen that does not cause so much affect on the tissues of the breast and uterus. However, I have tried using estriol as the predominant hormone and it did not adequately relieve my hot flashes, but it sure did give me instant sore breasts and irregular bleeding. This is just my experience and every woman is different. So...I stick with estradiol. Estrone? It seems to be mostly ignored by the medical profession. Estrone is the predominant estrogen after menopause and is mainly produced in fat cells. I have read that it may be responsible for causing weight gain. Or, a woman's body that is depleted of estradiol may be trying to boost estrogen production by adding fat cells.
Should I be taking the risk of replacing my estradiol? My answer is, yes. I am using bioidentical estradiol, which is made from plants to be a molecular match to a woman's own estradiol. All the scary studies have been done using synthetic estrogens. I think the bioidentical estradiol is safer, especially used transdermally so that is bypasses the liver. There are estrogen receptors throughout the body. A lack of it can cause hot flashes, night sweats, decreased mental capacity, vaginal atrophy, incontinence, facial hair growth, bone loss, and a general faster aging process. How can I not use it if it is available to me? Even if I can't tell if I have bone loss, I can tell you within a month without estrogen, sex gets painful due to the decline in my vaginal tissue. If that is happening, I believe other bad consequences in my body are occuring without the estrogen being present.
Does estradiol make you fat? I don't know, but it did not make me fat when I was young, so why would it make my fat now? I now weigh 130 pounds (5'6"), which is ten pounds heavier than I was throughout my life before about age 47. A few pounds may be due to a little extra muscle and some of it is fat. My theory is that I just don't get enough exercise and my metabolism is a little slower. I do not think it is the estrogen replacement.
Phytoestrogens
Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring plant compounds that have a similar structure to estradiol and can bind to estrogen cell receptors in the body, although they are a weaker form of estrogen. These plant compounds are known as flavonoids. The best know of these flavonoids are found in soy and red clover, although the highest phytoestrogen content is found in flax seed an other oilseeds. Women in cultures that comsume more soy than American women have far less hot flashes during menopause. The theory is that the phytoestrogens in the soy mimic the estrogen women lose after menopause and help relieve symptoms such as hot flashes.
These flavonoids have been isolated from soy and other plants and are readily available as supplements in pill or capsule form in health stores, drug stores, and on line. Research has shown that the isolated component is not as effective as actually comsuming the food (such as tofu) or plant in its whole form. I have tried these supplements in the past and found them to be ineffective. The one phytoestrogenic food that I have found to actually lessen hot flashes is flaxseed meal--not the oil, but the ground seeds themselves. Vitamin World is a good inexpensive source for flaxseed and they are readily available in drug stores and health product stores.
Xenoestrogens
Xeonestrogens are the bad guys of the estrogen world. These are industrial, man-made compounds that have estrogenic effects but differ in structure from natural estrogen. Xenoestrogens are everywhere in almost everything we use: plastic packaging and bottles, sunscreen, food preservatives, plastic containers and wraps, insecticides, weedkillers, paint, lotions, cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, household cleaners, carpeting, fabric, and laundry detergents, to name a few items. But you get the picture. They are in our water supply and have been found in detectable amounts even in the oceans. These nasty estrogens are rampant in our daily lives and are bombarding our bodies, causing such side effects as estrogen dominance, fibroids (in my opinion), and cancer. They are disrupting human and animal endocrine systems. A recent study shows that xenoestrogens are causing more genital malformations in boys exposed in vitro, in addition to causing low testosterone and low sperm counts in men. The reproductive systems of fish and amphibians have been affected.
One of the most common ways we all expose ourselves to xenoestrogens is by shampooing our hair, which many people do daily. Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES). (SLES is a less skin-irritating version of SLS that the liver cannot metabolize) are used in many shampoos as foaming agents and most products that foam, like toothpaste, dish soap, and detergents. These chemicals absorb through the skin. When SLS gets into the body, it mimics estrogen. Studies show that it is related to a drop in male fertility and possibly even breast cancer, plus a whole host of other health problems.
I try to avoid xenoestrogens as much as possible with the limited time and money I have. I buy almost no processed foods, make my own laundry soap, use no commercial lotions and very little makeup, can some of my own food, make my own cleaning supplies out of baking soda, vinegar, and lemon juice, and in general, try not to be much of a consumer. I also do "no poo", which is washing my hair with baking soda and a vinegar cider rinse without shampoo or conditioner. It works great, saves money and the environment, and helps me avoid some xenoestrogens.
