There’s a whole lot of info out there in regards to menopause and estrogens – the hormones predominantly responsible for menopause in the first location. This set of articles is an comprehensive look in Estrogen, precisely what it is, how your body makes it and how it affects, well, Everything. Plus, I would like you to see for yourself why menopause weight gain occurs as well as how you can make this entire estrogen item work to your advantage — menopause or not. I’ll try and keep it easy – forgive me if it is has a bit “Science Geeky” here and there but sometimes it is tough to keep out the science. After all, we’re talking about your body’s biochemistry!
Better Decisions
My objective is that with this information you’ll have the ability to make better decisions, which will result in a improved health, appearance and lifestyle. Estrogen is really 3 separate hormones and they’re a part of a metabolic process that’s devoted, especially, to the creation of your sexual hormones. Estrogen is responsible for estrus in addition to the development of female secondary sexual characteristics. And as you know it’s the group of hormones which are responsible for all your frustrations with menopause and all the related changes – such as those pesky hot flashes, night sweats along with your expanding waistline.
Estrogen really refers to three different sex hormones, Estrone, Estriol, and Estradiol. And they’re all steroids, in addition to testosterone, progesterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and corticosteroids. All these steroidal hormones are created from the same fundamental building block, Cholesterol. Yes, your hormones are made from cholesterol – this is one reason why eating a very low fat or no fat diet can wreak havoc with your hormones.
Fat Diet
Now, I’m not suggesting a very high fat diet – but a balanced diet with 20-30% of your total caloric intake derived from mostly HEALTHY fat sources can prove to be very helpful to your hormonal profile. You might already know that your body metabolizes Estrogen predominantly on your ovaries and adrenal glands from cholesterol. Your adrenal glands are located above each kidney as well as the outer portion of that gland is partially responsible the secretion of steroids.
But did you know that with the aid of an aromatase enzyme estrogen is also produced in your muscle and fat cells both before and after menopause? So your Estrogen levels aren’t totally determined by your ovaries, there are a whole lot of other things that come into play, like your daily diet and body composition. There’s so much variability in estrogen levels from girl to woman that in a study featured in the American Journal of Epidemiology on the Epidemiology of Serum Sex Hormones in Post Menopausal Women, it was shown that the concentration of hormones in the bloodstream had so much inconsistency it was apparent that neither age nor menopause had a clear cut correlation on hormone levels.
Research
This study also demonstrated that the quantity of body fat and lean muscle tone a woman has will affect the blood levels of estrogen, especially estrone. And this is logical since muscle and fat cells are key players in the production of estrogen – remember? There’s that armoatase enzyme that helps convert the small quantity of male sex hormones that your body needs to estrogens. The process of producing Estrogens from cholesterol is a relatively complicated procedure, as you can imagine, and necessitates the use of enzymes to convert 1 hormone to another and back again.
In other words in order for one body to create any of the estrogens that there are a lot of other hormones which will need to be metabolized in order to produce estrogens. Progesterone, aldosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and many more are a necessary part of estrogen production and I’ve outlined some of the functions that a few of these hormones play under. Progesterone is produced in the corpus luteum, adrenal gland, brain and in the placenta, during pregnancy. Among its functions is to prepare the uterus for implantation of a fertilized egg.
Hormones
The creation of Progesterone is a vital pre-cursor for the production of aldosterone, cortisol and the sex steroids — testosterone and estrogens. However, in addition, it has many roles away from the reproductive system like thermogenesis (raising your core temperature). It reduces spasms by relaxing smooth muscle tissue, acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and helps to modulate the immune system. Progesterone aids in thyroid function, bone building, skin resilience together with joint, tendon and ligament health. Additionally, it plays a role in regulating nerve function and offers protection against endometrial cancer (between the uterine lining) by regulating the effects of estrogen.
Aldosterone is a hormone that is created by the outer part of the adrenal gland in the adrenal gland and it modulates potassium and sodium balance in the blood. Cortisol is a corticosteroid hormone made by the adrenal gland in response to stress; it raises blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and suppresses the immune system. Cortisol is part of the flight or fight response that used to be so vital to our survival. Cortisol can also be an underlying cause of the dreaded belly fat that starts to collect from midlife on as a consequence of the exceptionally hurried and stressed lifestyles of today. When cortisol is secreted for an elongated time period that it contributes to muscle wastage, hyperglycemia, and will suppress the body’s immune and inflammatory systems.
Sex Hormone
Testosterone is mostly secreted in the uterus but little amounts are released by the adrenal glands. It’s the principal male sex hormone (androgen) and the female body produces about 20 times less than a male body. Testosterone is an integral ingredient in nitric oxide. The conversion of testosterone into estradiol is vital in both the bones and mind. In the bones this response can help to accelerate the maturation of cartilage to bone and in the brain, or nervous system, this conversion of testosterone into estradiol functions as a feed back signal to help regulate the release of hormones from the hypothalamus.
It plays a very important role in your wellbeing and well-being. Some examples of testosterones functions are improved libido, energy, immune function, and protection against osteoporosis.
DHEA
DHEA is a natural steroid hormone produced from cholesterol by the adrenal glands, the gonads, adipose tissue and the brain. It’s the dominant steroid hormone and precursor of sex steroids. Regular exercise is known to increase DHEA production within the body. During the reproductive years most of your estradiol is produced by your ovaries, while smaller quantities are created by you adrenal cortex. Your muscle and fat cells also result in estradiol production by way of testosterone conversion and this continues even after menopause with good encouragement by you.
