5 Min Read.
Our bodies are a magnificent vessel and our hormones, which we don’t really pay much attention to in our younger years, all of a sudden become much more important as we try to navigate what it means when they are depleting, and we are aging.
As women it is not just estrogen that we need to be aware of, it is progesterone and testosterone as well, but with estrogen if it is not balanced and replenished, then we could face challenges in our overall wellbeing and long-term health outcomes.
There are several forms of estrogen in our bodies, and this is the same for all genders and life stages. Most commonly you will hear about Estradiol, the most important and powerful; Estrone, the weaker; and Estriol the estrogen of pregnancy. Our bodies produce estrogen for a range of functions in our tissues, glands, and organs; like our ovaries, liver, skin, bones, adrenals and even our adipose fat, which is the connective tissue that extends throughout our body.
You can think of estrogen as the high Goddess of your body and brain. It literally has so many important functions, that we should be more educated on it, not just from a reproductive standpoint, but our all over health and functionality perspective. Here are some of the things it does and that you need to know about this amazing hormone….
It interacts with other chemicals to support our brain function.
The intricate interplay between hormones and neurotransmitters is an area that science is still actively exploring, what we do know is that estrogen, plays an essential role in maintaining a healthy brain function.
It is thought that the reduction of estrogen can lead to a decrease in glucose or sugar metabolism in the brain by 20-25%. Glucose serves as the brain’s primary food, and lower levels can affect brain metabolism (how our brain receives and uses chemicals and nutrients). Estrogen increases blood flow to the brain, and improves connectivity, as in, how different regions of the brain coordinate and communicate.
Estrogen is responsible for boosting serotonin, most commonly associated with mood, but equally required for memory and executive function. Our brains are designed to adapt and protect our nervous system from damage, often referred to as neuroprotection, and estrogen is considered a neuroprotective hormone.
On the Neuroprotection side of things, Dr Lisa Mosconi PhD has written a book that I am reading right now, The Menopause Brain, and which I will provide a review of in the coming weeks, whereby she and her team are now comprehensively studying the female brain using PET scans, to demonstrate the loss in estrogen, that causes the loss of a key neuroprotective element which makes us much more susceptible to brain aging and dementia. You can read more about her fascinating work here
As we know estrogen supports reproductive processes such as uterine growth and the production of the uterine lining.
But as we approach menopause, the levels of estrogen and progesterone decline, leading to interruptions in the hormonal feedback loop that regulates the menstrual cycle, and which leads to irregularities in our period timing and flow.
One of the defining features of Menopause is the cessation of reproduction capabilities, i.e. there are no more follicles in the ovaries capable of ovulating, so we have no more eggs. As the main source of estrogen in our bodies is from the follicles, when they wind down and stop producing estrogen, this is when we start to notice Menopausal symptoms.
Protects our cardiovascular health.
Menopause increases our risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and currently in Australia almost every hour of every day an Australian woman dies of heart disease. That is 24 women a day or 8,760 women a year!
Yes, you need to pay attention to this one!
The cardiovascular system is impacted by different types of cholesterol; high-density lipoproteins (HDL-C) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL-C). Estrogen promotes higher levels of “good” HDL-C, maintaining smooth blood flow, removing cholesterol molecules from the bloodstream to the liver, and keeping blood vessels supple.
However elevated levels of “bad” LDL-C result in cholesterol molecules not being effectively processed by the liver. Rather they stay in the bloodstream, leading to deposits of fat on artery walls, causing atherosclerosis—the hardening and narrowing of arteries.
While there are always health and lifestyle factors to consider, it is true that as estrogen levels decline the protective benefits it provides to the cardiovascular system also decrease and so our awareness of lifestyle risks needs to be paramount as we move through our Menopause journey.
It promotes cell growth and development.
Estrogen not only protects our cells, in particular in the brain, but it is responsible to grow new cells and tissue, including breast tissue. It is responsible to repair tissue and impacts our skin moisture, including the health and lubrication of vaginal tissues. Our joints need estrogens lubrication too! And our skin thinness, and wrinkles are affected due to collagen, which is a critical building block in our bodies for strengthening bones, muscles, skin, and hair, and you guessed it estrogen is crucial in its production.
Influences metabolism, fat distribution, and storage in the body
Estrogen plays a crucial role in regulating metabolism and weight. Estrogen helps leptin to regulate hunger and body fat development, which is why you may notice a change in appetite and a spare tyre forming around your middle. The spare type, or visceral fat, is believed to be a contributing factor to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
As our cortisol is impacted by declining estrogen, you could notice increased blood pressure, blood sugar levels and irritable bowel symptoms such as bloating, gas and constipation. In addition, in a heightened stress situation, your body stores fat for use later on, and craves sugar to give you energy.
Insulin, the hormone that controls our blood sugar is optimised by estrogen. Again, as estrogen declines, you could notice the adverse effects on insulin efficiency and glucose levels as a result.
It keeps our bones healthy and strong.
Estrogen plays a vital role in bone health and the maintenance of bone mineral density.
It influences the activity of bone cells, promoting calcium and mineral deposits to strengthen bones and facilitate the repair of old or damaged bone cells.
The decline in Estrogen means the materials available for bone building, repair, and replacement, is significantly slower.
As a result, women are at higher risk of developing osteopenia or weakened bones and osteopenia can progress to osteoporosis, a condition characterized by a significant decline in bone mass that greatly weakens the bones and increases the risk of fractures.
Estrogen the High Goddess Hormone
As I mentioned above, Estrogen is the High Goddess Hormone of our body. The medical profession is only just exploring all the connections it has in our body, its wonder and how it works, in particular on the brain, cardiovascular system, autoimmune diseases, and women’s pain response.
Women are overrepresented in so many spaces for negative health outcomes and only recently have the medical profession (perhaps as more women are involved) made the link between Menopause, or Estrogen depletion and those outcomes.
What I love most about Estrogen is that under the microscope it is a kaleidoscope of rainbow crystals, and this is what we all have inside each of us, a rainbow of light, colour, vibration, and energy. We need to protect that superpower and keep asking questions and learning about it, so that we can make the most of everything it has to offer us for a positively charged health outcomes.
If you would like to know more about how to avoid becoming forgetful, moody, tired, sore, and achy, follow this link
Please take the time to navigate the Menopause Resources, where the professionals I have connected with on my journey share their insights and where I share more deeply my Peri-Menopause journey with you and the solutions around Movement, Mindset and Modify.
Remember to connect for a Shout! We can Shout! Shout! Let it all out! Any way you want! We can coordinate a meeting that works for you, your schedule and situation, right here.
Sending Positive Rainbow Vibrations, M. x
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