What we’ll talk about
Estrogen is an important hormone in both women and men. The right amount of estrogen is essential for optimal health in both sexes. Most people today suffer from excess estrogen, which leads to hormonal dysregulation known as “estrogen dominance”, or excess hormonal imbalance. Excess estrogen leads to increased sensitivity and moodiness in women, problems with fat burning in men and paradoxical menstrual disorders. The best strategy for reducing your estrogen load is to get rid of excess fat, says Dr. David Attenborough at Harvard Medical School.
Plant substances that have estrogen-like properties in the human body (bind to estrogen receptors) are called phytoestrogens. Far greater danger are industrially produced substances that act on us as toxins. These enter us from air, water, food, through mucous membranes and skin as side effects of civilized society. The intake of hormone disruptors and xenoestrogens (aka XEmacs) is almost impossible to avoid these days. They can bind to estrogen receptors in cells, triggering a cascade of epigenetic changes that can be characterized by the activation of oncogenes related to cancer growth.
The Importance of Estrogen
Estrogen in Both Genders
When we say estrogen, most people think of it as a female sex hormone. But you might be surprised to learn that estrogens are actually a group of hormones that are similar to each other, and that they occur not only in women, but also in smaller quantities in men, where they fulfill an irreplaceable function.
In both women and men, the right amount of estrogen is essential for optimal health. In women, estrogens are related to their femininity, tenderness, sensitivity, empathy, maternal instincts, mental energy, but also moodiness, and then to regular and healthy menstruation, sexual desire, healthy skin and hair, and generally maintaining hormonal balance and overall health.
In men, estrogens play a slightly smaller, but not insignificant, role. They are important for the health of the bones and the brain, they regulate appetite and energy, they clean the skin and they are behind the ability to empathize with women. And further, which may surprise many of you, it is related to libido (sexual desire) and, above all, reproductive abilities, because estrogen keeps sperm alive. It was only in recent years that scientists managed to prove and explain that estrogens are actually produced in the testes and fulfill an irreplaceable function there. It is therefore not advisable, even though most bro-science bodybuilders think so, to annihilate and reduce your estrogens in favor of gaining muscle mass.
The Delicate Balance of Testosterone and Estrogen
The fragile ratio between testosterone and estrogen is very important for men’s health. Skew it in favor of estrogens and you start having problems with gynecomastia, skew it in favor of testosterone and you start having problems with libido, concentration, connective tissues, bones, and the like.
Although estrogens are related to optimal health in both men and women, the key is the “right amount” used above. And here we come to the stumbling block of today’s modern society, which is present from America, through Europe, to the countries of the Far East:
Most people today suffer from excess estrogen, which leads to hormonal dysregulation known as estrogen dominance.
Estrogen dominance
Like other hormones, estrogens in our bodies are regulated by a hormonal axis that starts in our brain in an area called the hypothalamus. At the same time, this regulation, like any other, is affected by negative feedback, so when the body finds out that it has too much estrogen, it can slow down or even turn off their synthesis.
However, with estrogens, we encounter a mechanism that can bypass this superior regulation. This mechanism is the enzyme aromatase, which is responsible for the synthesis of estrogens in women from the androgens androstenedione and androstenediol, and in men from testosterone. At the same time, the biggest source of this enzyme is not the ovaries or testicles, but the adipose tissue, which produces it sovereignly without the possibility of greater regulation.
The more body fat you have, the more aromatase this fat produces, which can lead to increased sensitivity and moodiness in women, problems with fat burning (we are talking about resistance to body transformation), but also to paradoxical menstrual disorders, when blood level of estrogens normal.
In men, the increased amount of aromatase leads to the excessive growth of mammary areolas (the accumulation of fat on the breasts) and more feminine behavior. All this is because of the excessive amount of body fat. And that brings us to the first part of the answer to why estrogen dominance is a problem for more and more people: An ever-increasing percentage of the population suffers from an increased amount of adipose tissue (above 15% in women and above 8% in men).
It will certainly not surprise you that if the increased amount of estrogen is related to the increased amount of aromatase that is produced by adipose tissue, estrogen dominance will be related to low insulin sensitivity, which is behind this increased amount of fat tissue. So the best strategy for reducing your estrogen load is to get rid of excess fat.
However, losing weight is only part of the whole truth. So far, we have only talked about so-called endogenous estrogens, i.e. those that are naturally produced by our body. The sad truth is that the largest percentage of estrogen dominance is caused by substances with estrogen-like properties that enter our bodies from the external environment. And believe me, we all have them in us!
Estrogen Regulation and Aromatase
The cause of estrogen dominance is not only excess body fat and aromatase but also the intake of large amounts of estrogen from the diet and the environment.
Plant substances that have estrogen-like properties in the human body (bind to estrogen receptors) are called phytoestrogens, and while some can help with the breakdown of estrogen by reducing their effectiveness (like those in flaxseed), others, on the contrary, contribute to an excess of estrogens, leading to the deposition of new adipose tissue and water retention. Among them, the main denominator is soy, which itself contains several antinutrients with toxic effects. The worst is then chemically processed soy, which you can find in the billions of products in the “healthy food” section of every supermarket. Another great source of phytoestrogens is oatmeal, a favorite breakfast of millions of fitness women and men.
External Sources of Estrogens
Far greater danger than plant estrogens, however, are industrially produced substances that act on us as toxins. These enter us from air, water, food, through mucous membranes and skin, as a side effect of today’s civilized society.
At the same time, these toxins can have a double mechanism of action in terms of estrogen dysregulation: They can act as hormonal disruptors and disrupt the overall hormonal balance (so they negatively affect not only estrogens but also other hormones, most often reducing testosterone and thyroid activity) or they have estrogen-like properties and then we call them xenoestrogens (Xeno – means foreign). In this case, they can bind to estrogen receptors in cells, thereby triggering a cascade of epigenetic changes that can be characterized, for example, by the activation of oncogenes related to cancer growth (reproduction of cells with damaged DNA). At the same time, the intake of hormone disruptors and xenoestrogens (aka XEmacs) is almost impossible to avoid these days.
Everyday Exposure to Xenoestrogens
Every time you put your coffee in a plastic cup, every time you heat food in a plastic box in the microwave, when you accidentally spray air freshener on you, use a dishwashing jar, eat food out of a can, or slather yourself with that great moisturizing oil that was super discounted in the supermarket, you’re putting a hefty dose of xenoestrogens into your body.
Consequences of Estrogen Dominance
The body has natural recovery mechanisms where it can deal with excess estrogens in the detoxification process.
However, if detoxification is not properly effective (not optimized and maximized), then it does more harm than good. In such a case, cancer-causing substances are formed during it, which are then reabsorbed into the body at the level of the GIT, due to which the detoxification process is overwhelmed. In such a case, estrogens circulate freely throughout the body, where at best they are stored in the form of resistant fat tissue (primarily buttocks, thighs, and breasts) and at worst they settle around organs and in tissues, where they bind to estrogen receptors and activate epigenetic changes, which can subsequently manifest as symptoms of reduced function, reduced health or even illness.
Among the most common diseases arising as a result of estrogen dominance are mood or personality disorders, psychological diseases (anxiety, depression), infertility, and cancer (it has been proven that up to 70% of all types of cancer is associated with estrogen dominance). In addition to these, however, it can also lead to metabolic syndrome, the emergence of resistance to body transformation, and disruption of hormonal balance.