Estrogen

Estrogen is an important and very potent in the female body.  Estrogen has approximately 400 different crucial functions in the body including the following: increasing metabolic rate, improves insulin sensitivity, regulates body temperature, helps prevent muscle damage, helps you sleep deeply, reduces risk of heart attack, dilates small arteries, improves blood flow, inhibits platelet stickiness, decreases blood pressure, decreases LDL and prevents its oxidation, helps with fine motor skills, enhances the production of nerve growth factor, increases HDLs by 10% to 15%, reduces the overall risk of heart disease by 40% to 50%, decreases lipoprotein A which is a risk for heart disease, acts as a natural calcium channel blocker to keep your arteries open, enhances energy, maintains bone density, reduces homocystine levels (another risk factor for heart disease), protects against macular degeneration, decreases risks of colon cancer, helps prevent tooth loss, aids in the formation of neurotransmitter in the brain such as serotonin which decreases depression, irritability, anxiety, and pain sensitivity.  The body has receptor sites for estrogen everywhere, in your brain, muscles, bone, bladder, gut, uterus, ovaries, vagina, breasts, eyes, heart, lungs, and blood vessels.

Other facts concerning estrogen:  Researchers have concluded that estrogen use would decrease rate of heart disease by almost 50%.  Omega-3 fatty acids can decrease the effect of estrogen.  Estrogen can be reabsorbed back into your blood stream again.  This can happen with syndrome or when there is no enough fiber to bind estrogen and propel it through your bowel.  Low-fat diets decrease free estrogen, the amount available for usage of your body.  A high-fat diet increases estradiol E2 production by 30%.  Eating high fat foods can increase your liver recirculation of estrogen.  This keeps estrogen circulating in your body and maybe predispose you to breast cancer.  Hot flashes may be due to fluctuating levels of estrogen rather than a true decrease in estrogen.  Stress suppresses estrogen function.  Estrogen levels are lower in women who smoke.  This may be why women who smoke have more menopausal symptoms than women who do not smoke.  Estrogen dominance can result from the overproduction of estrogen or from an imbalance of progesterone to estrogen.  The symptoms of estrogen excess may also be the result of the transformation of estrogens rather than with the absolute amount of estrogen in your system.  There are many symptoms associated with excess estrogen.  They include but are not limited to the following:  bloating, uterine fibroids, mood swings, irritability, fibrocystic breast, fatigue, hypothyroidism, increase risk of autoimmune disease, cervical dysplasia, decreased sexual interest, depression with anxiety or agitation, increased risk of cancer of the uterus, weight gain especially abdomen, hips and thighs, water retention, headaches, poor sleep, panic attacks, swollen breasts, heavy periods, and increased risk of breast cancer.

What causes estrogen excess in the body?