Today I want to talk about estrogens. Estrogens are a group of hormones that essential for women’s reproductive cycle health, menstruation, and fertility. Often when women talk about estrogens they will refer to estrogen as a single hormone when actually estrogens are a group of hormones. The major hormones we are talking about when we talk about estrogens are estrone, estrodial and estriol.
When women are using birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy they are also using a combination of these hormones as part of their prescription. In menstruating women estrodial is the most prevalent of the estrogen hormones. As women move past menopause the estone becomes the dominant form.
Estrogens are stimulated by the release of hormones from the brain, follicule-stimulating hormones (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Estrogens are generally produced in the ovaries by the developing follicles that are preparing to be released during ovulation. In fact estrogens levels peaking cause the egg to be released during ovulation. Estrogens are responsible for the development of female secondary sex characteristics during puberty. These include underarm and pubic hair, deposition of fat in the hips and breast area, widening and lightening of the pelvis. In women who are still ovulating estrogens have a protective function of maintaining low total cholesterol and high HDL levels. While a woman is menstruating estrogen is responsible for the thickening of the uterus wall in preparation for a fertilized egg to implant itself into that wall to be nourished until the placenta can be created. If the woman does not have a fertilized egg implant into the uterus the estrogen levels will drop along another hormone progesterone and cause the shedding of the lining which causes bleeding this is what we refer to as our period.
As women move out of their menstruating years and move into menopause the levels of estrogens that are being produced from the ovaries begin to be diminished. So less estrogen begins to be produced each month. The adrenal glands actually begin to take over the function of producing estrogen in the body.
The adrenal glands will not able to produce as much of the estrogens as the ovaries where producing but they are able to contribute to the body maintaining a level of estrogen.
Next time well talk estrogen imbalances….
Live Vibrantly,
Dr. Dae
Dr. Dae's website: www.healthydaes.org
Dr. Dae's book: Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living can be purchased @ www.amazon.com or www.healthydaes.org
Dr. Dae's Bio:
Daemon "Dr. Dae" (pronounced Dr. Day) Jones is a Naturopathic Physician who completed her training at the Universi ty of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine. She is certified as a General Practitioner by the North American Board of Naturopathic Examiners (NABNE). Dr. Dae provides tailored treatment to meet the unique needs of every individual she sees in her practice. She also provides specialized support for persons challenged by nutritional deficiencies, weight problems, hormonal and reproductive system disorders, attention deficit disorder and those experiencing chronic diseases. Dr. Dae is an adjunct faculty member for Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts. She is the author of Daelicious! Recipes for Vibrant Living, The Healthydaes Newsletter, and is a regularly featured writer for the Elite GoogleNews Website empowher.com where she shares her personal and professional vision for living whole and living well. To learn more about Dr. Dae, her products and services, please visit her on the Web at www.Healthydaes.org