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What Is Oestrogen ?

Oestrogen is a perfectly normal, health-promoting hormone, which stimulates the growth of hormone-sensitive tissue in both men and women. In women, oestrogen makes the lining of the womb (the uterus) grow every month, ready to receive a fertilized egg in the event of pregnancy. It also stimulates the growth of breast tissue. However, when a healthy woman's body produces oestrogen it also produces progesterone, which keeps hormonally sensitive tissue healthy. Oestrogen makes cells grow and Progesterone keeps them healthy by balancing the oestrogen. The two work in concert but only work correctly when they are balanced.

Oestrogen is not actually a single hormone, it is three hormones:-

1. Oestrodiol – most potent natural version, 1000x more potent than oestriol.
2. Oestrione – Medium.
3. Oestriol – lest potent.

For the sake of simplicity we will refer to the three under the umbrella term ‘Oestrogen’ (American spelling ‘ Estrogen’).

What Is Progesterone ?

Progesterone is not a generic name but is the name of the hormone produced by the corpus luteum after ovulation, and in smaller quantities by the adrenal gland. It is synthesized in humans in a biochemical pathway leading from cholesterol to pregnenolone to progesterone. In turn, progesterone is the precursor of corticosteroids and testosterone. Progesterone is also synthesized, in copious amounts, by the placenta during pregnancy.

Progesterone is a specific molecule made by mammals and has multiple roles in your body. It effects every tissue in your body including the uterus, cervix, and vagina, the endocrine (hormonal) system, brain cells, fat metabolism, thyroid hormone function, water balance, peripheral nerve myelin sheath synthesis, bone cells, energy production and thermogenesis, the immune system, survival and development of the embryo, and growth and development of the fetus. Though referred to as a sex hormone, progesterone conveys no specific secondary sex characteristics and as such cannot be called a male or female hormone, it is important in both men (for example it is turned into testosterone in men ) and women.

Progesterone is the ‘ calming ‘ hormone in the human body. It reduces inflammation and in large quantities can actually be used as an anethesetic. The human body requires progesterone in order to balance the effects of oestrogen, anything less than a balancing amount results in oestrogen becoming dominant leading to a great many chronic health problems.

The Problem With Oestrogen - progesterone’s Dark Mirror Image

Natural progesterone is produced by the corpus luteum after ovulation and balances the side effects of otherwise unopposed oestrogen. Under influences of anovulatory cycles (no egg is produced), menopause stress and dietary antagonists, progesterone production ceases or is suppressed and the body goes into Oestrogen Dominance.

As oestrogen is a hormone that has an inflammatory effect within the human body and as a result too much oestrogen leads to a condition called oestrogen dominance. Oestrogen dominance can have a wide range of effects. It is interesting to note that all the major chronic illnesses are the result of inflammation, and all of them are far more common in women that in men because women are more likely to become oestrogen dominant.

Problems arise when we introduce foreign oestrogens, called ‘ xeno-oestrogens’ that interfere with natural hormone production (and normal thyroid function). Xeno-oestrogens are many thousands of times stronger than the human body’s natural oestrogens. Problems also arise when progesterone production is suppressed by antagonists.

How - Does A Body Go Into Oestrogen Dominance ?

Women think that because they are having a period each month that they ovulated on a correct monthly cycle however this is increasingly inaccurate, what they are in fact experiencing is a ‘ withdrawal bleed’ brought about by slight hormone fluctuations. They maybe bleeding but they are not ovulating, these are called ‘ annovular cycles’. The most obvious manifestation of this is the considerable increase in the number of women requiring some form of infertility treatment. Women are increasingly having more and more erratic menstrual cycles.

If you have not ovulated then your body is producing progesterone and therefore the amount of oestrogen becomes dominant in the body. This process works on a negative feedback loop, so if you have too much oestrogen you will not ovulate, if you do not ovulate you produce more oestrogen, and so the cycle becomes a downward spiral.

If your body is in oestrogen dominance, either because your progesterone is being suppressed or xeno-oestrogens are producing the effect, then you may experience the symptoms below to a greater or lesser extent.

Why - Does A Body Go Into Oestrogen Dominance?

Why are more and more women in the industrialized world becoming oestrogen dominant - The short answer is chemical bombardment, though the lsightly loner answer would be chemical bombardment and lifestyle choices.

Since 1945 the number of chemical compounds released into the environment has been recorded at some 250,000, and this is just the ones we know about, the real figure is likely to be in the region of 500,000. Given this, it is a statistical certainty that a number of these compounds will, when introduced into the human body, act as a xeno-oestrogen.

Xeno-oestrogen are chemicals from outside the body that can interfere with the development or function of body systems in humans that lead to health effects, often non-reversible. These effects can by passed to off-spring. Xeno-eostrogens find their way into our body's through:-

• Diet – Many foods contain xeno-oestrogens, mostly processed foods.
• Prescriptions: HRT Oestrogens (Oestrogens) and Synthetic Progesterone (Progestens). The contraceptive pill.
• Water Supply: Every hormone that is prescribed, every contraceptive pill that is taken ends up as waste in out water supply, until water treatment works pick them up and send them back to us as fresh water. Water treatment does NOT remove hormones from the water supply. They could be removed if the political will was there to do it.
• Petrochemical Products & Pollutants – Plastics (food wrap & containers), acetone, volatiles.

Almost every single health issue that challenge women today are in one way or another related to hormone health, unfortunately not enough doctors in the main stream of medicine understand this.

Who Becomes Oestrogen Dominant ?

Different people are sensitive to differing levels of hormones to different degrees so that a level that causes no symptoms in one person may have dire consequences in another. When the current ‘ normal medical ranges were set this simple fact was never taken into account. In fact the normal medical ranges were set by testing groups of medical students and then taking the median of their readings. This is scientifically flawed on so many levels but never the less has remained, and as a result the ‘ normal medical ranges ‘ are entirely meaningless yet are used as the basis for prescribing highly toxic drugs. Given this it is easy to see why some people are more sensitive to subtle levels of exposure to environmental xeno-oestrogens, and how that exposure can trip thei bodies into a down spiral of oestrogen dominance.

Women who are mostly like to be having problems with becoming oestrogen dominant are the women who are under considerable mental and physical stress. Stress increase cortisol production which in turn down regulates progesterone production.

Too much physical exercise causes stress raising cortisol levels and eventually leading to adrenal exhustions. This produces a constant state of ‘ wired but tired ‘ driving oestrogen dominance even deeper by depleting reserves of cortical steroids.

Too fat : fat produces oestrogen, more fat cells = more oestrogen.

Too much mental stress causes cortisol production to increase – typically women in this group are career women trying juggle high flying careers and families.

Too much long term stress: from the point above, a prolonged period of stress raises cortisol production. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands, however long periods of production of cortisol exhausts the adrenal glands. This produces a constant state of ‘ wired but tired ‘ driving oestrogen dominance even deeper by depleting reserves of cortical steroids.

The Symptoms of Oestrogen Dominance

Oestrogen Dominance produces a wide range of symptoms as you can clearly see from the lists below. Obviously many of the items in the lists can be caused by other conditions as well and this is where some of the problems of OD diagnosis lay. Because of the overlap of many symptoms a misdiagnosis is easy, however the fact remains that OD should be automatically considered as a possible root cause in any woman over thirty years of age given environment, dietary, lifestyle and medical factors.

The two columns below list the typical symptoms of Oestrogen Dominance:

When comparing the above list of Oestrogen ill-effects to the benefits of Natural Progesterone a near one-to-one correlation is observed, natural progesterone can help to relieve ALL of these symptoms. We strongly recommend that Natural Progesterone Cream be used in combination with dietary and lifestyle changes.