The Estrogen /
Progesterone Balance
Our bodies are amazingly created and designed, and our hormones play a significant part in how we are feeling. Indications that all is not right with our hormones can include, lethergy, moodiness, lack of sleep, hunger cravings, low energy. If only one hormone is off balance, it will inevitably affect the other.
Estrogen and progesterone work in synchronization with each other as checks and balances to achieve hormonal balance. When this balance is upset we tend to notice not only a change in mood and symptoms but also a change in weight. It isn’t quite as simple as an excess of estrogen or a deficiency of progesterone, but rather the relationship and ratio between estrogen and progesterone that is involved in weight gain. However when we are looking at permanent weight loss, we look primarily to diet but there are around 17 different hormones that we also take into consideration.
Estrogen
Estrogen is a hormone produced primarily in the ovaries. There are actually three forms of estrogen: estradiol, estriol, and estrone. Most often, when people talk about “estrogen”, they really mean estradiol, which is the most potent out of the three. Men also have small amounts of estrogen as the adrenal glands and fat tissues make estrogen. Estrogen acts as both a fat-storing and fat-burning hormone and is responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics.
Peri-Menopause and Menopause
With the gradual drop in estrogen but severe drop in progesterone during the peri-menopausal and menopausal years, there’s insufficient progesterone to counteract the amount of estrogen in the body. This state is called estrogen dominance, which is one of the main causes of weight gain in menopausal women. However, it’s a catch-22 because excessive estrogen turns more calories into fat and fat cells make more estrogen. Your body has an enzyme that turns adrenal steroids to estrogen. Therefore, the higher the fat intake, the higher the conversion of fat to estrogen.
Changing Shape
Women will often find their shape changes as they enter menopause accumulating more abdominal fat. During childbearing years, estrogen increases the number of receptors that slow fat release in the lower body of women, however during menopause when less estrogen is being produced, it has the opposite effect on abdominal fat, which is why menopausal women who were pear shape may find their fat distribution changing to their abdominal areas.
Positively Influencing Estrogen Levels
- Decrease exposure to estrogens in the diet. This includes:
- Non-organic produce, which is sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides.
- Conventionally raised farm animal protein, which is overloaded with steroids, antibiotics, and toxins from their feed and the way they’ve been raised. When you eat this type of meat or dairy products, those substances are released into your body and can behave like estrogen.
- Beware of environmental estrogens through plastics, canned food, household products, and skincare. Although the amount may seem insignificant in each, the additive effect from years of chronic exposure can lead to estrogen dominance.
- Increase the intake of insoluble fiber, cruciferous vegetables(broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, and kale), water, and green tea to help your body naturally detoxify excess estrogen.
- Limit caffeine and coffee intake:both caffeine and coffee increase estrogen levels.
- Eat more plants (plant-based diet):plants contain over 5,000 known sterols that have progestogenic effects.
Progesterone – The ‘feel good’ hormone
Progesterone is a hormone produced mainly in the ovaries, but also in smaller amounts by the adrenal glands in both sexes and by testes in males. It’s the raw material (precursor) from which your body makes several hormones, including cortisol, estrogen, and testosterone. It’s also the primary hormone of fertility and pregnancy.
Weight Loss
Progesterone plays an important role in weight loss in several ways.
- it encourages the use of fat for energy, thus opposing the estrogenic tendency to store fat.
- it balances blood sugar levels by enhancing the sensitivity of the body to insulin and reducing the amount of insulin circulating in the blood. This is very important for managing sugar cravings.
- progesterone acts as a natural diuretic due to its ability to increase sodium loss in the urine. Studies investigating this effect have shown the ability of progesterone to ease symptoms of water retention, including swelling, bloating, and “false fat”
An important fact is that weight loss actually increases progesterone levels. The more body fat you have, the more estrogen you tend to produce, but not progesterone. Therefore, if you’re overweight, your progesterone levels can’t offset the amounts of estrogen in your body.
Positively Influencing Progesterone Levels
- Manage stress: Stress decreases the production of progesterone. The precursor to progesterone (Pregnenolone) is used by the adrenal glands to make the stress hormone cortisol, therefore, progesterone doesn’t get a chance to produce with this essential precursor already being taken.
- Decrease estrogen levels: estrogen counteracts progesterone. High levels of estrogen throw off the delicate estrogen/progesterone balance.
- Increase your vitamin and mineral intake:
- Vitamin B6 helps maintain optimal levels of progesterone. It’s also necessary for the liver to break down estrogen. One study has shown that taking vitamin B6 at doses of 200-800 mg/day can reduce blood estrogen levels and increase progesterone levels. Good sources of vitamin B6 include sunflower seeds, walnuts, whole grains, bananas, spinach, beans, potatoes, and fortified cereals.
- Vitamin C increases progesterone levels. Taking 750 mg/day can increase progesterone levels by 77%. Good sources of vitamin C are raw fruits and vegetables, particularly bell peppers, broccoli, oranges, kiwi, or kale.
- Magnesium breaks down excess estrogen. Good sources of magnesium include black beans, spinach, raw plantain, halibut, whole grain cereals, pumpkin and squash seeds, okra, and nuts.
- Zinc – you can learn a little more about zinc here: https://peaknaturalhealth.com.au/category/zinc/ It is the zinc that prompts the pituitary gland to release follicle stimulating hormones. This in turn promotes ovulation and stimulates the ovaries to produce progesterone. For good sources of dietary zinc you can try shellfish, pumpkin, squash seeds, dark chocolate, wheat germ, and chickpeas.
- Amino Acid L-Arginine increases blood flow to the corpus luteum, which produces progesterone. Dietary sources include Almonds, beans, cashews, garlic, peanuts, raisins, seafood, peas.