Estrogen affects fertility cycles and can cause tissue growth, scarring, and cancer. Estrogen dominance can cause menopause symptoms and hormonal imbalances. Treatments include diet, exercise, stress relief, and medication. High estrogen levels can also affect men.
Estrogen is one of the major sex hormones secreted in the body, especially by women. Because it works with other hormones like progesterone and testosterone to affect fertility cycles, reproduction in women can be affected by too much estrogen. Estrogen also causes body tissue to grow rapidly, creating a number of other complications such as scarring and tissue cancer. Psychological impacts are also common. While most problems with too much estrogen affect women, some effects, such as weight gain, can impact men as well.
For women, the hormone estrogen is especially important in preparing the egg and uterus for a possible pregnancy. Different parts of the body are involved in the production of estrogen, from the glands in the brain to the ovaries. When factors such as stress or diet affect these areas, estrogen levels can also be affected. Some synthetic chemicals and birth control drugs have even been implicated by some in abnormal estrogen levels.
Some researchers believe that a condition known as estrogen dominance refutes the traditional notion that premenopause and menopause in women result from depleted estrogen levels. Rather, the effects of these conditions are a consequence of too much estrogen. When estrogen and progesterone levels get out of balance, the traditional symptoms of menopause occur. These effects are particularly pronounced in younger women who experience early menopause symptoms.
The typical menopause symptoms that can occur with too little or too much estrogen are numerous. Water retention can cause weight gain. Swelling, breast pain, and headaches are also common. Another common indicator of hormonal imbalance is mood swings, such as irritability or anxiety.
At a basic level, estrogen works for tissue growth while progesterone hinders that growth. Thus, the two hormones create a natural balance. If progesterone levels are depleted, estrogen levels remain elevated and unchecked. Uncontrolled cell growth can lead to any number of consequences. In its most benign form, the effect can be mild pain. The most severe cases can create the conditions for the rapid and uncontrollable cellular activities characteristic of cancer. In fact, some theories have linked previous estrogen-boosting therapies with an increase in uterine cancer cases in women.
The potential long-term consequences of untreated estrogen go beyond pain or cancer. Scarring of reproductive tissue can occur, which in turn can contribute to eventual infertility. Thinking skills can also be attacked. Reduced blood clotting ability and vitamin D hindrance can also cause problems such as bleeding and bone fractures. The resulting stresses on the body have also been indirectly linked to heart disease and stroke.
The effects of too much estrogen are not limited to women. Just as estrogen can increase weight levels in women, it can do the same for men. Decreased sex drive, depression, and breast development can also coincide with high estrogen levels in men. Even more alarming, some experts have correlated the dramatic increase in prostate cancer cases in older men with estrogen levels that increase with age.
Treatments for estrogen abnormalities focus on three main areas: diet and exercise, stress, and medications. As mentioned, stress and diet both play significant roles in maintaining hormonal balance. Therefore, stress relief and a healthy low sugar diet are two important variables in estrogen treatment. Exercise can further invigorate the body. Medical treatments may prove necessary in some cases, and these treatments may include hormone replacements such as progesterone-boosting therapies.
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