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Hormones, the chemical messengers of the body’s endocrine system, work together in harmony to regulate many processes, from body temperature and blood pressure to governing sexual desire and fertility. We may not often think about having proper hormonal balance, yet it is essential for good health.

Women’s physical and emotional well-being depends largely on estrogen, a group of hormones our bodies produce naturally. In women, estrogen is produced primarily by the ovaries and to a lesser extent by the adrenal glands and in the fat cells.

Estrogens play an important role in sexual and reproductive development. They are also essential for the health of our heart, blood vessels, bones, breasts, skin, hair, brain, and urinary tract. During puberty, estrogen levels rise, bringing on the menstrual cycle and initiating the growth of pubic and underarm hair.

Aside from the estrogen our bodies produce, people today are exposed to estrogen-like compounds from drugs, the environment, and even food. This estrogen overload has serious consequences for the health of women today.

Replacement Therapy–End of an Era

Since the introduction of the birth control pill in the 1960s and the promotion of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for menopause, estrogen has been touted as a panacea for contraception; to prevent the effects of aging; and to ward off osteoporosis, heart disease, memory loss, low libido, depression, and a host of female health concerns.

The HRT panacea ended in July 2002 when one of the largest studies conducted on the benefits and risks of replacing hormones, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), was halted prematurely due to serious health risks.

Researchers found that use of estrogen plus progestin increased the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, blood clots, and urinary incontinence. Women taking HRT were 24 percent more likely to develop cancer of any kind compared to those taking placebo.

In addition, the WHI Memory Study showed that estrogen plus progestin doubled the risk for developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, in postmenopausal women age 65 and older.

The WHI Estrogen-Alone Study was stopped in February 2004 when the researchers concluded that estrogen alone increased the risk of stroke, blood clots, and urinary incontinence.

Another large epidemiologic study, called the Million Women Study, has reported increased risks of breast and ovarian cancer with estrogen replacement therapy in menopausal women.

Due to the mounting health concerns associated with HRT, use of these hormones has dropped significantly over the past few years. It appears that the reduced use of HRT has already had a positive impact on breast cancer rates. In 2003 the US reported the largest single yearly decline in the incidence of estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer among women aged 50 to 69.

The Pill and Its Price

The oral contraceptive (“the pill”) is a serious contributor to estrogen overload. The pill contains synthetic estrogens and progestins in varying amounts prescribed not only for contraception but for the treatment of acne, premenstrual syndrome, and perimenopause.

The pills used today contain much lower amounts of hormones compared to those used in the 1960s; however, they still provide about four times the estrogen level that a woman’s body would naturally produce.

While the pill is highly effective for contraception, its use may come with a price. Side effects of the pill include weight gain, migraine headaches, decreased libido, breast swelling and tenderness, nausea, vomiting, vaginal dryness, spotting, skin rashes, and depression.

Some of the less common but most serious concerns with the use of oral contraceptives include blood clots; increased risk of stroke; ischemic heart disease; and breast, cervical, and liver cancer.

Hormonal Havoc

Even if you don’t take oral contraceptives or HRT, you could be getting hormones in the form of xenoestrogens, estrogen-like compounds present in pesticides, foods, and plastics. For a list of environmental estrogens, see our web exclusive at alive.com.

These chemicals are structurally similar to estrogen, so they can bind to estrogen receptors in our body and mimic, block, or interfere with our hormones, leading to both physical and emotional symptoms, including heavy periods, fibroids, ovarian cysts, infertility, insomnia, irritability, and fatigue.

Food and Hormones

Sherry Torkos, BScPharm, is a pharmacist and author of The Canadian Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine (Wiley, 2007). sherrytorkos.com

Source: alive #309, July 2008