Estrogens
One of the biggest points of confusion and misconceptions in medicine is the fact that there is not just one estrogen. There are actually 3 main estrogen’s, each with different activities, working on different receptors. Estrogen works together with all the other hormones, although one big area we look at is estrogen’s’ relationship with progesterone.
To simplify it, estrogen makes tissue grow, and progesterone steps in and tells the tissue to grow healthy as well as to die healthy. This is why estrogen cream is often used topically to increase vaginal wall thickness, it promotes the tissues growth and thickness.
Now the counter side to the growth is if it is done in an imbalanced fashion. For instance, if someone had too high of estrogen levels, especially in comparison to progesterone levels, leaving the ratio to be what is known as estrogen dominant, than tissue growth could be hyper-stimulated, thus leading to fears that estrogen can influence tumor growth.
THE 3 MAIN ESTROGENS
There are 3 main estrogens; estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). The body looks to have a balance between the three of these. Each of these estrogens act on different receptor sites in the body, thus when the amount of individual estrogens are out of balance, the body can react in an unnatural response.
Estrone (E1)
Estrone is the main estrogen that your body makes when it is in menopause. For this reason, practitioners often do not find a necessity to add it to hormone replacement therapy regimens.
High levels of estrone can stimulate breast and uterine tissue and many believe it can lead to an increased risk of breast and uterine cancer.
Before a woman enters menopause estrone is primarily made by the ovaries, liver and the adrenal glands. Later in life estrone is made in ones fat cells and to a lesser degree in the liver and adrenal glands; thus the more body fat one has, the more estrone is produced.
Estrone has the ability to convert back and forth with estradiol, and it is found that in obese women, they have an increased estrone to estradiol ratio.
Routine alcohol consumption can increase the production of estrone in the body as well.
Estradiol (E2)
Estradiol is the strongest estrogen that your body produces. It is estimated to be 12 stronger than estrone and 80 times stronger than estriol. Before menopause it is the main estrogen that the body produces, and after menopause experiences the biggest decline.
Where estrone is often made in fat tissue, most estradiol is made in the ovaries. Even though as ovarian function decreases either due to natural menopause or surgical menopause, most women over the age of 80 still make some estradiol.
High levels of estradiol are associated with an increased risk of breast and uterine cancer.
Estriol (E3)
Estriol has a much weaker stimulating effect on the breast and the uterine lining than estrone or estradiol.
Remember when I said that estrogens make tissue grow and that’s why a physician will prescribe it topically to increase the thickness of the uterine lining? Well, often estriol is chosen as a compounded prescription because it gives the desired effects with less risk of over stimulation.
Another very interesting fact is that estriol has been show not to promote breast cancer and there exists mounting evidence to show that it protects against it.
Even though the less stimulating effects of estriol seem to offer many great benefits, estriol does not have the bone, heart, or brain protection of estradiol, and this is why a combination of estradiol and estriol is often prescribed.
For more information on the Functions, Benefits, Signs and Symptoms...as well as learn about estrogen metabolites which can have a big affect on your health, as well as the vital importance of the estrogen to progesterone ratio check out the FULL VERSION of iHormones.