Menopause:
A Hormone Balancing Act By Deanna M. Cherrone, MD
M
enopause is not a dis-ease. It is a natural transition that oc- curs when a woman’s ovaries stop producing eggs. Women are not meant to be fertile for their entire lives so when
a woman reaches her late forties or early fifties her body produces less estrogen and progesterone. When she has had no period for one year she is considered post-menopausal and no longer able to bear children. Surgical menopause occurs when a woman has had both of her ovaries removed.
Estrogen and Progesterone
Let’s examine the menstrual cycle and the role of estrogen and progesterone in this monthly event. Estrogen and progesterone are hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers released from the glands of the endocrine system that affect the functioning of every cell in the body. The ovaries, testes, adrenals, thyroid, pituitary and hypothalamus are all part of this intricate, interconnected system. Be- cause of the complex interrelationship between these glands when one gland is out of balance it can upset the balance of other glands. Progesterone and estrogen, like all of the steroid hormones, are
made from cholesterol. As a building block for our hormones, choles- terol is essential to our well being. It is not the enemy. When a patient has high cholesterol it is important to determine the cause of that high cholesterol. Hormone imbalance, toxicity, nutritional deficien- cies and an underactive thyroid are some of the contributing factors to high cholesterol. Arbitrarily lowering cholesterol with statin drugs without examining these causes could be harmful. The body produces three different estrogens: estradiol, estriol
and estrone. In a woman’s body estrogen is produced by the ovaries, adrenal glands and fat cells. The more fat cells a woman has the more estrogen she will produce. Estrogen is responsible for the growth and development of the female sex organs (breasts, uterus and ovaries) as she goes through puberty. Once she has reached menarche and has begun menstruating, estrogen causes the uterine lining, also known as the endometrium, to grow and thicken each month so that it is ready to receive a fertilized egg. To assist in the success of fertiliza- tion, estrogen promotes water retention and fat storage. Once a month an egg is released from a follicle of either ovary
and travels down the Fallopian tube hoping to be fertilized. The rup- tured follicle has an important job in that it is needed to produce pro- gesterone for the next two weeks in preparation for pregnancy. The progesterone from the follicle functions to maintain the uterine lining until implantation occurs. If the egg implants and pregnancy occurs the uterine lining takes over continued production of progesterone. If there is no implantation, the follicle stops producing progesterone and the uterine lining is shed during menstruation. Progesterone has some other essential functions besides its role
in pregnancy. It is important in new bone formation, increasing li- bido, normalizing blood clotting and regulating blood pressure as it is able to function as a natural diuretic. It maintains the myelin sheath which insulates nerves, is involved in blood sugar regulation and it
12 Natural Nutmeg May 2013
utilizes fat for energy. It is a natural anti-depressant. It can protect against breast cysts. It can help restore cell oxygen levels and proper zinc copper balance in the body and prevent breast and endometrial cancer. Progesterone helps counteract the negative effects of estro- gen; therefore, the body needs adequate tissue levels of this hormone for optimal health.
Progesterone is also produced by the ovaries. It is often referred to as an upstream hormone. This means that it is required to make all of the other downstream hormones including cortisol, aldosterone, the three estrogens and testosterone. Because of its place in the hor- mone cascade, progesterone can often get “used up” to make these downstream hormones and then it is not around to balance the effects of estrogen. This state of excessive or unopposed estrogen in the body is called estrogen dominance.
Estrogen Dominance Estrogen dominant symptoms include: PMS, depression, mood
swings, headaches (including migraines), blood clotting, increased risk of stroke and heart attack, decreased libido, impaired blood sugar regulation, imbalance of zinc and copper, namely, too much copper and too little zinc, reduced oxygen levels in all cells, and thyroid dysfunction.
Normal levels of estrogen and progesterone in a woman’s body
help prevent excess or abnormal growth in tissues sensitive to the ef- fects of estrogen. For example, without proper estrogen/progesterone balance (estrogen dominance) fibroids may grow in the uterus, cysts may grow in the breasts or ovaries and cancer of the uterus, breast or ovary may develop. Having too much estrogen in the body is the result of many fac-
tors. These include consumption of processed foods such as white sugar and white flour as well as unhealthy fats, lack of exercise and
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