Soy No More
You don’t need to guzzle cartons of soy milk and snack on edamame or soy protein bars all day long to develop a problem with estrogen, although it probably won’t help matters. The truth is you don’t even need to be a woman. Oh, and before you rush out for a blood test, there’s some things you oughta know.
It would be silly to suggest that estrogen doesn’t have an important basic physiological role, but it’s far worse to rationalize away the impact it can have upon disease. Things can become really dangerous, the minute you start talking about so called estrogen deficiencies and estrogen replacement treatment methodologies.
Biologically speaking, progesterone has been shown to be a basic anti-estrogen substance, and the ratio of progesterone to estrogen appears to be central to protection against estrogen’s harmful effects.
It helps to view the relationship between estrogen and progesterone from the point of view of stress, and the impact stress exposure can have upon thyroid function and metabolism. While you’re at it, you may as well include some discussion about serotonin, the polyunsaturated fats, and of course sugar restriction. These and other stress promoting things, are generally involved in the development of estrogen issues.
Anything that interferes with thyroid metabolism and promotes metabolic stress, can eventually cause estrogen levels in the body to increase, as a result of increased estrogen production or accumulation. To put it a little more simply, stress is estrogenic, and estrogen promotes stress.
Much like with stress in general, working out whether or not estrogen levels are excessive, can be assisted greatly by an awareness of certain revealing indicators of metabolic performance, including the state of the various anti-stress or anti-estrogenic factors, some of which have already been mentioned.
Symptoms relating to digestion, sleep quality, mood stability, skin and hair condition, energy levels, weight regulation, sexual and brain function, as well as a variety of other measures including blood tests and things like pulse and temperature readings, can be used to measure overall stress, including both thyroid and estrogen issues.
The problem with chronic exposure to physiological stress is that it can create a situation in which more estrogen is produced, elimination of excess estrogen is being interfered with, and biological protections against estrogen’s most damaging effects are less and less available. It’s like a three pronged attack.
The liver has the job of preparing for the removal of many potentially harmful or toxic substances from the body, and estrogen is one of them. When the liver is unable to do its job properly, estrogen levels have a greater potential to rise throughout the main system.
When thyroid metabolism is suppressed by stress, liver function tends to slow, and this reduces detoxification capability. Stress also inhibits digestion, allowing greater amounts of toxins to pass through intestinal barriers, placing even more strain on the liver. As a result of this, estrogen detoxification and excretion is hindered allowing it to recirculate into the system.
Estrogen itself can overload and interfere with liver function, making the development of a vicious circle of gradually worsening conditions – with increasing exposure to more and more of the substances of stress and inflammation – even more likely.
Stress can become a problem because of emotional trauma, extreme exercise, inadequate diet, as well as hereditary issues and lots of different environmental poisons and toxins. Two things which can have a powerfully damaging effect upon metabolic function, include sugar restriction and excessive consumption of polyunsaturated fats.
When sugar is restricted and stress is high, glycogen stores can be diminished quickly. When this happens polyunsaturated fats (stored in tissue from previous consumption) are released into the system as free fatty acids, worsening estrogen issues.
Polyunsaturated fats are highly inflammatory and they interfere with thyroid/energy system function in numerous different ways. On top of this (and because of this) they inhibit digestion and cause damage to the liver.
This can result in a pronounced increase in systemic levels of estrogen, and when the polyunsaturated fats interact with estrogen, they act on it in such a way as to make it more toxic and harmful.
When stress suppresses thyroid metabolism (including digestion and liver function), bacterial endotoxin levels tend to rise, promoting the release of serotonin. Estrogen enhances serotonin’s ability to wreak havoc on metabolism, adding to stress levels, stimulating the release of cortisol, adrenalin, prolactin, nitric oxide and free fatty acids, as well as a variety of other substances of inflammation. Estrogen also increases the inflammation promoting impact of exposure to bacterial endotoxin, further accelerating stress.
Some of the inflammatory things mentioned above can promote the aromatase enzyme – responsible for a great deal of the production of estrogen – and systemic inflammation can change the form of estrogen, so that it remains in the tissue where it accumulates and does the most damage.
The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) promote tissue storage of estrogen, and more PUFAs inside fat cells is likely to encourage aromatase activity, increasing estrogen production inside the cell.
Continuous and prolonged exposure of tissue to estrogen is known to be a driving force behind the development of many forms of cancer, although it’s difficult (if not impossible) to exclude the involvement of excess (unopposed) estrogen levels in the development of metabolic/degenerative disease in general.
Excessive exposure to estrogen has also been shown to be one of the causes of the damage to genes associated with the development of cancer and other inflammatory disease states.
Unfortunately most blood tests used to determine estrogen levels are misleading. Instead of detecting tissue bound estrogen, all they do is help fuel dangerously misleading and hugely profitable belief systems which suggest the possibility of estrogen deficiencies and the need for supplementation.
Although the quantity of progesterone produced and circulating in the body, is one of the most important factors protecting against harm from estrogen (removing estrogen from inside tissue, assisting excretion and limiting production and toxicity), this does not occur in isolation, and thus cannot be separated from ideas relating to stress and thyroid energy system performance.
Progesterone production is dependent upon metabolic performance, making the suppression of thyroid function due to continuous exposure to stress (including from lack of sugar and exposure to polyunsaturated fats) especially relevant.
Apart from making estrogen more powerful and injurious, the polyunsaturated fats directly interfere with progesterone synthesis, and can suppress thyroid function to such an extent that it enables the promotion of stress related conditions (and substances) which help to worsen the ratio of estrogen to progesterone, and promote inflammation and disease.
Many foods can be considered estrogenic simply because they interfere with metabolic function. High PUFA containing products are a perfect example. They can inhibit thyroid and digestion, promote bacterial toxin production and cause damage to the liver.
Popular ‘health’ foods made from soy (containing phytoestrogens) can be understood to be directly carcinogenic.
It is common to hear talk of restricting sugar to deal with ‘estrogen dominance’ issues, but sugar and protein are fundamental ingredients necessary for effective estrogen reduction as well as progesterone production and overall thyroid performance.
In fact, things that improve thyroid energy metabolism in general, help make existing estrogen less dangerous (shifting it from the stronger form estradiol, to estrone), whilst also reducing overall estrogen production, and improving the ability of the liver to more efficiently excrete it.
A general multi-pronged stress preventative approach, can be a powerful way to avoid estrogen excess, and can help to avoid the development of ‘estrogenic’ metabolic conditions.
There are lots of different approaches or tactics which have been used to promote great improvement in overall metabolic energy system performance, and many of them are cheap and easily available for experimentation.
In order to minimize the potentially damaging effects of stress, it’s a good idea to use food (and some other things) in a manner which encourages glycogen storage and helps to maintain stable blood sugar supply.
Glycogen storage capability is a topic all by itself, but a consistent supply of fructose and sucrose from sweet juices, honey, or white sugar, is one of the important things for metabolic support and stress protection. Niacinamide, taurine, thyroid, biotin and the antihistamine famotidine, have been shown to assist with glycogen storage and lower stress.
Avoiding excessive consumption of digestion interfering foods so as to reduce bacterial issues, can play a big part in helping free up the liver to carry out detoxification functions more effectively, and get rid of unwanted estrogen.
Increasing exposure to daylight (and therapeutic red light) and avoiding too much blue light especially in the evenings, can improve sleep quality and protect against estrogen and stress in general.
Tried, tested and time-honored drugs such as aspirin and the older anti-histamine cyproheptadine, have proven in many cases to be a useful addition.
Some other things which can protect against estrogen include methylene blue, thyroid hormone, high quality protein, vitamin B1 and B2, caffeine, pregnenolone, progesterone, vitamin E, raw carrots, activated charcoal, well cooked mushrooms, certain antibiotics, niacinamide and more.
A diet avoiding the polyunsaturated fats and difficult to digest fibrous and starchy beans, grains and legumes and under cooked vegetables, including smaller more regular meals, with sufficient protein and nutrients from milk, cheese and gelatin, and plenty of sugar from sweet ripe fruits, juices, white sugar and honey, is one possible approach to protecting against stress, and improving hormonal balance.
Saying something is estrogenic is basically synonymous with saying that it is stressful and vice versa. A simple blood test for prolactin gives an accurate picture of tissue bound estrogen as well as serotonin levels.
It’s not a small deal. Estrogen excess has been connected to many conditions other than cancer, in both men and women. Depression, schizophrenia, MS, Alzheimer’s, obesity, osteoporosis, allergy and anaphylaxis, infertility, gynecomastia, erectile dysfunction, acne, varicose veins, PCOS, endometriosis, narcolepsy, addiction, epilepsy, ‘autoimmunity’ and more.
I’m not a doctor or a scientist, and I realize that there will always be people carrying out scientific studies (and interpreting study results) in such a way as to be able to put forward a completely different case. That’s why it is so important to be able to take a step back and look at the overall picture of metabolic function and energy production. One ‘scientific breakthrough’ will never be enough.
And the truth is, estrogen will be involved one way or another, in the interplay between proper metabolic function and stress exposure. Understanding how ongoing excessive stress and thyroid suppression are intertwined with changes in hormonal and biochemical conditions (and metabolic performance in general), can give powerful insight regarding ways to improve quality of life, and prevent the onset of common diseases of aging and degeneration.
See More Here
Induction of proto-oncogene BRF2 in breast cancer cells by the dietary soybean isoflavone daidzein
A Novel Antiestrogenic Mechanism in Progesterone Receptor-transfected Breast Cancer Cells
Dietary Estrogens Stimulate Human Breast Cells to Enter the Cell Cycle
Cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism of estrogens and its regulation in human.
Serotonin in trigeminal ganglia of female rodents: relevance to menstrual migraine.
Progesterone receptor modulates estrogen receptor-α action in breast cancer
Inflammation, dysregulated metabolism and aromatase in obesity and breast cancer.
Androgens and estrogens in relation to hot flushes during the menopausal transition.
Alcoholic liver injury: Influence of gender and hormones
Inhibition of estrone sulfatase and 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase by antiestrogens.
Increased estrogen production in obese men.
Inhibition of Hypoglycemia-Induced Cortisol Secretion by the Serotonin Antagonist Cyproheptadine
Estrogen potentiates adrenocortical responses to stress in female rats.
Tissue-specific synthesis and oxidative metabolism of estrogens.
Acute stress persistently enhances estrogen levels in the female rat.
Analgesic use and sex steroid hormone concentrations in postmenopausal women
Current Evidence Linking Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids with Cancer Risk and Progression
The Estrogen Hypothesis of Obesity
Antiestrogen action of progesterone in breast tissue.
Novel interactions of vitamin E and estrogen in breast cancer.
Possible relevance of steroid availability and breast cancer.
Breast cancer incidence in women with a history of progesterone deficiency.
Circulating dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate decreases even with a slight change in oestradiol.
Estrogens in the breast tissue: a systematic review
Regulation of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Growth by β-estradiol Sulfation
The endocrinology of perimenopause: need for a paradigm shift.
THYROID-HORMONE EFFECTS ON STEROID-HORMONE METABOLISM
Unique metabolites of eicosapentaenoic acid interfere with corpus luteum function in the ewe.
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Treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis
Estrogen- and stress-induced DNA damage in breast cancer and chemoprevention with dietary flavonoid
Induction of PGE2 by estradiol mediates developmental masculinization of sex behavior.
The endocrinology of perimenopause: Need for a paradigm shift
Osteoporosis reversal with transdermal progesterone.
Unconventional endocannabinoid signaling governs sperm activation via the sex hormone progesterone
Estrogen production via the aromatase enzyme in breast carcinoma: which cell type is responsible?
Estrogen regulation of mammary gland development and breast cancer: amphiregulin takes center stage
How does estrogen enhance endotoxin toxicity? Let me count the ways.
Menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer: what is the true size of the increased risk?
50 years of hormonal contraception—time to find out, what it does to our brain
Inhibition of SIRT1 deacetylase suppresses estrogen receptor signaling
Regulation of the sperm calcium channel CatSper by endogenous steroids and plant triterpenoids
Functional state of the hypophysis, adrenal cortex and gonads in patients with gynecomastia.
The effect of vitamin deficiency on estradiol inactivation in the liver.
Estrogen Mediates Metabolic Syndrome-Induced Erectile Dysfunction: A Study in the Rabbit
17-Beta-estradiol induces transformation and tumorigenesis in human breast epithelial cells.
Chronic stress increases estrogen and other steroids in inseminated rats.
Serum hormone levels in men with severe acne.
Estrogen-mediated effects on depression and memory formation in females
Effects of aromatase inhibition and androgen activity on serotonin and behavior in male macaques.
Methylene blue as an endocrine modulator: interactions with thyroid hormones.
Effect of methylene blue on estrogen-receptor activity.
Fat tissue: a steroid reservoir and site of steroid metabolism.
Inhibitory effect of fatty acids on the binding of androgen receptor and R1881.
In situ aromatization enhances breast tumor estradiol levels and cellular proliferation.
Influence of thyroid hormone on androgen metabolism in peripuberal rat Sertoli cells.
Antiestrogen action of progesterone in breast tissue.
Menstrual Phase as Predictor of Outcome After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Women
#estrogeneration
#pufafeedscancer
#raypeat
Image:contributors.healthline.com/writer/tiasha-barik-letostak