Estrone, Estradiol and Estriol- A quick overview

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Estrone, Estradiol and Estriol- A quick overview

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As the Hotze site expands its educational scope I am happy for the

opportunity to slow down and share a lot of the basic information we all need

to

become our best advocates and real experts in the area of hormones.

 

 

 

Today, we will address estrogens. Estrogen is considered the defining female

hormone. Although that is an over- simplification, estrogen is one of the

defining hormones of our femininity. Estrogen is a large molecule. It is made

primarily by the ovary, but also the adrenal glands and in our fat cells.

Estrogen is made of Estradiol, Estriol and Estrone. The three estrogen

molecules

have different primary actions and roles throughout our lives.

 

Estradiol is the estrogen of youth. It is most abundant when we are young

and full of energy, no wrinkles, weight easily to control, sex drive

skyrocketing, low to no incidence of heart disease, cancer- in general feeling

great

and if we took a minute to be thankful to any hormone in our life, Estradiol

should be the one. Estradiol stays high during the teens and twenties and

starts to slowly decrease in the 30s and 40s and by the time we reach

menopause,

this beautiful hormone has all but disappeared from the estrogen scene. Not to

worry, we can supplement its loss with bioidentical Estradiol which looks

exactly the same as the human Estradiol molecularly and does have the same

effects.

 

Estriol is the estrogen of pregnancy. When we aren’t pregnant we do not make

any significant amounts of this hormone. Life during pregnancy is very

different not only from what we see in the outside world but even more from the

hormonal balance perspective specifically the amount of estriol produced. Large

quantities of estriol are released into the blood stream to help feed the

baby’s nourishment and life source, the placenta. When the pregnancy ends,

the

amount of estriol we make rapidly diminishes and we are back in the Estradiol

production mode. Some research on estriol has suggested that the use of

estriol in menopausal or just estrogen deficient women is better or safer than

Estradiol. The data seemed to support a hormonal support for the heart and also

for vaginal and other mucosa. Many physicians use estriol in conjunction

with Estradiol in the form of Bi-est to help balance estrogen need in states of

estrogen deficiency or imbalance.

 

Estrone is the estrogen of menopause. It is a reactive, negative and

miserable feeling estrogen. The increased production of estrone coincides with

the

increased incidence of breast cancer and heart disease in women over 50. I am

not a fan of estrone and in my experience with estrogen has taught me to

avoid the use of estrone and even neutralize it by increased use of

progesterone

as the women age and make more of this angry, old estrogen.

 

Finally, keep in mind that estrogen is only one hormone even though we speak

of it as being the be-all, end-all of our femininity and life. It is only as

helpful as we can use it to get your body into balance and keep it as

natural as possible. All positive results can only be obtained if you and your

doctor understand your particular body’s way of functioning and integrate as

many

pieces of your life’s puzzle into a hormonally balanced healthy and happy

life.