Bioidentical Hormone Resource Center

Problems controlling your weight? Hormones maybe your problem.

One thing is for certain when it comes to hormones; an imbalance can cause many negative side effects and one that most people agree on that is at the top of the complaint list is weight gain. Today we are going to talk about estrogen. In particular, estrogen dominance, and how it can prevent you from achieving your weight loss goals.

If you are an otherwise healthy person, but are suffering from unexplained weight gain, you may want to be checked for estrogen dominance. This can be done with a simple saliva or blood test. Estrogen dominance can be caused by high periods of stress as well as hormonal imbalance. Another cause of estrogen dominance is the prescribing only of estrogen to balance a woman’s hormones-say after she has had a full hysterectomy. The problem is-a woman needs all of her sex hormones re-balanced after such a drastic surgery. When only estrogen is prescribed, this is a bad situation for the body causing fat (especially around the hips) and fluid to be retained as estrogen is too far out of ratio with the other hormones. Estrogen in high amounts causes increased body fat, fluid retention, and may impair blood sugar metabolism.

Estrogen dominance isn’t only found in women. Men can have it too. It is common for a man over the age of 50 to have higher estrogen levels than a woman of the same age. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can fix this problem which is evidenced by a flabby stomach,low energy, bloating and puffiness and weight gain and breast enlargement in men.

If a man is overweight to begin with, estrogen dominance can settle in as the fat cells produce and store more estrogen.

No matter who you are, estrogen dominance can be repaired. If one hormone is off, they are all off. There is only one way to know for sure and that is to be seen by a bioidentical hormone replacement specialist.

Through simple lab work, your hormone levels will be checked and prescriptions will be given to re-balance. To find a specialist near you, please visit: Bioidentical Doctors.

If you look up the word estrogen in the Merriam Webster Dictionary, you will find it defined as: “A  sex hormone that tends to cause estrus and the development of female secondary sex characteristics.” Then you will probably ask yourself: “What the heck is estrus?” and “What are secondary sex characteristics of a female?”

Estrus is a periodic state of sexual excitability during which the female of most mammals is willing to mate with the male and is capable of becoming pregnant.

Pretty thrilling stuff, huh!

On to our next question, what are secondary sex characteristics of a female? Secondary sexual characteristics of a female include but are not limited to:  fuller breasts, wider hips, rounder faces than men, growth patterns of body hair in the underarm and pubic area, and smaller hands and feet and a higher pitched voice than the male.

Do You Know Your Estrogen Levels?

Estrogens are produced primarily by developing follicles in the ovaries, the corpus luteum and the placenta. Lutenizing hormone (LH) stimulates the production of estrogen in the ovaries. Some estrogens are also produced in smaller amounts by other tissues such as the liver, adrenal glands and the breasts. These secondary sources of estrogens are especially important in postmenopausal women. Estrogen and other hormones are given to postmenopausal women in order to prevent osteoporosis as well as treat the symptoms of menopause such as hot flushes, vaginal dryness, urinary stress incontinence, chilly sensations, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, and sweating. Fractures of the spine, wrist, and hips decrease by 50-70% and spinal bone density increases by ~5% in those women treated with estrogen within 3 years of the onset of menopause and for 5–10 years thereafter.

Other less common symptoms of low estrogen are: joint pain, panic attacks, difficulty concentrating, weight gain, thinning hair, arthritis and bloating.

Low estrogen levels occur with women going through menopause but can also occur if a woman has a hysterectomy that included the removal of her ovaries.

Going through menopause can be a terrible time for a woman. As a woman enters menopause, her estrogen levels decrease. In order to help patients, some physicians may prescribe estrogen replacement therapy. If you feel this could be happening to you, please wait no longer and visit our list of Bio Identical Hormone Replacement Therapists at: bioidenticalhormonedoctors.com and turn your experience into a positive one!