#7 Steroid Sex Hormones - Estrogen and Progesterone
Birthday Issue 🎉
You’ve probably heard me talk about estrogen, progesterone, LH, and FSA. I've stressed about their importance and how our health can be influenced by their disbalance. If you haven’t caught my previous issue, click here.
But, have you ever thought about what these hormones are? Where do they come from? How are they produced? How do they function in our bodies?
Understanding the biochemistry behind our bodies helps us appreciate its importance. The more we learn about how our bodies work, the more thoughtful we become about how we take care of ourselves, down to the food we eat and our physical activities.
Today, we're going to dive a bit deeper into:
🤔 What are steroid hormones?
🫢 How crucial is cholesterol for hormone production?
🎀 What are estrogen and progesterone?
And also...
💡 Which micronutrients are vital for hormone balance?
🥑 Which foods are worth picking when on a hormone balance journey?
Welcome back to Emazed!
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the read!
Hormones act like little messages packaged up and sent from one part of the body to another. When they arrive, they deliver their 'message', which triggers various changes in the cell's functions.
They are typically small, organic molecules that belong to different chemical classes. There are steroid hormones, like estrogen and progesterone, and peptide and protein hormones, like LH, FSH, GnRH.
Today, we're diving deeper into the world of steroid hormones.
So, let’s get started!
💪 Steroid Hormones
These are actually lipophilic (that's just a fancy word for fat-soluble) and they can easily pass through cell membranes. How do we produce it? Well.. A series of enzymatic reactions, catalyzed by various enzymes, work their magic to convert cholesterol into these hormones.
Now, you might be thinking...
Hold on a second, cholesterol? Isn't that bad stuff? 🙃
Well, yes and no.
Cholesterol is used to produce hormones, vitamin D, and bile acids that aid in digestion. It is carried through the bloodstream by something called lipoproteins. There are two main types of these:
Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is often referred to as "bad" cholesterol because it carries cholesterol from the liver to the cells of the body,
High-density lipoprotein (HDL), known as "good" cholesterol, which helps remove cholesterol from the bloodstream by transporting it back to the liver, where it can be excreted from the body.
And guess what? This "bad" cholesterol is actually the precursor molecule for the synthesis of steroid hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol.
And there's more... Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is not obtained directly from dietary sources but is rather produced by the liver in response to various dietary factors, particularly the intake of saturated and trans fats, which are present in fatty meat and full-fat dairy!
So, yes… A high level of "bad” cholesterol isn't ideal, but remember, we do still need it. So, we shouldn't obsess about it and aim to eliminate it. Fat can be our friend! Just make sure you're choosing the right kind :)
Awesome! You've just completed a mini biochemistry lesson.
Ready to dive a bit deeper?
We've touched on, steroid hormones including estrogen and progesterone, but what exactly are these? 🤔
🎉 Estrogens
Yes, that's right, there's more than one. Estrogens are a group of steroid hormones that are mainly produced in the ovaries. They're really important for regulating the menstrual cycle and maintaining pregnancy. There are three primary forms of estrogen in women:
Estradiol (E2): This comes mainly from the ovaries. It's vital for reproductive tissues, the menstrual cycle, bone density, and pregnancy.
Estrone (E1): This is made from estradiol and found in peripheral tissues. It helps with estrogenic activity in postmenopausal women, bone health, and lipid metabolism.
Estriol (E3): This is the main estrogen during pregnancy and is produced by the placenta. It helps maintain the uterine lining, aids in fetal development and can indicate fetal well-being.
But why do we need it?
Well… You might already know that it's absolutely essential for our menstrual cycle and reproduction. But it does so much more!
Estrogen plays a big role in:
🦴 Bone Health: Estrogen maintains bone strength, reducing osteoporosis and fracture risks, especially in pre-menopausal women.
🧠 Brain Function: Estrogen in the brain aids cognitive function, memory, mood, synaptic plasticity, and neuroprotection, potentially impacting cognitive decline risks.
❤️🔥 Cardiovascular Health: Estrogen improves heart health by enhancing lipid profiles and inhibiting smooth muscle proliferation, lowering cardiovascular disease risk in pre-menopausal women.
🥰 Skin Elasticity: Estrogen promotes collagen synthesis and skin hydration, contributing to skin thickness and appearance. Menopause can lead to dry, wrinkled skin due to decreased estrogen.
💨 Metabolism: Estrogen influences metabolism, energy expenditure, insulin sensitivity, and fat distribution. Deficiency can lead to changes such as increased abdominal fat, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, risking metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.
Sounds interesting? What about progesterone?
🎉 Progesterone
Progesterone is a super-important steroid hormone, made primarily in the ovaries, specifically in the corpus luteum (a temporary organ that pops up each menstrual cycle and vanishes if fertilization doesn't happen) after ovulation. It's a key player in getting the endometrium (uterine lining) ready for the implantation of a fertilized egg and keeping the pregnancy going by supporting the placenta. If pregnancy doesn't happen, progesterone levels drop and, hello, menstruation!
But progesterone, same as estrogen, doesn't just stop at reproduction - it also influences other tissues and systems, such as:
😤 Central Nervous System: Progesterone is like a bodyguard for your nervous system, influences neurotransmitter activity, and promotes myelination, affecting your mood, cognition, and how you respond to stress.
🧠 Brain Function: Progesterone receptors are found all over the brain, impacting mood, memory, and neurogenesis, which can have implications for anxiety and depression.
❤️🔥 Cardiovascular System: Progesterone can help your blood vessels relax, potentially affecting blood pressure regulation and overall heart health.
💨 Metabolism: Progesterone plays a role in insulin sensitivity, lipid metabolism, and adipose tissue function, which can impact your appetite regulation and energy balance.
🫰🏻 I hope this clears up a few things for you. Understanding how your body works can make it easier to make choices that are better for your body and mind in the long run.
What we eat undeniably influences our hormonal health. Whether we like it or not, it's true. All these processes, especially the biochemical ones, need compounds that we mostly get from our food.
🥗 That's why a balanced diet, including healthy fats and necessary micronutrients, is important as it supports the production of steroid hormones, crucial for maintaining female sex hormone balance and overall health.
Disruptions in the healthy and necessary levels of these compounds can be a reason for your hormonal imbalance. If you're dealing with a lack of ovulation, or an irregular menstrual cycle, talk to your GP, and try to support your body with the right supplementation or food intake.
Here's a list of micronutrients to consider:
Vitamin B6: Helps convert amino acids into neurotransmitters involved in hormone regulation.
You can find it in foods like chickpeas, chicken breast, potatoes, bananas, and sunflower seeds.Vitamin C: Helps your body absorb iron, which is crucial for healthy hormone levels.
You'll find it in citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and grapefruits, as well as in bell peppers, strawberries, kiwi, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.Vitamin E: Acts as an antioxidant, protecting against oxidative stress and supporting hormone balance.
Vitamin E-rich foods include almonds, sunflower seeds, spinach, avocado, and olive oil.🚨Zinc: Helps convert cholesterol into steroid hormones like estrogen and progesterone.
You'll find it in oysters, beef, chicken, pumpkin seeds, lentils, and chickpeas (be aware of lectins).🚨 Magnesium: Essential for enzyme activity involved in hormone synthesis and metabolism.
Good magnesium sources include spinach, pumpkin seeds, almonds, avocado, black beans, and dark chocolate (in moderation, of course 😇).🚨 Iron: Necessary for oxygen transport and energy production, which are vital for hormone health.
Foods rich in iron include red meat, poultry, fish (especially shellfish like oysters), beans (lentils, chickpeas - again, learn more about lectins! ), tofu, and spinach.
Getting enough of these nutrients through supplementation or a balanced diet supports the biochemical processes involved in hormone synthesis and regulation.
So, let's eat well and live well!
Shall we?
Thank you for reading and good luck,
I talk to you soon.
xx
E
Hey there! Your thoughts and feedback mean the world to me as I'm always looking to improve. If you could spare a moment to drop a comment below or write me at emazedbye@gmail.com, I'd be super grateful. It could be about this topic, suggestions for future chats, or just your general musings. Truly, your input is priceless!
Emazed recommendation:
📚 Currently, I am reading... Smarter Not Harder by Dave Asprey. If you are into biohacking, I am sure you’ve read it or at least heard about it. If not something, rather someone to google!
📹 YouTube channel I am subscribed to... ChainBaker! Omg, if you like to bake, especially different kinds of bread, go and see his YT. I made extra buttery brioche from his recipe, it was A MA ZING!
🎧 Podcast I have been listening to... Darling, Shine! by Chloe and Ellidy. Ellidy’s story moved me so much, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Now I love to listen to their podcast!
“There is not one other human being alive who can accurately assess whether or not you are where you are supposed to be” Day 110 The Pivot Year