Advantages and Disadvantages of Estrogen Therapy
In the past years, many women have stopped taking estrogen hormones because of the report that it can cause heart disease. Now, researchers have found out that this hormone is not as terrible as what others thought.
Estrogen hormones are helpful in avoiding diseases such as heart attack and stroke. Once a woman has an insufficient number of estrogen in her body, she needs to get a solution to this kind of problem. And the only solution for it is estrogen therapy.
An estrogen therapy is a therapy for the body, emotional and health-risk factors linked with menopause. It can be in the form of a pill, patch, cream, implant, injection or vaginal ring.
Who should take estrogen therapy?
There is no exact answer for this since every woman has her own medical record and desires. However, the women who can benefit more from estrogen therapy are those:
- With serious vasomotor symptoms like hot flushes
- More prone of having bone fracture and osteoporosis
- Who have experienced early menopause which is resulted from:
- Surgery of the ovaries
- Chemotherapy
- Malfunction of the ovary
What are the advantages of estrogen therapy?
- It lessen the threat of osteoporosis
- It lessen the threat of cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease
- It reduce hot flushes
- It may reduce mood changes and enhance psychological comfort
Although there are severe threats associated with estrogen therapy, many health practitioners and institutions believe that the helpful result set aside the risk factors. Consider the following statements made by the American Medical Association:
- Estrogen therapy is the only reliable and adequate therapy to maintain system dependents with the hormones in the ovary and to reduce hot flushes.
- Indicative vaginal waste and vaginitis and waste changes of the lower urinary tract with irregular and inconsistent urination are reversible with the estrogen therapy.
- In order to avoid osteoporosis, it requires estrogen replacement.
What are the disadvantages of estrogen therapy?
- It increases the threat of uterus cancer
- It increases the threat of breast cancer especially when used for over 10 years
- It can be very dangerous for women who are more prone to blood clotting.
- It can give headaches or migraines
- It increases the threat for endometrial cancer
- It can destroy the liver
With all these advantages and disadvantages presented, it all depends to the person if she wants to have the therapy.
However, if you really want to take estrogen therapy, it would be a nice idea if you discuss the matter carefully with your doctor.
Great details and information can be found on the internet. Having estrogen therapy could be a very big decision.
It is imperative that a woman should be well aware of what she does with her body. This is where the information superhighway, the Internet, could be of valuable help.
Many support groups and sites dedicated to estrogen therapy could provide invaluable information to many women who are thinking about getting estrogen therapy.
Forums and discussions abound and many women could help each other out. Professional advice is present and women who have undergone the therapy could point out some more advantages and disadvantages about estrogen therapy.
An Increase or Decrease of Estrogen can Cause Hair Loss
Are you avoiding the mirror everyday? Are you afraid to see how you look because of your hair? Are you suffering from thinning hair or baldness? Do you know the possible reasons why such problems are happening to you? If you do, then perhaps it can be recovered or better yet be prevented.
There are many probable causes of hair loss. For instance, there is high fever, serious disease, pregnancy, too much stress, and the most common, estrogen deficiency all of which can cause you to have hair loss.
The best way to prevent further hair loss is to protect the remaining strands of your hair. Hair loss to women can be temporary while to men it can be permanent.
Estrogen hair loss is a form of hair loss caused by an increase or decrease in estrogen. Men and women are both prone to having hair loss since this is present in both of them.
In men, hair loss is the result of the malfunctioning of prostate glands. The prostate can start to make overly big quantities of the hormone called the DHT.
This is a destructive form of testosterone and estrogen, which causes the follicles of the hair to reduce in size and avoid new hair growth.
Luckily, women with estrogen hair loss are considered in a better situation. For women, this is a seldom problem that happens. Hair loss in women normally happens after giving birth. However, it may also happen during the teenage years, pregnancy and menopause.
This is because of the decrease or increase of estrogen level in a woman’s body. For instance, after giving birth, the level of estrogen of a woman decreases.
This makes her susceptible to the side effects of the estrogen in her body. In this way, it can cause hair follicles to reduce in number and it can be the start of hair loss.
The hair loss will stop once the hormones of the woman return to its normal state.
Since hair loss is sometimes temporary in most women, it can be cured with shampoos that are intended to revert hair loss.
However, men suffering the same problem can choose to have hair restoration methods like hair replacement surgeries. The reason for such an option is that hair loss is usually lasting in men.
It’s possible for men to lose their hair completely from estrogen hair loss. For a man, this can be a very serious problem and it should be given adequate attention or concern immediately.
Remember, there should be no man or woman who should suffer from hair loss because of estrogen.
There are many treatments available. You should opt for one if you have estrogen hair loss to keep a beautiful mane of hair.
The Different Foods that Contains Natural Estrogen
Estrogen is very important in a woman’s body. This hormone is responsible for the regular menstrual period that usually occurs every 28 days.
If your body is incapacitated of producing estrogen, you will experience menopause or the permanent cessation of menstruation.
Old age is one of the major reasons why women experience such. However, a woman’s body should continuously produce estrogen to maintain its sexual functions.
If your body is already incapacitated of producing estrogen, you can try eating foods that has natural estrogen.
There are several herbs and foods that can be a great source of pure and natural estrogens. They can be useful during menopause. The following lists of the different foods available are just some of the best sources of estrogen.
Aside from the benefits you can derive during your menopausal stage, these foods also contain vitamins, minerals, fiber and other essential fatty acids.
These fatty acids are low in saturated fats so they are healthy to the body. These are very nutritious foods aside from supplying your body with an amount of estrogen you need. Here are the following:
- Fruits such as apples, cherries, dates, papaya, and others;
- Vegetables such as barley, carrots, clover, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, licorice, peas, parsley, peppers, pomegranates, potatoes, pumpkin, red clover, rhubarb, soybean sprouts, tomatoes, and others;
- Seeds such as anise seeds, chickpeas, cowpeas (black eyed peas), flaxseeds, red beans, sesame seeds, soybeans, split peas, sunflower seeds, and others; and
- Other foods such as Alfalfa , Animal flesh, Baker’s yeast , Beets , Dairy Foods, Dates, Eggs, Fennel , Hops , Oats , Olive oil, Olives, Plums , Rice , Sage , Wheat , Yams , and others.
These are the foods you need to supply your body with natural estrogen. If your body contains less than the required amount of estrogen, eating these foods can help your body produce the necessary amount of estrogen.
Women who are experiencing pre-menopausal syndrome are advised to take these foods to regulate the amount of estrogen in their bodies.
However, you have to consult your doctor before you start taking the aforementioned estrogen-rich foods.
To know more about the different foods that can regulate the amount of estrogen in your body, you can visit your doctors and seek some advice about it.
They can be the best source of information. Tell them your concern and they are just willing to help you with it.
Camille McClellan, MD, DNM, MBS
Naturopathic practitioner
McClellan Natural Health, Wellness & Nutrition
Free Naturopathic/Homeopathic Consults Available
