How Does Estrogen Affect the Body?
Other People Are Reading
-
Female Sex Hormone
-
Estrogen is the female sex hormone. It plays a vital role in reproductive and sexual development of women, according to Childrensnyp.org. Estrogen is produced by the ovaries. If you don't have ovaries, the estrogen production is limited to the adrenal glands (which also produce estrogen, but not as much as the ovaries do). Consequently, some women who undergo complete hysterectomies, including the removal of their ovaries, opt to take hormone replacement drugs.
Its Many Jobs
-
Besides regulating the menstrual period, estrogen keeps the heart, bones and blood vessels healthy and operational. In addition, estrogen impacts a woman's skin, hair, breasts, mucous membranes, urinary and reproductive tracts, pelvic muscles and--perhaps most importantly--the brain. When estrogen levels begin to increase during puberty, that's when a female will develop pubic and underarm hair.
Estrogen serves many purposes including regulating parts of the brain that prepare the female body for sexual and reproductive development as well as maintaining the body's temperature and possibly delaying the onset of memory loss, which happens when we get older. According to Healthorchid.com, estrogen also prepares the breast glands for milk production as well as stimulates the growth of the breasts at puberty, prompts the maturation of ovaries and is responsible for the onset of menstruation.
Estrogen is very important to the development and maturation of the uterus. It prepares the uterus so that it can nourish a fetus as well as stimulates the maturation of the vagina. It helps the uterus maintain the thick lining that is needed and creates vaginal lubrication. -
What Goes On
-
Marcelle Pick, M.D., of Womentowomen.com, reports that in addition to estrogen being the female sex hormone, there is also progesterone. Both hormones are involved in the menstrual cycle, prompting the egg to mature and release and preparing the uterus for pregnancy. Pick explains that estrogen increases during the first half of the menstrual cycle, peaking at ovulation. Estrogen then falls as progesterone rises. Progesterone is released into the body when the egg follicle ruptures, which happens during ovulation. Estrogen provokes tissue growth, whereas progesterone tells the body to get rid of it. Unknown to some women, testosterone, the male hormone, is also produced in surges close to the time that the woman is ovulating. Pick says the occurrence of testosterone at this time is probably Mother Nature's way of keeping females interested in sex, particularly during ovulation, so that the species continues.
Too Much Estrogen, Too Little Progesterone
-
Dr. Pick notes the imbalance between estrogen and progesterone can create premenstrual syndrome, or PMS. The more drop in progesterone, the greater the symptoms.
Perimenopause
-
During perimenopause or premenopause, the hormones once again fluctuate and result in symptoms--hot flashes, night sweats. What happens during this time in a woman's life is that the estrogen level gradually diminishes while the progesterone plummets, which occurs because of less frequent ovulation and the fact that the egg follicles are no longer bursting open during ovulation.
Other Perks of Estrogen
-
Healthorchid.com notes that estrogen manages the liver's production of cholesterol and helps decrease the compilation of plaque in our arteries. This decreases the incidence of heart attacks. When a woman has a estrogen deficiency, which can happen during or after menopause, this can lead to osteoporosis or brittle bones. During menopause, bone mass decreases at an accelerated rate. This occurs because estrogen is declining at this time. The danger to the bones is very real. Estrogen loss results to 2- to 5 percent bone loss and this can occur over a period of up to 10 years post-menopause.
Negatives
-
It is believed that prolonged exposure to estrogen can lead to breast or uterine cancer.
-
