Fatigue

We believe that women should begin to monitor and, if necessary, correct hormone imbalances long before menopause, when there is still time to reverse this imbalance by restoring youthful hormone levels. Among younger women, it may be possible to address estrogen and progesterone levels with natural hormones, such as phytoestrogens or progesterones that can be found in plants. Among menopausal and postmenopausal women, who have dramatically reduced levels of hormones, it is often necessary to turn to specially formulated hormones that are bioidentical and supplied in approximately the same ratio found in the body. These natural hormones are often taken in conjunction with supplements that have been shown to reduce the side effects of menopause.

In addition to estrogen and progesterone, it's also important to monitor levels of pregnenolone, DHEA, and testosterone. The ideal goal of HRT therapy goes beyond the suppression of side effects caused by dropping hormone levels. The real goal of Life Extension's hormone restoration program is to restore hormone levels to those of a woman aged 30 to 35. Such an approach has wide-ranging benefits throughout the body, including psychological well-being and sex drive.

What You Have Learned So Far

Conventional hormone replacement, which relies primarily on equine (horse) estrogen and synthetic progestin, is associated with increased risk of breast cancer and heart attack. Unopposed hormone replacement (estrogen only) is associated with increased risk of breast cancer. These forms of HRT should not be prescribed for the prevention of osteoporosis or heart disease.

Women's hormone levels begin to change in their middle 30s, long before menopause sets in. At this time, progesterone and estrogen levels both decline. Progesterone declines more rapidly than estrogen, however.

When the balance between estrogen and progesterone is thrown off in favor of estrogen, a woman may be “estrogen dominant,” which is associated with a wide variety of female conditions, including endometriosis, uterine fibroids, polycystic ovaries, and breast cancer.

Natural, bioidentical hormone restoration with estrogen and progesterone offers an alternative much safer than conventional HRT.

Because all the levels of steroid hormones are interconnected, and many freely convert to one another, true hormone restoration also monitors for pregnenolone, DHEA, and testosterone.

CAUSES OF ESTROGEN DMINANCE

Beginning in perimenopause and continuing through menopause, women’s production of progesterone tends to decline more rapidly than their estrogen production does. Between puberty and perimenopause, estrogen levels can be raised by external influences, such as birth control pills or chemicals and toxins. If the ratio between progesterone and estrogen is altered in favor of estrogen, a condition may result that is known as "estrogen dominance," which is associated with increased risk of cancer and other health risks (Kubista 1990; Ashby et al 2001).

Causes of estrogen dominance include the following:

Environmental pesticides, including those found on commercially grown fruits and vegetables, which have an estrogen-like effect in the body (Tapiero et al 2002)
Exposure to xenoestrogens (external estrogens) such as those found in herbicides and in petrochemicals found in cosmetics, glue, plastic, and other modern materials (Tapiero et al 2002) Unopposed conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) Obesity, in which fat cells cause the conversion of other hormones into estrogen
Increased intake of sugar and processed food, which is linked to magnesium deficiency

Estrogen dominance often produces the following symptoms:

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