Oestrogen – The Nurturing Hormone

The second hormone that I will be discussing in this Understanding Hormone series is Oestrogen. Oestrogen is often also known as the nurturing hormone and the sense of “not giving a damn” about certain things as women age is often attributed to a woman’s decline in oestrogen.

Most of the focus around menopause hormones is on declining levels of oestrogen when in fact in the peri-menopause stage of life oestrogen levels are quite high as they fluctuate wildly form day to day. It is the up and down changes of oestrogen that is the trigger for many of the symptoms that women experience, and once women are post-menopausal and oestrogen levels settle at their new lower level most symptoms simply disappear. This is why it is important to support your hormone production via your adrenal glands (refer to the episode on progesterone for an explanation of this) during your peri-menopause years so that there is not such a big fluctuation in your oestrogen levels.

Role of Oestrogen includes:

• Builds muscles strength
• Strengthens bones
• Protects the heart
• Maintains healthy brain function
• Maintains healthy metabolism
• Protects against insulin resistance
• Anti-inflammatory
• Increases desire to move the body
• Encourages ovaries to release egg
• Stimulates breast tissue*
• Thickens uterine lining*

*can potentially increase risk of cancer if oestrogen levels are too high.

When you look at the role of oestrogen in your body it might seem that when your levels drop that you lose the protection of the hormone and while this is true this doesn’t mean that you are doomed to a life with weak bones, heart issues and insulin resistance. This is where you have the opportunity to put yourself in control rather than relying on your hormones, most of the functions of oestrogen can be supported through healthy diet and lifestyle choices.

If you would like to discover the best way for you to navigate through your changing hormones and the impact this has on your body join me for the FREE 5-day Secret to Thriving in Menopause Workshop which kicks off on May 8th. To register click HERE.