The Hormone Estrogen And Why Do You Need It Balanced

Highlights

Estrogen is health-supportive, meaning that it supports energy, sleep, libido, mood, skin, metabolism, and more when it’s in optimal amounts throughout our cycle, or when we are menopausal.

Estrogen Dominance can also happen if we’re exposed to too many estrogen-like chemicals in our environment like plastics, household cleaning and beauty products.

With recent fad diets, eliminating entire food groups and prioritizing weight loss over nutrient content could cause suboptimal levels of these important nutrients. This can also lead to estrogen dominance symptoms

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Have you been feeling a little off lately and not being able to understand why?

While it could be due to many things going wrong in your life, ever wondered if hormones was one of them?

Here are a few questions and if you check most answers then I have news for you.

· Your energy level has hit a sudden low

· You are having a tough time remembering things as your brain is foggy most of the time.

· You can’t keep off sugary and carb rich food and find yourself reaching for it more than usual.

· You’ve slept well all night but still wake up tired.

· Your stress and anxiety have gone up

· You can spot sudden changes in your skin, hair and body.

· You seem to break down into tears at anything slightly emotional.

· You can’t seem to control your moods and find yourself lashing out at people around you more than often.

Well, if you got most of the above going for you, then it might be your hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers running the show, day in, day out. They control everything. We’re all hormonal. Hormones are ongoing, at every age and phase of life across all genders and ages, even kids. Being hormonal, means being alive. It is only when the balance is disrupted and they go out of control that it starts causing havoc.

So if the body is regulated by so many hormones, which hormone exactly could be causing this upheaval in your life?

The answer is Estrogen. Estrogen is ONE of our sex hormones. While all sexes have estrogen, people with ovaries have more. Estrogen plays an important role in nearly 400 functions in the body. Especially for those who menstruate, it fluctuates with our cycle. During the follicular & ovulatory phases it rises and is the highest before ovulation. In the second half of the cycle, it drops & progesterone is boosted (when we ovulate, that is).

If estrogen remains dominant during the second half of the cycle that’s called being estrogen dominant, which can sometimes happen. Estrogen dominance can happen during perimenopause when there’s a shift in ovulation. And during menopause when estrogen and progesterone are out of balance.

What causes Estrogen Dominance?

Estrogen is health-supportive, meaning that it supports energy, sleep, libido, mood, skin, metabolism, & more when it’s in optimal amounts throughout our cycle, or when we are menopausal. It is mainly eliminated via bile & poop. But when this is not being excreted properly from the body, it gets recirculated adding estrogen dominance.

Estrogen Dominance can also happen if we’re exposed to too many estrogen-like chemicals in our environment like plastics, household cleaning and beauty products. These are called xenoestrogens or even endocrine disruptors. Alcohol can raise estrogen too. Estrogen is broken down & packaged up in the liver & gut so healthy liver & gut functions are important.⠀

Important factors that affect estrogen production

· There are three main types of estrogen produced in the body: estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), & estriol (E3).

· Estrone is produced by our fat cells. The more we have, the more estrone we produce. Estrone can convert to estradiol.

· Estrone & estradiol influence our body shape (estradiol = pear, estrone = apple).

Estrogen production is facilitated by these nutrients: zinc, magnesium, boron, B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E. But it begins to decline in our 30s or 40s, depending on the women. Many lifestyle factors can affect when this happens, and our experience. During menopause natural estrogen is at its lowest.

Heavy training, exercises, stress, head trauma, birth control, hysterectomies, or other factors can suppress our natural health-supportive estrogen. When this isn’t flowing optimally before menopause, it can result in no periods which can in turn stop progesterone production too.⠀

Make sure you get these nutrients from foods which is one reason why good balanced nutrition for women is so important. ⠀

– B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12⠀

– Vitamin C⠀

– Choline⠀

– Amino acids (from protein)⠀

– Phospholipids (from fats)⠀

– magnesium⠀

– glutathione (comprised of amino acids)⠀

Knowing your hormones can help you work with them and regulate them to keep them in balance and control making sure that you enjoy good health.

Also Read Have You Heard Of Seed Cycling For PCOD?

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Good ‘Sexual health’ is when you have consenting, pleasurable, and safe sexual experiences with a partner. The act of having sex or indulging in sex does not always require a vagina and/or a penis. Sex can mean different things to different people and everyone may have their own ways of deriving gratification from it in their own way. All genders can have sex with each other in all kinds of ways.

However, it is important to have healthy sex that reduces the chances of getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or having an unplanned pregnancy. This also means that at any given point you are in charge of your body, health, and decisions about sex.

For many people, intercourse may not be accessible or an option. Many individuals may have physical or psychological conditions and barriers like vaginismus or a physical disability. For them, indulging in conventional methods of sex may not be an option. But guess what? there are many ways of deriving sexual pleasure. For people with a vagina or front holes, there is this myth that sex is supposed to be painful. Sex is supposed to be pleasurable and if there is pain, then it is an indicator that something is not right or not working for you.

How would you define sex?

The term sex is often used to mean “sexual activity”. Sex can vary largely between individuals. So there is no one definition of sex. Also, sex need not always be between a man and woman, or a penis-in-vagina (PIV) sex.

A person’s sexuality is influenced by their biological, psychological, social, economic, political, cultural, legal, historical, religious, and spiritual experiences. A person can still be ‘sexual’ without actually having sex. Things like kissing, touching, rubbing, and stroking are all things that can make you feel good, and hence knowing the options can help make informed choices and decisions that work best for you.

What activities count as sex?

Sex means different things to different people. However, when most people talk about ‘having sex’ they are usually referring to sexual intercourse or penetrative sex that involves a penis and a vagina. But all genders can have sex with each other in all kinds of ways, including fingering, oral sex, and sex toys or by involving in outercourse. However, sex can be largely classified into two broad types- penetrative sex and non-penetrative sex.

What is penetrative sex?

Sexual activity when something (like a penis, finger, or a sex toy) goes inside someone else’s mouth, vagina, or anus is known as penetrative sex. Vaginal, anal, and oral sex are all types of penetrative sex. Many believe that if a sexual activity cannot cause pregnancy then it is not sex. Well, it is! Sexual health and planning of contraception methods as well as using condoms should all be discussed before engaging in any form of penetrative sex.

Oral sex

Using the mouth and tongue to stimulate a partner’s genitalia is called oral sex. Some believe that oral sex isn’t really sex but it is a type of sex. Even though one can’t get pregnant by having oral sex, the chances of sexually transmitted infections are the same.

Anal sex

Penetration of the anus by a sex toy or penis is called anal sex. The anus is the opening at the end of the digestive system where solid waste comes out of the body.

Penis-In-Vagina sex

Sexual intercourse where a penis is inserted into a vagina. No matter how long the penetration lasts, even if it is for seconds, it is called sex. Even if the penis is inserted halfway, it is still sex or an attempt at sex.

Non-Penetrative sex

The act of lovemaking or deriving sexual gratification without penetration into a vagina or an anus constitutes non-penetrative sex. This is sex without involvement or penetration of the mouth, vagina, anus, fingers, or any sexual aid like sex toys. This type of sex allows partners to be sexual, increases intimacy, and even achieves orgasm without having sexual intercourse. There are different types of sex that can be had without penetration.

Kissing

When people use their lips for pleasure by touching each other’s lips, or other body parts with their lips is called kissing. Kissing can be with or without tongues. Read about the different types of kisses here.

Foreplay

Physical intimacy that involves romantic or sexual arousal of each other like kissing, massage, or touching that happens before intercourse is called foreplay. This helps in getting each other in the mood, helps in lubricating the vagina as well as helps the penis achieve an erection. Foreplay can make sex more enjoyable.

Mutual masturbation

When two or more people touch the sensitive parts of each other’s bodies to get aroused and achieve sexual gratification at the same time is called mutual masturbation. Different people find different things erotic. Body parts could include the clitoris, breasts, nipples, vagina, penis, or anus. This helps to explore your own body and is a good way to know what gets you on and off.

Cybersex

Cybersex is any type of sexual activity that uses the internet. This could include chat rooms, video chats, or using any platform which uses internet communication and involves a trusted partner.

Sexting

Indulging in sexual activity through texts by sending sexual thoughts and photos via text, email, chat, or social media to a trusted partner is called sexting. Sexting is a type of cybersex.

People in long-distance relationships or anxiously attached people may indulge in cybersex or sexting to feel closer to their partners. Some people may also use sexting to receive gratification while keeping a sexual partner at a distance or in the early phases of their relationships to check for sexual compatibility.

Though sex means different things to different people, what is important is how it makes you feel about the encounter. Getting consent is important in all sexual encounters, whether they are online or physical. Also discussing likes and dislikes and what type of sexual activities you enjoy with a partner helps in healthy sexual relationships and positive experiences. Any attempt at the forced sexual activity through penetration or non- non-penetrative sexual acts without consent is rape as ruled by law. Even if an act simulates sexual gratification to the accused, will be termed as rape.

For more on sexual health from Infano, click here.