Estrogen and Progesterone Therapy – Why Is It Good for You?

Estrogen and progesterone are hormones found in everyone’s bodies – male and female. Just as testosterone is important for women, estrogen is important for men. Progesterone may be the most crucial of all as that is the building block or source hormone for the production of estrogen and testosterone, as well as cortisol and other essential hormones.

Estrogen and progesterone levels decline with age, leading to many different problems in the body.

It is essential to understand the purpose of estrogen and progesterone therapy. Why is it good for you to maintain these hormones throughout adulthood?

Here are some important facts about progesterone:

Low levels of progesterone will likely lead to testosterone deficiency, as the body will not have enough of this source hormone to produce testosterone.
Some free testosterone in the body undergoes conversion into estradiol – increasing estrogen levels and lowering testosterone levels.
Progesterone helps to balance estrogen. If estrogen is unopposed by progesterone, then a condition called estrogen dominance could occur.
Progesterone is a neurosteroid – cells in the peripheral nervous system, spinal cord, and brain use cholesterol to synthesize progesterone, and progesterone that circulates in the bloodstream directly influences the nerves and brain. Progesterone promotes growth and repair of the myelin sheath that protects injured nerve fibers.
Doctors use progesterone therapy to help balance other hormone levels, for treatment of traumatic brain injuries, and to help with fertility and pregnancy issues.
Other progesterone therapy benefits include reducing prostate size in men, stimulating bone growth, and decreasing breast cancer risk.

Why Is Estrogen Important for the Body?

Estrogen also plays a significant role in protecting the strength of bones in both men and women. That is why you sometimes hear about the use of estrogen therapy and osteoporosis benefits.

Men with Low T have to undergo comprehensive blood testing to ensure that their estrogen levels are properly balanced. If there is not enough testosterone available to undergo estradiol conversion, then low estrogen levels could lead to osteoporosis just as in women. However, if Low T is due to too much conversion and estrogen levels in men are too high, then the risk of stroke, coronary artery disease, enlarged prostate, and prostate cancer increase. That is why Kingsberg Medical checks all essential blood hormone levels before prescribing testosterone, progesterone, or estrogen therapy for males.

Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels begin to decline during menopause in women because the ovaries stop functioning. Many women who are overweight are susceptible to developing estrogen dominance at this time because an enzyme produced in belly fat converts testosterone into estradiol, further increasing estrogen levels while depleting testosterone.

What is estrogen therapy going to do for women dealing with menopause?

Some of the many benefits of estrogen therapy for females include:

Reducing hot flashes and night sweats
Strengthening bones
Improving sleep
Sharpening mental functions

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How Estrogen and Progesterone Influence Weight Gain and Loss

Estrogen dominance causes the body to gain weight. That is why some menopausal women tend to gain belly fat as they age. The more belly fat a person has, the more aromatase is present to increase testosterone conversion. That is why we do not always see benefits for estrogen therapy and weight loss. A woman who has been given only estrogen for menopause without the doctor checking blood levels of each of these hormones may be worsening the situation.

On the other hand, when we look at the use of progesterone therapy and weight gain, we find that progesterone facilitates the conversion of stored fat into energy. Testosterone stimulates how the metabolism will process food, inhibiting fat storage, but progesterone goes to work on the fat already present.

Estrone, another form of estrogen, can help control appetite and sugar cravings.

The right hormone balancing therapies will help increase weight loss and decrease fat storage.

Importance of Maintaining Proper Estrogen and Progesterone Levels

It is crucial to maintain proper hormonal balance to protect the body and the brain from decline.

A person can have high estrogen, and low progesterone and testosterone levels, or all three hormones can be low, or any other combination. Each change brings different problems to the body. Ensuring proper hormonal balance is the work of a doctor who specializes in hormone replacement therapy.

Much information is present in the media about estrogen therapy adverse effects based on research presented in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) report. The risk factors were increased when estrogen was used with synthetic progestin which is not the same thing as bioidentical progesterone therapy.

To ensure safe estrogen replacement benefits, women should request comprehensive blood analysis and only use progesterone and not progestin therapy.

For more information about estrogen and progesterone therapy, how to get tested for hormone imbalance, and how to receive treatment, contact Kingsberg Medical for a free consultation.

Brian Leeber