“Estrogen shrinks the thymus, and contributes to many auto-immune conditions…” - Dr. Ray Peat
Autoɪmmune dise@se (AI dise@se) is when the ɪmmune system attacks itself. There is a high percentage of women that have AI dise@se compared to men — it’s 80% more likely in women. (Littlewood)
While both men and women have estrogen, it’s usually present in higher amounts in women. “Research has shown that estrogen enhances the inflammatory process of the ɪmmune system, meaning it could increase the attack on your tissues if you already have an autoɪmmune dise@se, but it can also be a source of the dysfunction.” (Brighten)
One way it affects the ɪmmune system is via the thymus gland. Progesterone is protective, but estrogen “directly causes the thymus gland to atrophy, and several of its effects, such as increased adrenal activity and elevated free fatty acids, also contribute to the shrinkage of the thymus and the inhibition of its functions.
While this is happening, the B cells, which normally are under the control of the thymus cells, are not killed by estrogen, and actually seem to be stimulated by estrogen to produce certain types of antɪbodies. This combination of effects, weakening the thymus and stimulating antibody production, is thought to contribute to the development of autoɪmmune dise@ses.” (Peat)
“...oestrogens seem to have a dualistic effect on the ɪmmune system. It has been demonstrated that oestrogens suppress antɪgen-specific T-cell dependent ɪmmune reactions while enhancing B-cell activities.” (Cuchacovich et al)
As someone who has autoɪmmunity, understanding the estrogen relationship helped connect dots in my own health web. I developed a raging AI dise@se while on a hormonal contraceptive (HC), many of which contain relatively large doses of synthetic estrogen.
Women on HC are 300% more likely to develop Crohn’s dise@se. They’re also at higher risk for Lupus, Interstitial cystitis, MS, Ulcerative colitis, Eczema,and others. (Brighten)
I get tons of questions every day about autoɪmmunity. Hopefully this post provides a few new avenues for those that want to research and explore.💗
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Not medical advice.
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This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare professional before pursuing any changes to your personal healthcare regime.
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References
Brighten, J. (2019). Beyond the Pill. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers
Cuchacovich, M. Gatica, H. Tchernitchin, N. (1993). Role of sex hormones in autoɪmmune dise@ses. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8191156/.
Littlewood, K. (2019). Autoimmunity. Retrieved from: https://balancedbodymind.com/blog/2019/3/7/auto-ɪmmune-dise@se-is-it-really-in-your-genes-part-1?rq=autoɪmmune.
Peat, R. (2006). Immunodeficiency, dioxins, stress, and the hormones. Retrieved from: http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/immunodeficiency.shtml.
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