Progesterone - not Estrogen - is the real female hormone
PROGESTERONE - NOT ESTROGEN - IS THE REAL “FEMALE” HORMONE 💮💮💮
For as long as Estrogen has been marketed, it’s been touted as “the female hormone.” But when we look at the physiology of the female body, there may actually be a more accurate contender…
Most tissues in the body, especially fatty tissue, are capable of making Estrogen in copious amounts in both men and women. This can be done through the aromatase enzyme, which converts Androgens into Estrogen, the beta-glucuronidase enzyme, which reactivates Estrogen in the gut, and Sulfatases and other enzymes that help regulate Estrogen metabolism.
In comparison to other tissues, the uterus makes a small amount of Estrogen.
But the ovaries, these can produce massive (!) amounts of Progesterone. This can only be done through Ovulation, the real star of the female menstrual cycle. And Progesterone actually helps regulate Estrogen levels.
*Just look at these milestones:
〰 Puberty = The end of puberty is marked by the beginning of the female menstrual cycle beginning or “first bleed.” The body begins ovulating and producing Progesterone.
〰 Reproductive Years = The body is cycling and producing Progesterone through Ovulation in the biological hopes of pregnancy. If a pregnancy does not occur, the menstrual cycle begins again.
〰 Menopause = Marked by the loss of the female menstrual cycle. This means we are no longer Ovulating and the ovaries are no longer producing Progesterone.
Learn more in Episode 3 of The Innate Wisdom Podcast with Dr. Ray Peat. And sign up for the wait list to my eCourse, Conscious Conception 2.0 releasing in the spring/summer to learn how to support Progesterone levels and how supplement it to get pregnant.
❔What is the most thought-provoking aspect about this post for you? Share below!
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Not medical advice.
References:
Peat, R. (1997). From PMS to Menopause. Eugene, OR.
Peat, R. (2006). Tissue-bound estrogen in aging. Retrieved from: https://raypeat.com/articles/articles/tissue-bound-estrogen.shtml.
Peat, R. (2006). Vitamin E: Estrogen antagonist, energy promoter, and anti-inflammatory. Retrieved from: http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/vitamin-e.shtml.
https://raypeat.com/articles/articles/tissue-bound-estrogen.shtml
Estrogen's concentration in a particular tissue depends on many things, including its affinity or binding strength for components of that tissue, relative to its affinity for the blood; the activity in that tissue of the aromatase enzyme, which converts androgens to estrogen; the activity of the glucuronidase enzyme, that converts water-soluble estrogen glucuronides into the oil soluble active forms of estrogen; and the sulfatases and several other enzymes that modify the activity and solubility of the estrogens. The "estrogen receptors," proteins which bind estrogens in cells, are inactivated by progesterone, and activated by many physical and chemical conditions.
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/vitamin-e.shtml
The drug industry began using his techniques in sometimes crude but always effective ways. Estrogen was named "the female hormone;" natural hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, were claimed, without any research, to be inactive when taken orally. Physician-shills were created to claim wonderful effects for estrogen. The vitamin status of the tocopherols was denied; as recently as the 1970s (and maybe later), university professors of dietetics were flatly saying "no one needs vitamin E."
By the late 1940s and early 1950s, estrogens of various sorts had been synthesized from hydrocarbons, and were being recommended to prevent miscarriages, because "estrogen is the female hormone." The meat industry had found that the polyunsaturated oils were valuable in animal feed, since they suppressed metabolism and made it cheaper to fatten the animals, and these antithyroid oils were next marketed as "heart protective" human foods, though by suppressing the thyroid and destroying vitamin E, they actually contributed to both heart disease and cancer. (Giving estrogen to livestock to improve their feed efficiency, and to people "to prevent heart attacks," was an interesting parallel to the oil promotional campaigns.)
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