The Progesterone & Estrogen Balancing Act
October 16, 2013
If you are a regular Internet user, you know there are literally thousands of articles on health published daily, and recognizing trusted sources can actually be quite challenging. I was recently interviewed by a major magazine and the freelance writer asked me why I promoted kale as a source of calcium instead of milk? I chuckled in my response to her and suggested she has been reading too many “Got Milk” advertisements.
I explained to her the physiology of what cows eat and asked when was the last time she saw a cow eating cottage cheese, milk or ice cream. The long pause she gave was so long, I had to ask her if she was still there. She had an epiphany when I suggested cows eat green food which is loaded with calcium. I proceeded to inform her kale is the new beef, not only a great source of calcium, but also protein—much better than soy, which is a story in itself.
You, the public, are always searching for information from reliable, clinically substantiated sources, and the freelancer mentioned above, along with other journalists, are compensated for the information they provide. I also received two other requests for an interview the last few weeks with similar questions on outdated scenarios which I was not able to provide answers, since the protocols they wanted me to comment on are not a part of the time-tested “norm” of “Let food be your medicine…”
One common misconception in health articles is progesterone cream will resolve your estrogen dominance problem (heavy menses, tender breasts and PMS). Progesterone is the counterbalance partner to estrogen, meaning progesterone and estrogen are on a teeter-totter of life going back and forth, hopefully in harmony. Excessive levels of estrogen from our toxic environment is currently the more dominant one, and a substantial factor why we are experiencing an epidemic of estrogen-related disorders including breast cancer.
Progesterone is sourced naturally in the body from the primary building block for all steroids: Cholesterol [see the chart below]. Cholesterol is at the peak of the cascade that develops into pregnenelone, then to proceeding to become progesterone, and down the line to a variety of other steroid hormones.
One of the major options for progesterone utilization to prevent breast cancer is to balance estrogen. Hormonal estrogen harmony will not occur when a female continues to choose a refined sugar diet, requiring the release of sugar breakdown hormones to metabolize those sugars. The example in the chart is the final step of cortisol or also known as glucocorticosteroids.
When sugar is dominant, progesterone is dramatically depleted and is not able to answer the beck and call of the body to balance estrogen. The process appears to be hampered or stopped in women with cancer histories by the collateral damage of a sugar-induced progesterone deficiency which is needed to balance estrogen. I discuss this scenario in detail in “Dr. Bob’s Guide to Balancing Female Hormones”. We monitor our patient’s diet journal patterns. Sadly, it’s quite common to see most patients journals with massive sugar consumption, which also leads to obesity.
I am repeatedly asked by women who are desperate to get healthy, while having their hand in the cookie jar and desiring the best source of progesterone cream. In theory, applying progesterone to one’s breasts and/or abdomen does make sense to the scientific mind, but it is not getting to the cause of the problem. Over time, the negative feedback mechanism which is the natural system on body function is sabotaged. I do not promote progesterone creams and or bioidentical hormones. I promote a lifestyle of eating organic green vegetables and proteins that do not place a demand on the progesterone pathway. In fact, greens assist in the process of clearing estrogen. One of the best estrogen clearing foods is broccoli.
Creating a drugless plan for optimal female wellness not only includes knowing your urine-estrogen number, but you may consider having your saliva progesterone levels checked also. If your 16 urine-estrogen is elevated in the Estronex Urine test in comparison to the number 2 estrogen, it would be wise to have a saliva female hormone panel completed to create a plan of wellness. From my experience, patients who come into our office with a history of miscarriages, subpar thyroid function and MS tend to have deficient progesterone levels.
Drugless Action Steps
1. Do you use progesterone cream(s)? If yes, have your blood pressure tested both sitting then standing. If the standing blood pressure drops, you potentially are experiencing adrenal fatigue and the inability to create adequate progesterone.
2. Is your cholesterol level above normal? If yes, it may be a signal that you are either under stress and or consuming an abundance of refined sugars, or both.
3. Consider a Female Hormone Panel saliva assessment if you experience tender breasts, heavy menses, a history of miscarriages, low thyroid and/or full body weakness.
4. An Adrenal Stress Index will reveal cortisone levels which are dependent on progesterone.
5. Estronex Urine assessment for Estrogen 2 and 16 helps determine the excess of “bad” or proper “good” estrogen.
