Myth Busting: Estrogen

Dr. Stacy Sims breaks down the myth that our bodies abruptly stop producing estrogen at menopause:

Contrary to popular belief, you don't just completely stop producing estrogen after menopause. As a woman, you make three types of estrogen over the course of your life: estrone, estradiol and estriol.

Estradiol (E2) is the main female hormone that you make over the course of your reproductive life; this is a form of estrogen that flatlines during menopause. The lack of E2 is the main driver for many issues, such as the increased risk of heart disease, that women face postmenopause Your body increases production of estriol (E3) during pregnancy; the rest of the time, when you're not pregnant, you have only barely detectable trace amounts of E3. After menopause, you primarily make estrone (E1), which is 10-fold less potent than E2. At this point, your ovaries are producing very little estrogen; most of the estrogen you are creating is generated from the adrenal glands and fatty tissue in the form of E1.

So, yes, many of the un-fun symptoms of perimenopause are due to the withdrawal of estradiol.

AND YET.

Our bodies still make estrone, a weaker form of estrogen, yes, and yet we can work WITH our bodies to maximize the benefits of this type of estrogen. It’s just going to take a different mindset and new approach to exercise, nutrition and lifestyle than what we thought and did in our 20s and 30s.

And that’s exciting, right?! We get to try something NEW!

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