Hi Breast growers,

This is one of the best articles explaining estrogen I've read, it's quoting Christine Horner M.D., From her book Walking The Warrior Goddess. She must be a car enthusiast-

To understand the estrogen pathway better, lets use the analogy of a car ride. Your trip begins in the ovaries where estrogen is made and then is released into the blood.....

Please take a few minutes to read the article, it's well worth your time to better understand the whole process, even if your an expert you'll appreciate the car ride analogy.

http://www.womenswellnessconsulting.com/pro_active_protocol/estrogen_101/index.html

As we take our car ride:

To understand the estrogen pathway better, lets use the analogy of a car ride. Your trip begins in the ovaries where estrogen is made and then is released into the blood. The blood vessels are like highways and estrogen flows through these blood vessel highways to get to its target destinations.

So if you didn't read the article yet!

As Dr. Horner mentioned, estrogen (and other hormones) that are bound to SHBG are in the "carpool lane" and cannot make random exits from the bloodstream. Only "free" (unbound) estrogen can roam through various tissues of the body searching for estrogen receptor sites to lock on to. In terms of our risk for breast cancer, it is only the free estrogen that concerns us. However, there is more to the story.

(sounds a lot like free testosterone trying to aromatize)

Flooding with E!

You may have heard of a condition referred to as "Estrogen Dominance". This is where the body is flooded with higher than necessary levels of estrogens, which might be produced by your own body, or come from a toxic source, xenoestrogens. Usually it is a combination of both.

In addition to the deleterious effects we have already discussed in regards to excess estrogen in the body, there is now a complicating factor. High levels of estrogen in the body trigger the release of sex hormone-binding globulin, as the body tries to maintain balance by inactivating some of the excess estrogen. But, at the same time the estrogen is being inactivated, the release of high amounts of SHBG causes other important hormones to become bound and inactive as well.

http://www.womenswellnessconsulting.com/pro_active_protocol/estrogen_101/index.html

Estrogen, so much more to talk about if anybody's interested.

http://www.womenswellnessconsulting.com/pro_active_protocol/estrogen_101/index.html

Estrogen, so much more to talk about if anybody's interested.

Wow! What great piece! I finally know a little about estradiol, estriol, and (a new one for me) estrone.

So, which of these three estrogens do the phyto-estrogens mimic. I'm thinking estradiol, which turns on breast tissue growth. Right?

I mentioned to my wife that taking PM herself might be beneficial (e.g., lower breast cancer risk). Does anyone's bio-female spouse/partner take PM? So far, my wife is skeptical despite its obvious affects on me.

CK

That's so cool,

You guys could be the first Bio-Couple, to ease her mind, PM was first discovered in 1939, you already know all the benefits.

Estradiol is definitely the strongest, Estriol is the most abundant but also the weakest and Estrone is the least abundant, and is also known to be a carcinogen for human females as well as cause breast tenderness or pain, nausea, headache, hypertension, and leg cramps.

But there is a fourth- Another type of estrogen called estetrol (E4) is produced only during pregnancy. All of the different forms of estrogen are synthesized from androgens, specifically testosterone and androstenedione, by the enzyme aromatase.

Great article, thanks LA.

One question, does this mean we should introduce progesterone cream into our regimen? When I was doing non PM NBE I used progesterone cream for about 3-4 days once a month to mimic the female cycle, based on some research I had done, but didn't see any positive effects from it, and stopped. Since I am now ramping up PM, should I also introduce natural progesterone cream into my regimin?

Lisa

Lisa, While I don't have the depth of knowledge that dear Lotus has, I do remember the PG argument going round on this board many times in the past. While it seems to me that pg makes sense, there has been a lot of controversy regarding its usefulness in bio males. One member here, now gone, but once highly regarded, said " PG stops NBE dead in its tracks"
Personally, since from what I have read pg is important in filling out shape in pregnant women, I ascribe to the theory that it may be good for males to use to increase fullness once a certain size has been reached. I have experimented with using it myself for just that purpose, but not enough to be able to vouch for it.
I hope this helps, sweetheart.

Nice article, thanks Lotus.

Thanks LL, SR, Peggy!

I added PC when I switched to PM, which at time was 3000 mg daily. I understood it as a starter to shape the breasts, so did help?, maybe. But after doing more research about it and found out the potential risk, (especially because of my age bracket) decided it wasn't worth the risk.

Lotus, in "your" article they say that Estriol is quite safe and has a major anticancer role. However in the following article they say the opposite:

Is it true that estriol or other human estrogens are safe in terms of cancer risk? In Europe, conventional physicians commonly prescribe estriol for menopausal symptoms. Because estriol is quite a weak estrogen, physicians thought that there was no need to add a progestin, as is done with other estrogens, to protect the uterus. Whoops. Studies show that estriol, like other estrogens, increases the risk of endometrial cancer and endometrial hyperplasia (abnormal growth of uterine cells).

The claim that estriol decreases breast cancer risk is based entirely on a theory described decades ago by one Henry M. Lemon, who thought that estriol could prevent and treat breast cancer. Lemon published a review article in which he described giving estriol to 24 women with breast cancer. Two women developed endometrial hyperplasia (a precursor to endometrial cancer), and six women developed metastases. That's right: one quarter of those treated with estriol saw their cancers spread to other locations.

http://nwhn.org/harmless-hormones-bah-humbug

What do you think about that?

Peggy,

Listed below you'll find opposing views, not just based on one research,

Even from DR. Lemon -
Dr. Lemon subsequently devoted his medical career to researching the benefits of estriol as a safe hormone replacement and as a breast cancer preventative.

http://theseventhwoman.org/hormones-and-breast-health.html
http://www.drjohntafel.com/?page_id=399
____________________________________
http://www.natural-progesterone-advisory-network.com/less-estriol-more-cancer/
Mention of Henry Lemon's theory
____________________________________
And finally from Harvard,
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/What-are-bioidentical-hormones.htm

I think you'll find opposing arguments or in some cases one sided ones


I listed the article for information purposes, I'm glad your finding out more info!