Estrogen metabolism and why it’s SO important to your hormones

@menopausedoctor #menopause #perimenopause #menopausetiktok #perimenopausesymptoms #menopausesupport #menopausedoctor #hormonedoctor #estrogenmetabolism ♬ original sound – Dr. Alexis ND, ♀️Hormones

One topic that I bet your doctor hasn’t discussed with you is estrogen metabolism and how it affects your hormones. And if your doctor has told you about it, then you are lucky to be in such good hands.

A lot of the time estrogen dominance has spoken about is, for women who are menstruating, may be having issues in relation to their menstruation.

This is also very important for women in perimenopause and menopause. There are three different phases of estrogen metabolism.

Phase one, two, and three. In phase one of estrogen metabolism, after estrogen is made and used, it has to be broken down and eliminated. So the first phase uses biochemical pathways to break down estrogen.

One of those pathways is called 4-hydroxy and when it’s used in a high percentage in the body to break down estrogen, it can actually turn estrogen into metabolites that can cause DNA damage and potentially increase risk for cancer. The 2-OH pathway or two hydroxy pathway is the safest and will help to ensure that estrogen gets broken down in a safe way.

In phase two of estrogen metabolism, estrogen goes through a process called methylation that’s facilitated by an enzyme called COMT. Now, if there are any genetic issues or snips with COMT or any methylation issues, there’s a common snap called NTHR where it’s hard to methylate B vitamins that can cause a backup in this phase.

Phase three of estrogen metabolism is when estrogen gets excreted through stool. That’s why it’s important to have at least one bowel movement a day.

Any issue in this process will cause symptoms of PMS, for example, or cause women to have issues with hormone replacement therapy, specifically estrogen. It can also contribute to issues like fibroids and cysts and endometriosis. This is why I am against just giving birth control to every woman who has any type of issue with menstruation or irregular cycles in perimenopause or any symptoms related to that because it’s not fixing the issue.

I test these three phases in my patients, whether they come to me in menopause, perimenopause or pre-menopause when they’re still menstruating, so that I could be targeted with treatment but know exactly what’s going on.

If you want more information about this test, you can go to my website, goldenleafhc.com/shop section. I offer consultation if you want me to review your results with you. You can also give me a call (760) 542-8898 and I’ll answer any questions about it.