High estrogen levels can negatively impact reproductive health, have unpleasant symptoms, and escalate the risk of certain diseases [6]. Elevated estrogen levels in women have been linked to conditions such as polyps, fibroids, PCOS, endometriosis pain, and ovarian tumors [1].
Estrogen helps protect the heart from disease, potentially by maintaining higher levels of good cholesterol, called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), in your blood. Lower estrogen levels, especially during menopause, can increase your risk of developing heart disease.
Estrogen levels that are too high or cause a hormone imbalance can cause problems. High estrogen can disrupt reproductive processes, cause unpleasant symptoms and increase your risk of certain conditions.
Body fat: Obesity or excess of body fat can lead to estrogen dominance. These fat tissues store estrogen in the bloodstream, which shoots their levels to cause adverse health issues. Not only this, the fat tissues have the ability to synthesize estrogen from other hormones of the body too.
Estrogen is a hormone that play a role in both the male and female reproductive systems. In females, it contributes to reproductive and breast health, among other functions. Estrogen contributes to cognitive health , bone health, the function of the cardiovascular system , and other essential bodily processes.
Mood swings: Estrogen dominance can cause a range of mood swings, anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. Decreased sex drive: As the levels of estrogen hormone rises, one may notice a dip in their sexual drive. Severe headaches or migraines: Headaches during the menstrual cycles are normal and everyone experiences it.
When the ovaries start to produce and release (secrete) estrogen, fat in the connective tissue starts to collect. This causes the breasts to enlarge.
Side effects of oestrogen
bloating. breast tenderness or swelling. swelling in other parts of the body. feeling sick.
Estrogen promotes the storage of fat for healthy reproductive years. When estrogen is balanced, the right amount of fat helps carry out female reproductive functions. However, when there's too little or too much estrogen, weight gain often results.
Estrogen levels peak in the mid- to late 20s in women and then decline by 50% by 50 years of age and dramatically decrease further after menopause.
Estrogen appears to aid in the prevention of skin aging in several ways. This reproductive hormone prevents a decrease in skin collagen in postmenopausal women; topical and systemic estrogen therapy can increase the skin collagen content and therefore maintain skin thickness.
Your skin also becomes thinner, because the levels of collagen and elastin also dip along with estrogen. The hormone estrogen is responsible for making skin look younger due to the hyaluronic acid it produces. Estrogen not only affects your skin but also your muscle mass, metabolism, and energy levels.
“High-estradiol women were considered significantly more physically attractive by themselves and others,” Durante and colleagues wrote. The high-estrogen women also reported more sexual behavior -- especially outside of a relationship, although it was not linked to one-night stands.
How Estrogen Replacement Therapy Can Help with Belly Fat During Menopause. Recent studies show that menopausal women on hormone therapy tend to have less body fat, especially visceral belly fat. Because estrogen affects how your body distributes fat, low estrogen levels can contribute to gaining fat in your belly area.
Many women also notice an increase in belly fat as they get older — even if they aren't gaining weight. This is likely due to a decreasing level of estrogen, which appears to influence where fat is distributed in the body.
“Women also become more estrogen-dominant as we move into perimenopause and beyond. Estrogen dominance promotes insulin resistance, which causes the belly fat build-up,” she says.
In men, high estrogen can show up as poor sperm quality, breast enlargement, and erectile dysfunction. In women, the main symptoms can include: premenstrual moodiness, breast tenderness, heavy menstruation, and fibroids or polyps.
Fatigue
Unfortunately, estrogen dominance can cause fatigue. This symptom can occur whether or not you have insomnia. If you experience persistent tiredness or feel more drained of energy than usual, talk to your doctor about being tested for hormonal issues.
Fluctuating levels of estrogen and testosterone, which are considered sex hormones, may play a role in how much anxiety you experience. Changing levels of these hormones can affect your mood. This is why anxiety sometimes peaks during times of hormonal change such as puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause.
As you reach the age of 40 years and approach perimenopause, hormonal changes will cause changes to your breasts. Besides noting changes in your breasts' size, shape, and elasticity, you might also notice more bumps and lumps. Aging comes with an increased risk of breast cancer.
Estrogen helps make women curvier than men by making their pelvis and hips wider, and their breast grow. Estrogen is part of your menstrual cycle, helps you get pregnant, and plays a role in helping you develop bones and grow hair. It also helps regulate your moods and impacts your brain development and structure.
The breasts can enlarge after menopause due to the hormone oestrogen levels going down. When the breasts go through an " involution " process, the milk glands shut down, and the tissue is replaced with fat.
While estrogen likely won't reverse or erase signs of aging, it may offer some protection against wrinkles and other common skin concerns in menopausal women.