For many years, women had limited options for relieving menopausal symptoms.  Those who advocated safer approaches were vindicated when clinical studies confirmed that synthetic estogen-progestin drugs incease risk of breast cancer, stroke, and other diseases.  Fortunately, natural plant-based extracts that are on the market today are superior to anything that has been developed.

The endocrine system, along with the nervous system, represents communication systems in the body.

The endocrine system provides cellular instructions via chemical messengers. Hormones that are produced in the endocrine glands in one part of the body travel through the bloodstream until they encounter special receptors with which they interact to initiate essential biological responses in target tissues.

Natural hormones, the hormones our bodies make, are usually short-lived staying in the bloodstream for only a few minutes, or at most a few hours, just long enough to deliver their message. After the hormone delivers their message, enzymes from the liver break up the hormones into pieces that are then either flushed out as waste, or reused to build other molecules.

Only tiny amounts of hormones, and only a short period of time, is needed for hormones to do their work which is absolutely essential for regulating the different biological processes in the body that can have long lasting effects.

Both the nervous system and the endocrine system maintain the constancy of the “internal milieu” or homeostasis. Endocrine organs produce their hormones according to the dictates of finely regulated feedback, or control systems that are tuned to set points. Set points may be altered by circadian rhythms (24 hour cycles) or seasonal cycles, the environment, the nervous system, and other influences. The endocrine system regulates growth, maturation, reproduction, and even behavior.

As you can see, hormones and the endocrine system can affect all parts of the body. Imbalanced hormones can change cell communications and this can speed up the aging process, which may lead to disease. If a cell cannot receive a message, then it will not be able to function correctly. An imbalance in one hormone will have an effect on other parts of the endocrine system. For example, if a woman's thyroid or adrenal glands are depleted or functioning inadequately, she will likely experience problems with her sexual reproductive organs. The thyroid, the adrenals, and other glands are all affected by the endocrine imbalances.

To achieve a feeling of well-being one must look at thyroid disorders, insulin resistance, and adrenal disorders and must support the Phase I and Phase II pathways in the liver for the hormones to be metabolized. This is where enzymes will play an important part in hormonal balancing.

There are eight different glands located throughout the body that make up he endocrine system. The endocrine system regulates the body's major continuous and prolonged processes, which include reproduction; growth and development; cellular metabolism and energy; blood balance of nutrients; electrolytes and water; and the mobilization of body defenses against stressors (physical and mental resources). The glands responsible are the ovaries (testes, in men), adrenals, pancreatic islets, thyroid, parathyroid, pineal, pituitary, and hypothalamus (which is also part of the nervous system). Besides the eight glands mentioned above there are hormone-producing cells in the tissues of the small intestine, heart, kidneys, and stomach.

Progesterone and Women

Nature has given progesterone to men and women alike to balance and offset the powerful effects of estrogen. Some of the most common concerns of aging women are weight gain, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and migraines. For other women, even more debilitating conditions such as cancer, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, and osteoporosis now play a predominant role in their lives.

As men age, complaints of weight gain, loss of libido, and prostate enlargement top their list of health concerns. Many physicians and scientists are becoming more aware of a common link between these symptoms and conditions. That common link is often an imbalance between two sex hormones, progesterone and estrogen.

Estrogen dominance is really progesterone deficiency. The term “estrogen dominance” can be confusing at times because it is less related to the amount of circulating estrogen and more related to the ratio of estrogen to progesterone in the body. More relevant is that the estrogen levels drop by only approximately 40% at menopause while progesterone levels plummet by approximately 90% from premenopausal levels. It is the relative loss of progesterone that causes the majority of symptoms termed estrogen dominance.

This condition is common in women during the reproductive years, but tends to be particularly symptomatic for women in the peri-menopausal and menopausal years. Estrogen dominance is worse in women not ovulating, women being exposed to a higher estrogenic environment, or women not metabolizing estrogens correctly. Estrogen dominance is a term coined by John Lee, M.D. in the book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause.

Both estrogen and progesterone are necessary in the female cycle. Many women have an imbalance of these hormones, especially insufficient levels of progesterone to counter excessive estrogen. Progesterone is a hormone important to a number of body functions. During times of stress or conditions of chronic adrenal hyper-stimulation, progesterone is capable of being converted into the stress hormone cortisol.

The symptoms of progesterone deficiency and estrogen dominance are:

Anxiety
Irritability
Hypersensitivity
Nervousness
Restless sleep
Weight gain
Headaches/migraines
Breast tenderness
Decreased libido
Heavy periods
Irregular menstrual cycles
Mood swings
Uterine fibroids

From the age 30 on up diet, exercise, eating more organic foods, drinking pure water, eliminating exposure to toxic materials that you come into contact with daily, plus detoxification for a healthy, leaner body, will help you live a more productinve, active, and happy life.