Estrogen levels decide heart disease in women. Low levels of estrogen cause the heart to atrophy and weaken, causes heart palpitations, and shortness of breath but that doesn’t mean you’re having a heart attack. One of my colleagues sent me this article that shows the blatant disconnect between what causes a problem (heart disease) and how to address it that actually fixes the problem. I’ve taken excerpts and commented on them for clarification: “When you think of menopause, hot flashes, insomnia, and night sweats probably come to mind first. Heart disease may not be high on your list of health concerns, but perhaps it should be. Heart disease is the top killer, and a woman’s risk of heart disease increases dramatically around the time she goes through menopause — for most women this is between ages 50 to 54. During menopause, levels of the primary female hormone estrogen in a woman’s body drop significantly...” Moxie: This is the cause: a significant drop in estrogen. “High blood pressure: When estrogen levels drop, your heart and blood vessels become stiff and less elastic. Because of these changes, your blood pressure tends to rise. Elevated blood pressure can place added strain on the heart…” Moxie: This happens when estrogen levels drop. That’s why younger women don’t get high blood pressure. “High cholesterol: Lack of estrogen also can cause detrimental changes in your cholesterol and blood fats. Your good cholesterol (HDL) may go down, and your bad cholesterol (LDL) may go up, which increases your risk of heart attacks and dying of heart disease, said Dr. Foody. Triglycerides, another kind of fat in the blood, also increase from a lack of estrogen…” Moxie: Chol-esterol is one of hundreds of estrogens that run through our body wrecking havoc when estrogen gets too low. Restore estrogen and cholesterol calms down, then there’s no need to take meds to treat cholesterol issues that don’t exist due to estrogen deficiency. “ Diabetes: When women go through menopause, they can also become more resistant to insulin, the hormone needed to convert blood sugar and starches into energy for cells to use…” Moxie: Estrogen levels decide if a woman will be resistant to insulin no matter what her age. Type II Diabetes is easy to reverse when estrogen is restored to healthy levels. There is not better way to combat and prevent insulin resistance then making sure estrogen was at reproductive levels. “Atrial fibrillation: Women also may see an increase in abnormal heart rhythms, or atrial fibrillation (afib), around the time they go through menopause…” Moxie: Not many physicians would make the link of low estrogen and heart palpitations but in several hundred patients who increased their estrogen to healthy reproductive levels, never had another heart palpitation. Young women don’t have heart palpitations. Ask yourself why. “Weight gain: Estrogen affects where fat is stored and how it is burned…” Moxie: This is so true. The lower the estrogen, the fatter the gut. Women store fat in the gut and upper arms when estrogen gets too low, no matter how old a woman is. Low estrogen tells the female brain she’s no longer in a state of reproduction so her body sends out signals to the male species, by way of shoulder-waist-hip ratio, that she is too old or has already had her allotment of two children, and she’s now “out of the game”. Women will NEVER lose that last 10 to 15 pooch belly weight as long as her estrogen levels are telling her brain she’s too old to have kids. Women with healthy levels of estrogen have flat bellies; women with low estrogen have fat bellies. “Menopause can cause women’s metabolism to slow, which contributes to weight gain. This can put stress on your heart and increase your risk of heart disease…” Moxie: Menopause is when menstrual bleeding stops, it’s not a time period, that would be the Climacteric. When estrogen gets too low, not matter what her age; a woman will go into menopause and experience all the symptoms of the Climacteric including weight gain and the other “menopausal” health risks. Estrogen levels also affect how much sugar a woman craves and how she sleeps. The less sleep a woman gets at night will determine how much sugar she will crave the next day. “Heart disease in menopause is preventable. Menopause is an important time to take good care of yourself and your heart…” Moxie: Heart disease is only preventable if estrogen is at healthy levels. As long as low estrogen is telling the brain of the woman she is old and needs to make way for the next generation, she will not only be susceptible to heart disease, but all the other old lady diseases women get when their estrogen is in the tank. “If women eat a healthy, nutritious diet, monitor for weight gain, exercise and quit smoking, they can lower their risk of heart disease even as they age…” Moxie: Easier said than done. When a woman’s estrogen is low she craves unhealthy foods such as sugars, candy, bad carbs, greasy and comfort foods. She has absolutely no energy, motivation, or desire to exercise, and with such an increase of anxiety due to low estrogen, good luck quitting smoking. The parts of the article I have a difficult time with is the fact the solutions offered do not address declining estrogen, which is what they said to be the problem in the beginning of the article. Isn’t the goal to address the root cause of the risk for heart disease? #EstrogenRevolution #MenopauseMoxie
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 18:32:14 +0000
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