DISCLAIMER: THIS PAGE CONTAINS A GENERAL EDUCATIONAL DISCUSSION ON THE ABOVE TOPIC. IT IS NOT HEALTH ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS SUCH. YOU SHOULD NEVER RELY UPON THE INFORMATION GIVEN HERE. YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES MAY WELL REQUIRE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT APPROACH. YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES IN YOUR MEDICATIONS, DIET, ACTIVITY, LIFESTYLE, ETC. WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING A LICENSED PHYSICIAN IN YOUR AREA.
Women have a lower rate of heart disease than men. When women do get heart disease, it generally occurs after menopause, when their bodies stop producing estrogen. So it seems that estrogen may protect against heart disease.
In fact, estrogen does lower the level of bad cholesterol in the body as well as raise the level of good cholesterol in the body. In addition, it has a direct effect on the blood vessels to improve the flow of blood through them and protects against blood clotting. It also has antioxidant properties which also help prevent heart disease.
Post-menopausal estrogen also protects against osteoporosis which is a significant cause of disease and death in elderly women.
Despite the aforementioned beneficial effects, studies have shown that postmenopausal hormonal therapy with natural estrogen does not reduce the risk of heart attacks or dying in healthy women or in women who have already developed coronary artery disease. In fact, natural estrogen may increase the likelihood of vascular problems.
Two additional caveats need to be kept in mind. First, estrogen all by itself can cause cancer of the uterus. Women who have not had their uterus removed (a hysterectomy) need to take a progesterone hormone along with the estrogen which offsets this increased risk of cancer. The addition of progesterone does not significantly interfere with estrogen's beneficial effects on the heart. Unfortunately, the addition of progesterone can lead to vaginal bleeding.
The second warning concerns the risk of breast cancer in estrogen users. While some controversy remains, many studies do show an increased risk of breast cancer in women who use estrogens and this effect is not blocked by the addition of progesterone. Overall though, the reduction in deaths from cardiovascular disease in estrogen users is much greater than the increase in breast cancer deaths and overall, women who use estrogens appear to live longer.
Raloxifene (Evista) is a synthetic "designer" estrogen. It appears to have beneficial effects similar to estrogen in lowering the level of the bad LDL cholesterol, favorably modifying other cardiac risk factors, and protecting against osteoporosis. It has the opposite effect of estrogen on the uterus and breasts. It does not cause vaginal bleeding or breast tenderness and is not believed to promote uterine or breast cancer. Clinical studies of whether it will do a better job than natural estrogen of protecting against heart disease are ongoing.
Phytoestrogens are naturally occuring estrogens found in plants. They are chemically similar to the estrogen produced by humans and have similar beneficial effects. Phyoestrogens are a subcategory of substances known as flavenoids or polyphenols
There are two main types of phytoestrogens: isoflavones (flavonones and chalones) and lignans.
Isoflavones include such chemicals as biochanin A, genistein, formononetin and daidzein. These are found in soy products such as soybeans, tofu, and miso soup. They are also found in tea, cereals, legumes, nuts, grains, rice, onions and broccoli and fruits such as apples, cranberries, and strawberries. Bacteria that live in the human large intestine also produce isoflavones (they convert dietary lignans matairesinol and secoisolariciresinol to enterolactone and enterodiol).
(-)epicatechin is a flavenoid with antioxidant properties found in dark chocolate . But enthusiasm for dark chocolate as a health food must be tempered the fact that chocolate also has a lot of saturated fat and calories.
Like human estrogen, isoflavones lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, have antioxidant effects and improve the flow of blood through blood vessels. It has been theorized that they may prevent the development of acute coronary events. However, the one study done of phytoestrogens showed that they do not reduce of cardiac disease. Like other estrogens they may also protect against osteoprosis but unlike other estrogens, they may not increase the risk of cancer.
Other categories of plant phytoestrogens include lignans (found in oils seeds including linseed and flax seed, nuts, cereal bran, whole cereals, seaweed, grains, rice, vegetables, legumes, fruits, berries, tea and coffee), coumestans and resorcylic acid lactones (from fungi).
Resveratrol is a phytoestrogen found in grapes and wine that acts as an antioxidant. Resveratrol has also been shown to increase the lifespan of yeast, worms and fruit flies. This seems to be due to an effect on genes that affect logevity rather tha its antioxidant effetct.
The resveratrol in red wine explain why the French people have a low incidence of heart disease despite their high fat diet.
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