A great deal of people, both in the general public and in medical fields, believe that menopause strictly occurs when the ovaries no longer contain egg cells—even when this notion has already been disproved. Treatments of ovaries with radiation, which disrupts their ability to ovulate, has been shown to make them produce more estrogen. However, ovulation can’t be noted merely by measuring a woman’s hormone levels.

One common hypothesis of aging’s causes has concerned brain cell death. Although this theory is incorrect, cell death itself does contribute to the aging process, by affecting all kinds of cells in the body. This includes the brain and the skin, which both produce steroid hormones. People have believed for a very long time that cells can only divide a certain number of times, and then die. However, the body’s conditions and the way its systems interact with each cell has a greater impact on cell health than merely “using up” divisions.

Organisms that become sexually mature at an earlier age are more likely to die earlier. High estrogen levels are known to make puberty happen earlier, and estrogen also contributes to many health problems later in life, including cancer, heart disease, and strokes. Because estrogen can destroy various parts of the nerve system that are responsible for regulating the body, it can be said to age the nervous system, thereby causing problems in other organ systems.

When menopause begins, its symptoms typically coincide with the body no longer being able to make progesterone, while still being able to make estrogen. Because this estrogen is no longer being balanced by progesterone, there comes to be too much of it in the body. When there is no progesterone in the body, cortisol can also cause bone loss almost immediately. This bone loss is also accelerated by estrogen’s negative effects on the pituitary and thyroid, but it can be stopped by supplementing the thyroid.

When nerves in the brain are exposed to too much estrogen, the pituitary gland produces LH and FSH, hormones associated with menopause. These hormones are known to cause infertility; young animals’ ovaries unexposed to large amounts of estrogen remain fertile even when put into older animals.

Cortisol, estrogen, and the neurotransmitters they produce all overstimulate cells and cause organ failure and infertility. Progesterone inhibits the actions of estrogen and cortisol, preventing these effects.

Estrogen’s effects are similar to those observed in people who are in shock, and shock itself causes the production of more estrogen. Estrogen also can overstimulate the adrenal glands, causing hirsutism. The cell death caused by estrogen has led to memory loss in animals; it has been known to cause miscarriages, induce abortions, and age the skin as well. Estrogen also increases the likelihood of seizures.

Estrogen is often believed to help with the lethargy typically associated with aging, but the brain stimulation it induces is very similar to cocaine; that there are safer alternatives to combat fatigue.

Progesterone deficiency has many causes and sources. Free radicals, adrenal hormones, estrogen, cortisol, and bad cholesterol can all disrupt the production of progesterone, as well as contributing to higher estrogen levels. The production of these substances can be traced back to stress, and when the body is stressed, progesterone stops being made. In this way, things that cause a progesterone deficit can lead to cell death.

Estrogen levels can be lowered by changing one’s diet: raw carrots can be eaten to minimize toxin absorption. Penicillin lowers estrogen levels and raises progesterone levels. The body also produces more progesterone when it is exposed to light, including natural sunlight or red light. 

The onset of menopause can be delayed by preventing over stimulation of nerves in the hypothalamus by estrogen. Progesterone’s effects in controlling estrogen suggest that countering estrogen’s dominance may also be able to prevent more general aging—by avoiding iron and unsaturated fats, and with a high progesterone intake, it is easy to prevent estrogen dominance.

 See Dr. Ray Peat for more