Estrogen is not just one hormone, but a class of substances; many things have the same effects on the body as the estrogen the body produces, which is called estradiol. Estrogen has many negative health effects, but it is being promoted by health and pharmaceutical companies as a fertility aid.

It has been theorized that the aging process is tied to poor hormone balance, because symptoms of various hormone deficiencies closely resemble the symptoms of the aging process. Estrogen dominance also causes effects on the body that are associated with aging, so a greater understanding of how to reduce estrogen’s negative impacts can also inhibit the aging process.

Estrogen impairs the functions of cells by making it difficult for them to get the oxygen they need. It disrupts the growth of cells or kills them outright, causing tissues to atrophy as they do during the aging process.

Estrogen is implicated in several stress-related processes, such as hibernation and depression. Healthy organ systems are meant to be affected by estrogen for a very short time, because estrogen deprives cells of oxygen and promotes mitosis. This kind of harmful stimulation, whether from the body’s naturally produced estradiol, or environmental sources like soot or radiation, causes inflammation and eventually cancer.

There are similarities between identified carcinogens and estrogen, but despite the evidence, estrogen itself has not been recognized officially as carcinogenic. 

Estrogen is proven to cause bone loss in dogs, as well as diseases of various organs. In order to cover up the evidence, researchers stopped using dogs and began using rats in an effort to support the estrogen industry. Rats do not have long lifespans, so researchers considered themselves unable to reproduce estrogen’s harmful effects as seen in dogs.

Estrogen can be used to induce miscarriages or abortions by limiting the oxygen supplied to the fetus. This harmful effect also can occur in other bodily tissues exposed to estrogen, including vital organs like the kidneys and liver. This is just one example of the generalized “aging” effect high estrogen levels have on bodily systems.

Despite this, the estrogen industry promotes estrogen as protecting all of the organs it can eventually destroy. These viewpoints are being promoted in the name of profit by those who sell estrogen and pay laboratories to conduct research and publish results which favor estrogen. Medical journals lie about information which has been proven, such as how the ovaries function during different phases.

Estrogen’s effect on the blood vessels, which is considered erroneously to be a benefit, produces a toxic byproduct called nitric oxide that is known to cause several circulatory system diseases. Although estrogen increases blood flow and velocity if measured a certain way, the increased oxygen demand that it promotes means that this blood flow does not help the organs, so estrogen’s net effect on the circulatory system is harmful. Lack of oxygen causes tissue death, and this combined with estrogen’s overstimulating effects on organs can lead to organ failure. Progesterone allows oxygen to be used more efficiently, and prevents estrogen from raising oxygen demands, protecting tissue.

Estrogen’s effects are similar to those of shock because of the effect both conditions have on blood flow. Tissues do not receive enough blood, and collagen is produced, which makes them stiff. This stiffness impairs function, especially in the heart, which is responsible for delivering blood to the rest of the body. Understanding this, it is easy to see the wide destructive impact too much estrogen can have on tissues.

Estrogen also negatively impacts sleep and the metabolism by aggravating many chemical reactions and disrupting body temperature. Cortisol and estrogen levels are highest at night, and older people tend to have an excess of cortisol. Conversely, progesterone levels are low at night.

Changes occur during sleep that can also resemble shock, but studies in rats have shown that these changes are more closely associated with a lack of light. Light is beneficial to cells, and helps prevent them from swelling, improving health.

Progesterone promotes better body temperature and higher metabolism during sleep, improving sleep quality and reducing the shock-like reactions in the body that can occur at night,

Estrogen’s effects extend much farther than just the female reproductive cycle. Estrogen is produced in many animals other than humans, and affects all kinds of cells. Estrogen is heavily associated with stress reactions. Understanding stress will help us explain the nature of the aging process and the roles hormones play in it.

The removal of the pituitary has been shown to positively impact lifespan, because the hormones produced under stress can damage organs, shortening life. But the production of these harmful hormones can be influenced by estrogen. Progesterone protects tissues by preventing estrogen from overstimulating and damaging them. By protecting against the effects of estrogen, progesterone can slow the aging process and prolong health.

Dr. Ray Peat