Phytoestrogens and Bioidentical Hormones

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Phytoestrogens and Bioidentical Hormones

Since the release of the findings of the Women’s Health Initiative, many companies have taken advantage of the climate of fear surrounding hormone treatment to sell alternative products based on the unproven idea that other forms of estrogen will be safer than the synthetic hormones that were studied in the trial. This idea is based more on the principles of marketing than the principles of science. It's very important to remember that products are not necessarily safe just because they're called “natural” or "Organic".

Phytoestrogen

Phytoestrogen are estrogen in plants. Some women eat specific foods that contain it to get the estrogenic effects. The food most commonly known are soy, beans, peas, lentils, and whole grains and seeds, especially flax seed, rye, and millet, also contain these plant estrogen.

We have relatively little evidence to support claims for the effectiveness of phytoestrogen and even less information about their safety. Alternatives like these are much less likely to be studied in formal research trials than drugs are, but there is some data from both observational and randomized controlled trials. Some studies have shown that eating foods with it provides modest relief of hot flashes,

1. And some studies have found that eating it causes changes in vaginal cells that are similar to the changes caused by taking estrogen and could relieve discomfort.
2. When it comes to safety, there’s even less research to guide us. Women who eat foods containing it may be reassured by the knowledge that people have been eating foods containing phytoestrogens for thousands of years. But the health effects of consuming nonfood phytoestrogens, by taking the phytoestrogen dietary supplements that are now being produced and marketed to women, are not known.

Natural or Bio-identical Hormones (Estrogen)

The kinds of estrogen that we have in our bodies are estriol, estradiol, and estrone. The products that people refer to as “natural” estrogen also contain these hormones. The use of the word “natural” is confusing. Sometimes the term is used because the hormone is plant-derived, but it is misleading to describe these hormone products as natural, because they are synthesized in a laboratory just like the drugs that are called “synthetic” hormones. The real difference is that so-called natural hormones are chemically identical to the estrogens produced in a woman’s body, so some people use the term “bioidentical hormones” instead. The terms “natural” and “bioidentical” often are used to describe the same hormones, but “bioidentical” is the more precise name.
The compounding pharmacies that fill prescriptions for bioidentical hormones purchase the hormones that they use from major pharmaceutical companies, and those companies use the same hormones in their own standard drug products. Estradiol, for example, is contained in many pharmaceutical versions of hormone treatment. This means that women who are seeking natural alternatives because they want to avoid the hormones in the drug companies’ versions of hormone treatment are in fact using many of the same products when they take so-called natural hormones.
There haven’t been large research studies on bioidentical estrogens, but the studies that have been done have shown that they are effective for relieving hot flashes and vaginal dryness.
3. Some alternative medicine proponents claim that they can prevent cardiovascular disease, but there is no valid evidence to support this assertion. There is research, however, showing that bioidentical estrogen may increase the risk of breast cancer, although the evidence is not conclusive.
4. And recent studies have shown that estriol increases the risk of endometrial cancer and the abnormal growth of uterine cells, which can lead to cancer.
5. Bioidentical progesterone, including micronized progesterone, comes in creams and an under-the-tongue form as well as pills. It is promoted to prevent hot flashes, osteoporosis, and even breast cancer, but the only claim that’s supported by evidence is that it relieves hot flashes.
6. The cancer prevention claims are unsupported, and even dangerous. While the oral progestins included in combination estrogen plus progestin hormone treatment protect against endometrial cancer, bioidentical progesterone cream is not well enough absorbed to offer this protection.
7. We also don’t know the effect of bioidentical progesterone on risk of breast cancer, but the oral progestin in hormone treatment has been shown to increase breast cancer risk. In the absence of safety data showing that the risks are different, women are probably best served by assuming that the potential harms of bioidentical hormones will be similar to those of conventional hormone treatments.

Phytohormones

Phytohormones (plant hormones), particularly phytoestrogens, have generated a great deal of interest in the consumer and scientific community for a number of years. Phytoestrogens, or plant estrogens, are very weak estrogens that occur naturally in many foods and herbs. The chemical structure of phytoestrogens is similar but not identical to the estrogens produced by the body.

The body is not able to convert phytoestrogens into estrogen; however, anecdotal evidence indicates there may be benefits from phytoestrogens for women during premenopause because of weak estrogenic-like qualities. Some women report relief from minor symptoms such as hot flashes, anxiety, and irritability.

Types of Phytoestrogens

• Isoflavones
• Flavanols
• Flavones
• Flavanones
• Lignans

Each of these classes contains many categories and subcategories.

• Isoflavones

Isoflavones, plant estrogens found in legumes such as soybeans, have generated the most excitement because it appears they may have estrogenic effects in the body. Studies have already demonstrated eating soy foods can decrease levels of cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), and triglycerides. Animal studies have shown that the isoflavones have a beneficial effect on some cancers. And isoflavones have been shown to work as potent antioxidants and free radical scavengers.

• Finding Phytoestrogens

Not a soy fan? Not to worry. There are plenty of ways to add phytoestrogens to your diet.

Class Sources

• Isoflavones Soy beans, tempeh, tofu, soy milk. Soy sauce is not a significant source of
• Isoflavones and is high in sodium.
• Flavanols Onions, lettuce, tomatoes, red wine, green tea
• Flavones Apples, green tea
• Flavanones Citrus peels
• Lignans Flaxseed or flax flour, lentils, small amounts in garlic, squash, asparagus

Where to Start

"Diet is the best place to start if a woman is interested in adding phytoestrogens," says Steven Krems, M.D., an internist at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital in Marina Del Rey, California. But loading up on supplemental phytoestrogens won't undo the effects of a poor diet, he cautions.

''You can get the beneficial effects from phytoestrogens with very small amounts per day,'' notes Hope Ricciotti, M.D., an OB/GYN at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and associate professor at Harvard Medical School. ''Two to three ounces of tofu or a glass of soy milk [daily] is enough to add 40 to 60 mg of isoflavones to your diet,'' she says.

Popular Supplements

• Along with soy powders and capsules, other popular phytoestrogen supplements include:
• Red clover, a source of isoflavones
• Dong quai or angelica, which contains coumarin, an anti-coagulating agent
• Flaxseed, source of lignans

Some ''women's'' supplements or formulas combine several of these, along with black cohosh, which is heavily marketed as a menopause supplements, but contains no known phytoestrogens.

There's scanty evidence about either the safety or effectiveness of supplemental phytoestrogens, particularly in dosage ranges that go far beyond what we would normally eat in food. And, Dr. Noel Bairey Merz, medical director and endowed chair of the Women's Health Program, Preventative and Rehabilitative Cardiac Center, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, points out, studies done to date show that phytoestrogen supplements produce less impressive results than phytoestrogens found in food. ''We don't know why yet,'' she says. ''It could be the wrong supplement [was studied]. Or it could be a case where a woman doesn't absorb and metabolize phytoestrogens well.''

Claims

With millions of dollars in sales at stake, it's not surprising that hundreds of phytoestrogen products have flooded the market, some of which claim to strengthen bones, sharpen the mind, protect the heart, and lower breast cancer risk. The fact that Japanese women have a high soy diet and lower incidence of breast cancer than other populations is often cited in marketing material for soy products, in particular.

However, the link between a high-soy diet and lower incidence of breast cancer is still conjectural. While soy does appear to lower cholesterol and prevent bone loss, it's not clear how much you need to eat to achieve the beneficial effects. And, preliminary studies suggest that soy or other phytoestrogen supplements--capsules, powders, or other formulas--are not as effective as adding soy from food to your diet.

Although it is known that phytoestrogens have antioxidant effects, reduce inflammation, and bind with estrogen receptors in the body, researchers haven't yet untangled the extent to which phytoestrogens affect the body or how. Studies are underway to measure how certain phytoestrogens influence cardiac function and bone strength, among other things.

How Much

With phytoestrogens, more isn't necessarily better. For example, the average Japanese diet includes 25 to 50 mg of isoflavones a day. Some supplements on the market contain five to ten times that amount. There is no scientific evidence documenting the need for the higher amounts, and some experts worry that overdosing with phytoestrogen supplements could lead to too much estrogenic stimulation in the breasts or uterus.

Cautions

A large amount of anti-nutrients are found in soy. Which means that soy contains plant chemicals and if not removed first by slow cooking or fermentation it can cause serious health problems when too much is consumed.

More soy is not necessarily better as research has not shown a conclusive link between soy and relief of vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause. In one comprehensive study from the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in North Carolina, researchers looked at the effects of soy phytoestrogens on women aged 45 to 55 with menopausal symptoms. This study made the news because the women who took a phytoestrogen-rich soy supplement reported a 50 percent decrease in the severity of their hot flashes. However, the placebo group reported a 35 percent reduction. Furthermore, the study showed only a small reduction in the severity of hot flashes and none on their frequency.

Soy contains five different types of plant chemicals that can be toxic to humans if not removed by a special process. These toxins include phytates, protease inhibitors, genistein, goitrogens and allergens.

Allergens to soy can cause severe allergic reactions in some individuals.

Phytates tightly bind up essential minerals, including zinc, preventing them from being absorbed into the body. Zinc is an important factor for cell functions in the bones, skin, muscles, eyes and kidneys.

Phytochemicals found in soy inhibit the enzymes that digest protein into simple building blocks of amino acids.

Protease inhibitors are what AIDS patients currently take and a good lesson learned the hard way from the use of protease inhibitors is that they inhibit the pancreatic enzymes. Protease inhibitors prevent you from digesting food.

Note that if you are estrogen dominant or taking birth control pills, you already have problems with high copper and low zinc levels. Which means protease found in soy can have adverse effects.

Genistein blocks glucose transportation into cells by inhibiting an enzyme calledl GLUT-1. GLUT-1 is a major glucose transporter that is found in the brain cells, red blood cells and other areas of the body. Its function is to transport glucose into the cells.

Goitrogen is a chemical that latches onto iodine, preventing it from absorbing into the body from the gastrointestinal tract. Iodine is needed to make thyroid hormone.

Research on soy products for the prevention of breast cancer is inconclusive. While a 2001 study showed phytoestrogens in the amount commonly consumed by American women appear to have little effect on the risk of breast cancer, to date, research on the connection between soy products and breast cancer has been inconclusive.

Estrogen Hormones

The Anatomy of Female Psyche has clearly shown us certain lack of female sex hormones (estrogens) in the present women, which makes them ill, demanding, and burdensome for the surrounding people.

So, thanks to the common female hormonal disturbance, they need continual mental and physical external maintenance. Thanks to the female permanent fertility, they need to see the plenty of material wealth around them, regardless of how it burdens other people. Finally, thanks to their permanent fertility, they need to feel faultless and perfect, and because of the disturbance they are way not such. Therefore they need also to improve their appearance by means of cosmetics and fancy dress; therefore they just demand flattery from their milieu.

All those take place because female health is devoid of its natural support (estrogens), which would return women into the true norm, and allow them to enjoy themselves.

In a wonderful way, plant substances acting on female reproductive system, including ones that act like estrogens, female sex hormones, and are called phytoestrogens for this reason occur in the Nature. These plant substances, in particular, can cause natural convertible infertility of women that ought to be the really normal state of female physiology. Among plant those substances there are few ones having steroid structure, and identical to female sex hormones estrone, estriol and estradiol.

There are also plant substances chemically different from female sex hormones but acting like them although thousands times weaker. The latter substances seem me to be of little value for human females as those lacks just proper estrogens. On the contrary, these substances attract much bigger commercial interest because they are found not in commonly consumed cultural food plants, and so one could make money on them. The soy presents an outstanding exception; however, this plant has large associations of growers.

At that, note that there is known no plant substance to term phyto-androgen or phyto-testosterone (one acting like male sexual hormones). There only a couple of herbs able to stimulate production of testosterone (ginseng) or inhibit its conversion (licorice), but both the herbs are rich in phytoestrogens! Thus women appear to be subject to plants and that's why some unclear connection between women and plants is noted in both every-day life and mythology.

• Apollo losing Daphne who is changing to laurel tree
• Heliades mourning over Phaethon's tomb

In particular, Yakshi's were believed to be able to make trees blossom with simple touches of their feet.

In Greek mythology, some group female deities such as Heliades, Hesperides,Dryads, Meliads a. o. are firmly associated with frees.

Also the legend of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon seems me very noteworthy in this regard as it portrays a very beautiful woman (Amytis) missing the vegetation of her native country very much.

So, a quite physical natural cause underlies this cultural phenomenon.

Here is a list of the few plants containing substances just identical to female sex hormones. According to varied sources this group of plants includes

• Palms 

• coconuts (Cocos nucifera),
• dates (Phoenix spp),
• African oil palm fruits (Elaeis guineensis)

• Legumes

• French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris),
• licorice roots (Glycyrrhiza glabra)

• Fruit trees

• pomegranate seeds (Punica granatum),
• apple seeds (Malus sylvesris),

• Other plants

• willow flowers (Salix caprea),
• hops (Humulus lupulus),

It's easy to see that almost all these plants are enough common in the traditional agricultures. Even licorice root presents practically a food plant and is very much appreciated in the Western countries. They also take significant place in cultural traditions varied nations, which clearly connect these plants with femininity and fertility.

So, folklore of the Middle Eastern countries carries interesting mention of effects of the date palm on women. According to the Koran, dates have always been considered beneficial to mothers. So, when Marium (Virgin Mary) had given birth to the Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ) under a palm tree, she heard a voice telling her:

Shake the trunk of the palm tree towards thee: it will drop fresh, ripe dates upon thee. Eat, then, and drink, and let thine eye be gladdened!

The link between the date palm and sexuality/femininity has been imprinted also in some medieval European pictures, of which visual themes, apparently, had come from the Middle East:

Furthermore, ads of foods containing coconut are obviously targeted to women surely owing to phytoestrogens this fruit is rich in! The Bounty chocolate, Raffaello candies and Bacardi and Martini rums can be mentioned in this connection

The most food legumes are known to be rich in phytoestrogens.

And this property of them is reflected in folklore very much. For instance, in the tale of The Princess And the Pea by H. C. Andersen the princess' sides hurt from the pea. It is a metaphor. Her hips hurt because they were wide owing to the action of phytoestrogens of peas she ought to have eaten before for long time.

Finally, remember how the name of the heroine of Grimm Brothers' Cinderella originated:

Besides this, the sisters did her every imaginable injury — they mocked her and emptied her peas and lentils into theashes, so that she was forced to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked till she was weary she had no bed to go to, but had to sleep by the hearth in the cinders. And as on that account she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderella.

The awareness of significance of legumes that ought to be responsible for Cinderella's success in stealing the prince's heart has been lost in the tale.

However, only licorice and French beans contain substances identical to the human (and animal) hormones.

I would like to pick out licorice among all the plants containing steroid phytoestrogens. It contains much phytoestrogens, and displays explicit estrogenic properties. Further, it inhibits conversion of testosterone that is responsible for sex drive of both men and women. In this regard, it's interesting that Hepatitis Central, at one time in Germany, Licorice was a more popular gift between lovers than chocolate as it was reputed to sexually arouse women. It stimulates production of corticoids. Thanks to the latter property licorice retains water in human bodies and was esteemed for that in deserts. In other words, it is as though designed by the Nature to remedy the common female hormonal disturbance that consists in certain lack of hormones of those three groups.

So, it seems to be not casual that licorice is very much appreciated in the Western countries.

I had opportunities to observe the benefits of licorice in women in few minutes after intake, and therefore I highly recommend you this almost food herb as very important for true female health. Of course, you should keep in mind the Side Effects and Warnings.

Apples are connected with femininity and fertility in folklore and mythology of many peoples. So, in Norse mythology goddess Idunn supplies the gods with the apples that grant eternal youth.

According to Greek myths of the Garden of the Hesperides. These nymphs guarded the sacred golden apple tree that grew in the garden. Besides, the garden was Gaia's (the Earth) wedding gift for Hera.

According to well-known myth of the Judgment of Paris, just the apple with the inscription "for the fairest" was the price of the beauty contest between Olympic goddesses Athena, Hera and Aphrodite.

Furthermore, Aphrodite, the goddess of love and female beauty would often help young people in love: Atlanta, a virgin huntress who remained always under arms, used to force her wooers to race before her and if she caught them she would put them to death, but if anybody would survive she would marry him. But Melanion came to the race bringing the golden apples that Aphrodite had given him. He dropped the apples as he was running, and because Atlanta could not help to pick up the fruit she was beaten in the race.

Another plant known to be phytoestrogens rich is pomegranate. It effects on female physiology also have been fixed in traditional cultures. So, according to Greek mythology, Attis a Phrygian god had been conceived by putting a ripe pomegranate (or almond) in the bosom of virgin Nana/Cybele. This myth reflects contraceptive action of phytoestrogens. The menstruation stop was accepted as a symptom of pregnancy.

It's also interesting that in ancient Rome newly wed women wore headdresses made from pomegranate twigs, and its juice was consumed as a remedy for infertility.

Modern researches have revealed that feeding rats, pigs and mice results in very significant decrease of the birth in the populations of those animals (see the article The Effects of Punica granatum on Fertility of Mice)

In addition, like licorice, pomegranates have the property to retain water in human body. This property was used since the earliest times and the fruit was carried by desert caravans for the sake of its thirst-quenching juice. The use of this property of pomegranate is also imprinted in Greek mythology in the famous story of Persephone. According to the story, after Hades (Pluto) abducted Persephone, the people of earth prayed to Zeus to intervene. Zeus released that if humanity died out there would be no one to worship the gods, so he told Hades to release Persephone. However, since Persephone had been following her mothers mourning fast, refusing to eat or drink. Pluto, in sly kindness, offered to let Persephone go, but first tempted her great thirst by offering her pomegranate seeds. Since pomegranate was symbolic of sexual consummation, Persephone’s consent rendered her marriage to him indissoluble.

By the way in Hades' trick we can recognize a reflection of use of pomegranates for increasing female libido, as a kind of love potion.

Besides, it seems possible that just pomegranates were responsible for the power of Libyan Amazons relates how just a few juicy pomegranate seeds were charm enough to bind Persephone to her husband, Hades, and his realm of the Underworld.

However, the action of the plant estrogens can be blocked by cholesterol, the substance similar to estrogen but devoid of its properties that is a part of almost any animal food.

Thus, women should not only consume plants containing substances identical to female hormones, but also not to consume animal food containing the substance mimicking the hormones. In other, words women (as well as men) should adhere to vegetarianism — the naturally intrinsic human way of eating. So, animal food presents one more extravagant useless and even harmful thing women turn out not to need in point of fact.

The transition from the original human vegetarianism to the animal-eating was the crux of the The Fault of Ev

Regulation of Compounding Pharmacies

Current regulations for the compounding pharmacies that prepare and distribute bioidentical hormones were developed when these companies were small businesses, working with a few health care providers in their communities and serving very few consumers. Today, compounding pharmacies represent a significant and growing industry, and some women’s health advocates have pointed out that the old regulations are no longer adequate to protect consumers.

In the fall of 2005, the National Women’s Health Network (NWHN) wrote to the FDA documenting significant problems with the way that compounding pharmacies promote and sell compounded hormones, which are often also marketed as bioidentical hormones. The NWHN is a nonprofit public interest group in Washington, D.C., that does not accept any funding from pharmaceutical or medical device companies. It asserted that women are being misled by unfounded and deceptive safety and efficacy claims about compounded hormones that have not been proven effective or studied for long-term safety. Concerned that the lack of FDA regulation over compounding pharmacies is exposing women to unsafe and ineffective products, the NWHN urged the agency to take steps to make sure that the labels and marketing materials for hormones dispensed by these facilities include the full and accurate information that women need to be able to make an informed decision.

Wyeth, the leading U.S. manufacturer of synthetic hormone treatment, has also written to the FDA. It argued that compounding pharmacies should be subject to the same regulation and oversight as drug companies that sell hormone treatment products. As of spring 2006, both the NWHN and Wyeth were still awaiting FDA action.