ESTRADIOL MANAGEMENT, MONITORING AND REDUCTION
Most men and their doctors overlook estrogen and the importance it has in the male body, but with an alarming amount of research on it it’s time to start taking your estrogen, and more importantly your estradiol much more seriously. Below you will learn about the benefits and negatives of this hormone and how it relates to men along with what IMT does to make sure your covered. We got your back!
Even though androgens are the major sex steroids in men, their primacy in regulating the male skeletal remodeling system has been increasingly in question. Every day more direct and indirect evidence emerges suggesting that estrogens may also play a major role in male skeletal health. Recent data suggests that a threshold level of bioavailable estradiol is needed to prevent bone loss, and with aging an increasing percentage of aging men begin to fall below this level. The testes account for, at most, 15% of circulating estrogens in the male; the remaining 85% comes from peripheral aromatization of androgen precursors in different tissues, including bone.
Studies have demonstrated that estrogens may be at least as important as, if not more important, than androgens for maintenance of skeletal health in men.(8–10)
Objective
Strenuous training commonly results in amenorrhea, which contributes to bone loss in some female collegiate athletes. However, the impact of athletic training on endocrine function and bone mineral density (BMD) in male collegiate athletes is less well understood. The objective of the study was to investigate the specific endocrine determinants of BMD in male collegiate runners and wrestlers, including the potential impact of gonadal steroid levels.
Results
Free and total estradiol levels were important positive determinants of BMD. In contrast, total and free testosterone levels were not significant predictors of BMD at any skeletal site (except for free testosterone at the radius). In addition, fat-free mass, % ideal body weight, total body weight, body mass index (BMI), and hours per week of resistance training were positive predictors of BMD. VO2 max was a negative predictor of BMD. Mean BMD was higher at all skeletal sites in the wrestlers compared to the runners and a comparison group (golfers).
Estradiol Levels Predict Bone Mineral Density in Male Collegiate Athletes: A Pilot Study
WHAT DOES ALL THAT MEAN IN ENGLISH?
Men make estrogen by converting testosterone into it. This is done via the aromatase enzyme. So if you do not have enough testosterone in your body then there is a good chance you do not have enough estrogen and more importantly estradiol. Normalizing your testosterone levels should bring your estradiol levels up so they can do their duty of supporting brain function, sex drive and skeletal health. This is a crucial hormone to test within 12 weeks of starting your program to see if it falls within the proper range, if not the situation needs to be addressed and your program needs to be titrated in order to get you dialed in.
WHAT IF I MAKE TOO MUCH ESTROGEN?
This can be a big problem. Some men turn more of their testosterone into estrogen than others. This can be due to many factors including body-fat %, age and testosterone application. That nasty aromatase enzyme hangs out in dense lipid cells or fat cells so those with more fat cells will have higher chance of converting more of their T to estrogen. The worst part of this snowballing process is that means you also have less testosterone to play with! Testosterone is the raw material for estrogen so the more you convert to estrogen the further your T levels will drop. Compounding this problem is the realization that even more important than the total T or estrogen levels in blood, is the ratio. If the testosterone to estrogen ratio isn’t balanced correctly the actual amount in the blood will not make much of a difference.
WHAT ARE THE DANGERS OF HIGH ESTROGEN?
YOUR RISK OF STROKE DOUBLES
In a study published just last year, blood levels of estradiol (a potent estrogen) were measured in a group of 2,197 men aged 71 to 93 years of age. Adjustment for age, hypertension, diabetes, adiposity, cholesterol, atrial fibrillation, and other characteristics were made. During the course of follow-up, men with the highest blood levels of estradiol had a 2.2-fold greater risk of stroke compared with those whose estradiol levels were lower.
HEART ATTACK VICTIMS HAVE HIGHER ESTRADIOL
A recent study published the findings on men who had suffered acute heart attack presently or in the past in contrast to men with normal coronary arteries. The men who had suffered acute heart attack had much higher levels of estradiol.
BENIGN PROSTATE ENLARGEMENT
It was once thought that testosterone was the black sheep of the family when it came to BPH. A study that turned the medical field upside down for 70 years claimed that testosterone was responsible for BPH and the subsequent prostate cancer it can turn into was finally laid to rest in 2008 when Dr. Morgentaler presented “shifting the paradigm of testosterone and prostate cancer”. Morgantaler proposed that testosterone was not to blame and set up a small-scale study giving men with prostate cancer testosterone injections. Morgantaler argued that not only was testosterone not responsible but it could possibly reduce our risk. Later in 2012 a large-scale study was performed that agreed with him concluding testosterone was not to blame in regards to prostate cancer and it may even help in early detection of this man killing disease. Many believe it was the culprit the entire time.
THAT'S NOT ALL
There are endless amounts of very serious consequences for long-term estradiol elevation in men and even have other side effects that may not be as severe but still certainly nothing we would expect you put up with such as:
- Acne
- Bloating
- Sleepiness
- Hot flashes
- Poor Concentration
WHAT DOES IMT DO TO ASSESS AND MITIGATE ESTROGEN/ESTRADIOL CONCERNS FOR THEIR PATIENTS?
The main priority is monitoring your lab work, IMT will guide you through the correct intervals for estradiol testing (along with all the other crucial hormones) and immediately submit your diagnostics to the designated physician for assessment. There are a many different ways IMT can reduce estradiol in men who show elevation ranging from aromatase inhibitors like anastrozole to the correction of your methylation cycle.
HOW DOES AN AROMATASE INHIBITOR WORK?
Aromatase Inhibitors or AI's, work by attaching itself to the aromatase enzyme, prohibiting it from converting your testosterone into estrogen. It is crucial to your testosterone replacement program that you get your E2 (estradiol) dialed in. If you suppress too much of your E2 then it can reduce libido, cause headaches and make your joints achey and painful. If your estradiol gets too high it can also decrease your libido and even bring on acne and water retention.
Say so long to estrogen side effects, we specialize in helping our clients dial in their E2 so they can reap all the benefits of testosterone replacement. Through symptomology and lab work diagnostics we will make sure your E2 gets titrated is that it is in optimal range.
Don't let the negative effects of high estrogen ruin your testosterone replacement results, call the specialist's.
Get on-line, or pick up the phone, and get with IncreaseMyT today. the convenient, affordable way to revitalize your life.