(ES-truh-jin BLAH-ker) A substance that keeps cells from making or using estrogen (a hormone that plays a role in female sex characteristics, the menstrual cycle, and pregnancy). Estrogen blockers may stop some cancer cells from growing and are used to prevent and treat breast cancer.
Medicines that stop the body from making estrogen
Aromatase inhibitors are medicines that reduce the amount of estrogen in the body. This medicine deprives breast cancer cells of the hormones they need to grow. In women, aromatase inhibitors are only used in those who have gone through menopause.
What are the risks and side effects of aromatase inhibitors? The most common side effects of AIs are symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. These drugs can also cause muscle and joint pain. This side effect can be serious enough to cause some women to stop taking the drugs.
However, in certain situations, where estrogen levels are extremely high, or men are struggling with erectile dysfunction, infertility or gynecomastia—this treatment is a great solution. Estrogen blockers can help you regain hormonal balance and to get back to feeling like yourself.
Antiestrogens include selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) like tamoxifen, clomifene, and raloxifene, the ER silent antagonist and selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) fulvestrant, aromatase inhibitors (AIs) like anastrozole, and antigonadotropins including androgens/anabolic steroids, progestogens, ...
Taking an estrogen blocker will decrease Estrogen levels while increasing testosterone levels. A higher testosterone state will facilitate fat elimination. Once excessive body fat has been eliminated, the estrogen blocker can be stopped.
With proper medical supervision, estrogen blockers can have meaningful benefits, including increasing testosterone and even reversing infertility. They're also used (again, with a prescription) to help fight breast cancer.
Menopausal symptoms
You may start your menopause when you begin hormone therapy. This could be temporary or permanent. Your periods will stop if you are taking a luteinising hormone (LH) blocker. Your periods may stop or become lighter if you are taking tamoxifen.
However, hormone-reducing therapies may cause weight gain in certain subsets of women because they counteract the effects of estrogen, which helps suppress the activity of an enzyme called LPL that pulls fat into cells.
High estrogen levels can cause symptoms such as irregular or heavy periods, weight gain, fatigue, and fibroids in females. In males, they can cause breast tissue growth, erectile dysfunction, and infertility.
A study has found that postmenopausal women who stop taking hormonal therapy early or skip doses are much more likely to have a breast cancer recurrence than women who take hormonal therapy as prescribed.
Taking hormone therapy such as tamoxifen, anastrozole (Arimidex), exemestane (Aromasin) or letrozole (Femara) can cause hair thinning. This is usually mild and might only be for a short time. However, in some cases it can continue until treatment ends, which may be many years.
The first changes you will probably notice are that your skin will become a bit drier and thinner. Your pores will become smaller and there will be less oil production. You may become more prone to bruising or cuts and in the first few weeks you'll notice that the odors of your sweat and urine will change.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study involving postmenopausal, overweight, and obese women who took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D daily for a year found that those whose vitamin D blood levels increased the most had the greatest reductions in blood estrogens, which are a known risk factor for breast cancer.
“Drinking caffeine can increase estrogen levels in women, sometimes leading to an estrogen dominant state,” says Odelia Lewis, MD, a medical contributor to ABC News Medical Unit. “Estrogen dominance is associated with premenstrual syndrome, heavy periods, fibrocystic breasts, and even certain breast cancers.
What foods cause high estrogen? Foods that reportedly increase estrogen include flax seeds, soybean products, chocolate, fruit, nuts, chickpeas, and legumes. Before we delve into why these foods are said to increase estrogen, we need to look at two important definitions; phytoestrogens and lignans.
Body fat: Fat tissue (adipose tissue) secretes estrogen. Having a high percentage of body fat can lead to high estrogen levels. Stress: Your body produces the hormone cortisol in response to stress. Producing high amounts of cortisol in response to stress can deplete your body's ability to produce progesterone.
Exercise regularly. Research suggests that exercise can help to reduce high estrogen levels. Premenopausal women who engage in aerobic exercise for five hours a week or more saw their estrogen levels drop by nearly 19%. Cardio exercise helps the body break estrogen down and flush away any excess.
DIM (Diindolylmethane/3,3′-Diindolylmethane) is among the most effective estrogen blockers found in nature. It occurs naturally in cruciferous plants such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale.
If your estrogen levels are too high or too low, then magnesium can help bring them back to stable levels, which will positively impact testosterone and progesterone.
Products like eggs or milk contain high estrogen levels because they are produced in parts of the animal's body that regulate its hormones. Eating high estrogen foods can help people who suffer from various conditions related to low estrogen levels.