The Safe Natural Estrogen-Estriol––Texas Star Pharmacy

The Safe Natural Estrogen-Estriol

By Dr. Donna Barsky, D.Ph., R.Ph., Collin County LIVING WELL Magazine

Because we hear mostly bad press about hormones and nutritionals from our media, I would like to give you the scoop on many products––hormone, thyroid, nutritional, etc.––just to let you know what benefits they supply. Because this is much entailed, this article may be printed over several issues. So, please, be patient, and we will try to cover all the good things that you never hear.

Oftentimes we hear from our friends or our healthcare providers about how all estrogens are bad for our health, but what most people do not know is that all of the bad studies, including the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study, were not studied with the natural products, but with esterified estrogens from horses or synthetics. But the truth is that hormone replacement, balanced correctly, is safe and will protect your heart, reduce cancer, maintain healthy bones, reduce weight, and maintain a sharp memory.

To understand menopause, it’s imperative to know more about your hormones, estrogen and progesterone. When a woman hits her 30s, blood levels of estrogen and progesterone gradually decline as nature intended because the childbearing years are over.

In the ’60s, more than half of the 30 million postmenopausal women in this country were prescribed esterified estrogens (usually from a horse) as the antidote to aging. However, about that same time, studies began showing that these women were five times more likely to develop uterine cancer and an increased prevalence of breast cancer than the women who did not take this estrogen replacement therapy.

There are three types of estrogens in a woman’s body that work like a symphony to safely produce the desired effects. The three types of estrogen are estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). However, estrone and estradiol have now been shown to be carcinogenic when given by themselves unopposed with progesterone, while estriol has been found to be anti-carcinogenic and therefore protects the body from the harmful effects of the other two.

Because natural products in this country cannot be patented, all of the current estrogen drugs used in this country are combinations of synthetic copies of estrone and estradiol.

Estriol is considered the “forgotten” estrogen. It has been labeled historically in the U.S. as a weak or ineffective estrogen. However, in Europe, estriol has been recognized for its benefits and has been used for years. I like to call estriol the anti-estrogen, and the need to use a safer form of estrogen seems crucial at this time. One of the most exciting things about estriol is the fact that it exhibits considerable evidence showing that it protects against breast cancer and even shows promise in reducing the brain lesions of multiple sclerosis. Fear of cancer prevents many women from restoring youthful hormone levels. We have also found when large quantities of estrone and estradiol need to be removed from the blood stream, probiotics, vitamin B6, fiber, fish oil, and calcium-D-glucarate (you find this in apples and oranges), will also help the elimination process. The pith of tangerines and oranges is especially good for this. When estriol is applied through the topical (transdermal) route; estriol is not associated with increased cancer risk because estriol has a much lower affinity for binding to blood protein as compared to estradiol; therefore, a greater percent is available for biological activity. Other methods women can use to prevent hormone-related cancers include consuming abundant vitamin D, cruciferous vegetables, soy, D-glucarate, and lignans, while minimizing meat and high-fat dairy intake.

In 1966, H. M. Lemon, M.D., demonstrated that women with breast cancer have lower estriol levels. Later he showed that women without breast cancer had naturally higher estriol levels.

In 1978, A. H. Follingstad, M.D., wrote an article for the Journal of the American Medical Association, calling for the use of estriol instead of estrone and estradiol. When given small doses of estriol, 37% of the women with metastatic breast cancer experienced either a remission or a complete arrest of the metastasized lesions. 

Dr. Julian Whitaker, publisher of the Health and Healing newsletter, says that estriol’s anti-cancer effect is thought to be due to its anti-estrone characteristics. It apparently blocks the stimulatory effect of estrone on the breast.

A Taiwan study concluded that estriol was very effective in the improvement of major subjective climacteric complaints in 86% of patients, especially hot flash and insomnia within three months. They also found that used intra-vaginally, estriol’s strong vaginotropic effect is thought to be the estrogen most beneficial to the vagina, cervix, and vulva. In cases of postmenopausal vaginal dryness and atrophy, estriol can decrease the incidence of urinary tract infections in postmenopausal women.

Japanese researchers found that estriol at 2 mg/day was effective in decreasing total cholesterol and triglycerides, and increasing HDL levels in elderly women (age 70-84). Another Japanese study found an increase in BMD (bone density) following estriol treatment. Seventeen women 10 years postmenopausal were given 2 mg/day estriol and 2 gm/day calcium lactate for one year. They were compared to a group of nine women who received 2 grams calcium lactate only. BMD was significantly reduced at the end of the study period in the calcium-only group, while the estriol plus- calcium group demonstrated a 1.66 percent increase in BMD.

We at TexasStar Pharmacy are committed to your health and well-being and are always open to help educate our patients and work with our local physicians. We have a certified clinical nutritionist on staff and all of our staff members are happy to help you.

If you have any concerns about your health, please, call us at 972-519-8475 for store #1 on 3033 W. Parker Rd., Suite #100 or at 214-291-5087 for store #2 on 5425 W. Spring Creek Pkwy., Suite #190 and make an appointment to visit with our specialized staff. We are here to help you. www.texasstarpharmacy.com