This month there is a lot of talk about breast cancer and breast cancer awareness. With this in mind it is a good time to look inward and see how our digestive bacteria can help or hinder us in detoxifying the “bad” estrogens to maintain good health. This is a complex issue in which bacteria and our microflora play an important and often overlooked role.

Different Types of Estrogen

There are three types of estrogen that we produce and use in our bodies for different functions. There are Estrone, Estriol and Estradiol.

Estradiol, made from Estrone, is the so-called “good” estrogen that promotes health.

Estrone can go either way. It can be converted to 2-OH Estrone which is protective or to 4-OH Estrone which is dangerous. It can also be converted to 16a-OH Estrone (bad) on its way to becoming Estriol, which is protective. When it does not get converted all the way and gets stuck at 16a-OH Estrone it is dangerous.

I believe it was 2002 that Estrogen was added to the official list of carcinogens.  It seems so strange to think of this because it is a substance that our bodies do create.  It is interesting to think that a lack of balance, even of something natural, can cause so many problems.  The amount of Estriol ideally should be equal to or greater than the amount of Estrone and Estradiol put together.  When this ratio is off the risk of cancer is increased.  I still feel that this is wrong-focus.  Our ability to maintain balance with our essential and beautiful hormone, estrogen, through good liver function and detoxification are the determining factors for whether this affects us.  Instead we are focusing on a hormone that we, as women, require and that many doctors do not even realize is a group of hormones, not a single one.

There are many sources of xenoestrogens in our environment such as skin creams, plastic bottles and pharmaceuticals.  These are chemicals that mimic estrogens and are harmful to our health. You may have heard of phthalates and BPAs.  These guys block our receptors and essentially get “in the way” of protective estrogens and at a cost.  Even I have BPA in my blood when I get it tested through Vibrant Wellness.  So we each have these things, from the environment or from our history, and we need to learn to get rid of them.

Detoxifying Estrogens

All estrogens are detoxified in the liver through phase 2 detoxification in which they are bound to something called glucoronic acid. This renders them inert and they are then passed through the liver itself to the gall bladder through which they are sent into the digestive tract for excretion. Isn’t the liver amazing?

Harmful Bacteria

We each have a balance of protective and harmful bacteria in our digestive systems and the presence of the protective bacteria keeps the harmful ones in check and in balance. Different bacteria have different abilities when it comes to breaking down foods and other substances. One thing that some of the strains of “bad” bacteria excel at is breaking the harmful estrogens away from the glucoronic acid through an enzyme (byproduct) that they create. This makes the estrogens active again. With a sluggish, leaky or imbalanced digestive tract many of these estrogens can then be reabsorbed and the cycle begins all over again. As you can see over time there can be quite a backup of estrogens in the liver waiting to be detoxified.

What to Do

Eat a diet high in green veggies, try to exercise and not be smoking. This will help to encourage the conversion of the estrogens to the protective rather than the dangerous forms. Magnesium and Iodine are particularly important here.

Use probiotic foods to help you to balance the harmful and helpful bacteria in your digestive system so that you can eliminate as many of the estrogens that you don’t want in your system as possible. Balance the flora so that you will prevent as much as possible the reabsorption of harmful estrogens back into the system. If you would prefer to take a probiotic supplement rather than to invest time in yogurt and cheese making then make sure you have access to a good one with a variety of strains. If you include this in a complete gut rebuilding program you will be unstoppable.

Use the comments. Let me know if you have any questions about this. Which probiotics are you currently using and how do they make you feel?