Understanding Your Hormones - ways to improve hormonal detox

[agness]

I promised I would write this up last week for another member. I'm trying my best to give some good grounding here and hopefully this makes sense as a primer when dealing with hormonally positive BC. For women with low estrogen positivity they may be able to work with a practitioner of integrative medicine instead of hormonal therapy to improve their metabolism of hormones. This is obviously not a double-blind, peer-reviewed study, but even if one does use hormonal therapy the understanding of how the hormonal detoxification of the body works should be helpful. It isn't all a big mystery and you can influence what happens in your body.

-- Ann

There are many different kinds of estrogens in the body but only about 3 main kinds (they know less about the other forms and what they do), estriol related to pregnancy, estrone which is more a post-menopausal form, and estradiol. Estradiol is the "bad" estrogen, the one that they try to suppress the function of in hormonal breast cancer.

Our bodies as women are dependent on estrogen for things like mental functioning, bone strength, and even things like magnesium absorption.

Having children before the age of 25, and breastfeeding, are associated with a decrease in the risk of developing breast cancer. They think menstrual suppression coupled with estriol exposure might have protective affects on women's physiology. Bring an older mom, use of hormonal birth control, and some other practices related to hormonal exposure (assisted reproduction, hormonal replacement) can increase one's risk of carcinogenesis.

This explains about estrogens
http://www.lifeextension.com/protoco...ration/page-04

Understanding Hormones Highs and Lows
http://www.zrtlab.com/component/docm...d-lows?Itemid=


I learned years ago that poor digestion slowed digestive pathways of hormonal detox and increased the burden on the liver. Low magnesium and low water intake increase this burden which can accumulate.


"Because fibroids, endometriosis, and breast cancer prevention all involve estrogen, ensuring adequate estrogen elimination is fundamental to any integrative approach to managing them. Estrogen is eliminated through Phase I and II liver detoxification, a process by which estrogen is dissolved in bile and excreted into the gut to leave the body via stool. Thus, it should be clear that impaired detoxification (Phase I or II) or impaired elimination from the gut should be identified and corrected as part of any strategy to improve estrogen elimination."

An Integrative Approach to Fibroids, Endometriosis and Breast Cancer Prevention
http://www.imjournal.com/resources/w...1008_evans.pdf

This explains more about liver detoxification pathways. Low magnesium is associated with poor liver detox I metabolization -- which will actually send your estrogens down pathway 2 or three which can actually increase how carcinogenic these hormones are in your body.
http://www.tuberose.com/Liver_Detoxification.html

"Estrogen (estradiol) is metabolized by the body via one of two pathways. One pathway 16 alpha-hydroxylation is known as the tumor enhancer metabolic pathway. This is the predominant pathway in patients with breast and endometrial cancer, and in those at increased risk for such cancers. 16 alpha-hydroxylation activity precedes clinical evidence of cancer, and is a significant risk factor for estrogen-dependent tumors. 16-alpha hydroxylation is nearly five times higher in patients with breast cancer than patients who dont have cancer.

The other pathway is called the tumor suppressor pathway. This process transforms estrogen into 2-hydroxyestrone (20HEI), an antiestrogen. When estrogen takes the 2-hydroxylation pathway, the incidence of cancer decreases. Healthy individuals not at risk for breast or endometrial cancer bypass the 16-alpha route and metabolize estrogen through the 2-hydroxyestrone pathway.

Scientists found that Indole-3-Carbinol (I3C) causes the body to metabolize estrogen via the 2-hydroxylation pathway. By funneling estrogen into this tumor suppressor pathway, I3C stimulates the rate at which the body expels estrogen, essentially vacuuming away the estrogen. These scientists found that 400 mg of I3C given daily resulted in a 50 percent increase of 2-hydroxylation.19,20 I3C (Indole-3-Carbinol) appears to be an effective weapon against breast, cervical and skin cancer, respiratory papillomas and other estrogen-related conditions. An alternative to I3C, with similar effects, is the I3C metabolite, diindolylmethane (BioDIM)."

http://warddeanmd.com/chrysin-is-it-...ase-inhibitor/

Taming Estrogen Dominance
A good overview with food recommendations
http://thedetoxdiva.com/taming-estrogen-dominance/

" if someone is in a hypo-metabolic state (slowed metabolism), the body naturally holds on to more water in tissues, craves less water, and craves more salt and solid food. Partaking in a cleanse of a liquid diet would do much more harm than good for this person."

17 Signs of Impaired Liver Detox
Doesn't recommend liquid cleanses, lots of helpful info.
http://butternutrition.com/do-you-need-to-detox/
Estrogen Dominance: Too Much of a Good Thing Can Certainly Be BAD!

http://www.naturopathic.org/content....&contentid=401


Note that 80% of Americans are thought to be low in magnesium intake. For conventional produce, modern farming methods have resulted in depleted soil levels of magnesium and lower absorption of this mineral by plants. Magnesium is key to healthy liver detoxification and yet stress, prolonged illness, medications, and dehydration all deplete magnesium from the body.

I tested low for magnesium at the time of my diagnosis, a state which persisted in spite of regular supplementation. I spent a lot of time reading up about magnesium absorption and developed the following list for myself. Just eating healthily will not make a dent in a state of hypomagnesemia, it takes effort.

Here is what I have doing to increase my magnesium absorption:

Increased intake of cooked leafy greens (magnesium is a component of chlorophyll)

Continue eating other magnesium rich foods such as beans, nuts, and seeds (these can contain phytate that blocks absorption, they might be a hindrance if not soaked before consumption)

Extra virgin coconut oil, a spoonful daily or every few days, or use it when cooking (great in indian and Thai cooking, or in baked goods). Most people are low in their EFA (essential fatty acid) intake anyway.

Magnesium oil spray on my stomach - five sprays daily (most days). This can sting so don't use on broken skin.

Epsom salt foot baths (can also be added to bath water). Epsom salts have been shown to increase blood concentrations of magnesium without the digestive side-effects.

Natural Calm magnesium supplement, mix up a liter in a water bottle and sip throughout the day.
http://naturalvitality.com/natural-calm/

Magnesium is complemented in absorption and function by: calcium, phosphorus, vitamin d, vitamin K2. Most docs tell patients to take calcium but neglect these other minerals.

Small amounts taken frequently do not trigger kidneys to flush magnesium from the body but drinking larger quantities will. Larger quantities will also increase urine cloudiness, I presume from increased calcium excretion.

Vitamin D utilization (noted to be low in cancer patients) is dependent on magnesium in the body to activate it. This goes for sunlight as well as D2 and D3. There is also a synergistic relationship between vitamin D and magnesium as far as gut absorption goes -- too little of either and the body gets stuck in a rut.