Estrogen hormone function in females

Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. In the breasts the actions of estrogens are complexly interrelated with those of other hormones, and their total significance is not easily defined. Estrogens are, however, responsible for growth of the breasts during Bone and cholesterol Actions of estrogens that are related to Estrogens tend to decrease serum cholesterol concentrations and to increase serum Physical structure Estrogens influence the structural differences between the male and female bodies. Usually the female bones are smaller and shorter, the pelvis is broader, and the shoulders are narrower. The female body is more curved and

Certain lifestyle practices, including exercising regularly, and eating a nutritious diet rich is protein and fiber can help naturally balance your hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers that have profound effects on your mental, physical, and emotional health. For instance, they play a major role in controlling your appetite, weight, and mood. Typically, your body produces the precise amount of each hormone needed for various processes to keep you healthy. However, sedentary lifestyles and Western dietary patterns may affect your hormonal environment. In addition, levels of certain hormones decline with age, and some people experience a more dramatic decrease than others. However, a nutritious diet and other healthy lifestyle habits may help improve your hormonal health and allow you to feel and perform your best. Here are 10 natural ways to balance your hormones. Consuming adequate amounts of protein is extremely important. Not only does protein provide essential amino acids that your body can’t make on its own, but your body also needs it to produce protein-derived hormones — also known as peptide hormones ( Your endocrine glands make these hormones from amino acids. Peptide hormones play a crucial role in regulating many physiological processes, such as growth, energy metabolism, appetite, stress, and reproduction ( For example, protein intake influences hormones that control appetite and food intake, communicating information about energy status to your brain ( Re...

Internal and external organs of the female reproductive system. What is the female reproductive system? The female reproductive system is the body parts that help women or people assigned female at birth (AFAB): • Have sexual intercourse. • Reproduce. • Menstruate. What are the parts of the female reproductive system? The female reproductive anatomy includes both external and internal parts. External parts The function of your external genitals are to protect the internal parts from infection and allow sperm to enter your vagina. Your vulva is the collective name for all your external genitals. A lot of people mistakenly use the term “vagina” to describe all female reproductive parts. However, your vagina is its own structure located inside your body. The main parts of your vulva or external genitals are: • Labia majora: Your labia majora (“large lips”) enclose and protect the other external reproductive organs. During puberty, hair growth occurs on the skin of the labia majora, which also contain sweat and oil-secreting glands. • Labia minora: Your labia minora (“small lips”) can have a variety of sizes and shapes. They lie just inside your labia majora, and surround the opening to your vagina (the canal that joins the lower part of your uterus to the outside of your body) and urethra (the tube that carries pee from your bladder to the outside of your body). This skin is very delicate and can become easily irritated and swollen. • Clitoris: Your two labia minora meet at y...

What is estrogen? Estrogen is a kind of hormone that has an important role in the health of females. There are 3 types of estrogen: estrone, estradiol, and estriol. They affect the sexual and reproductive development in females. The ovaries make most of the estrogen in your body. The adrenal glands and fat cells also make small amounts of estrogen. Estrogen affects the health of all of these things: • Reproductive system • Urinary tract • Heart and blood vessels • Bone • Muscles • Breasts • Skin • Hair anywhere on the body • Mucous membranes • Pelvic muscles • Brain Changes in estrogen levels A person’s estrogen levels fall during perimenopause. Perimenopause is a period of time when a person’s hormones start to change and cause symptoms, before their menstrual period stops fully (menopause). Menopause is when you haven’t had any menstrual bleeding for 12 months. Symptoms of low estrogen can include: • Hot flashes, flushes, and night sweats are the most common symptoms of low estrogen. At times, blood rushes to your skin’s surface. This can give you a feeling of warmth (hot flash). Your face may look flushed. Hot flashes while you are sleeping are called night sweats. • Mood swings are another effect of low estrogen. You may feel sad, anxious, or frustrated. Shifting hormone levels and night sweats may disrupt your sleep. This can cause fatigue, which may make mood swings worse. • Thinning tissues may cause discomfort. Skin may appear more wrinkled. Thinning in the urinary...

From the moment you begin puberty, and often before you even know what’s happening, your hormones take control. If you’re a woman, especially, due to your monthly cycle the ebb and flow of hormones coursing through your system can impact your life in many ways. From menstruation and pregnancy to perimenopause, menopause, and beyond, your hormones maintain much of your body’s function. Although present in both sexes, estrogen is considered the “female hormone,” probably because women produce more of it and depend on it for reproductive function. But estrogen controls so much more than just your ability to conceive. Throughout your life, your body depends on estrogen to keep it healthy and going strong. Women’s health is our purpose The Association for Women’s Health Care is familiar with a woman’s need to maintain balance in life, and in her hormones. Hormones that are out of whack can wreak havoc, causing hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and similarly uncomfortable conditions. Our dedicated physicians strive to help our patients achieve balance in their health and their hormones. The Association for Women’s Health Care, with offices in Chicago and Northbrook, Illinois, is determined to make our patients’ experience a positive one. For women, your lifelong good health depends largely on your gynecological care, and our team takes that responsibility seriously. 3 types of estrogen Depending on your season of life, your body produces different types and amounts of estrogen in an...

Overview Feminizing hormone therapy typically is used by transgender women and nonbinary people to produce physical changes in the body that are caused by female hormones during puberty. Those changes are called secondary sex characteristics. This hormone therapy helps better align the body with a person's gender identity. Feminizing hormone therapy also is called gender-affirming hormone therapy. Feminizing hormone therapy involves taking medicine to block the action of the hormone testosterone. It also includes taking the hormone estrogen. Estrogen lowers the amount of testosterone the body makes. It also triggers the development of feminine secondary sex characteristics. Feminizing hormone therapy can be done alone or along with feminizing surgery. Not everybody chooses to have feminizing hormone therapy. It can affect fertility and sexual function, and it might lead to health problems. Talk with your health care provider about the risks and benefits for you. Why it's done Feminizing hormone therapy is used to change the body's hormone levels. Those hormone changes trigger physical changes that help better align the body with a person's gender identity. In some cases, people seeking feminizing hormone therapy experience discomfort or distress because their gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth or from their sex-related physical characteristics. This condition is called gender dysphoria. Feminizing hormone therapy can: • Improve psychological and socia...

Abstract Menstrual disorders, infertility and premature menopause are common but often underrecognized phenomena among women with chronic kidney disease. Hypothalamic, rather than ovarian dysfunction, may be the cause of the abnormal reproductive milieu, which can be at least partially reversed by kidney transplantation and increased intensity of hemodialysis. Endogenous sex hormones, and specifically estradiol, appear to be renoprotective in women, although the effects of exogenous estradiol (as an oral contraceptive and postmenopausal hormone therapy) on kidney function are more controversial. Treatment with postmenopausal hormone therapy in women with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) has been associated with improved quality of life, bone health and markers of cardiovascular risk, as well as an increased risk of arteriovenous access thrombosis. The selective estrogen receptor modulator raloxifene has been associated with both a decreased fracture risk as well as renoprotection in women with kidney disease. Young women with ESKD are more likely to die from infection or develop malignancy, suggesting an immunomodulatory role of estrogen. Whether the premature menopause commonly observed in female patients with kidney disease results in increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is unknown, although preliminary studies have suggested a possible therapeutic role for manipulation of the sex hormone milieu to mitigate risk in this population. Large, prospective, randomiz...