How Estrogen Affects Your Thyroid

Every organ in the human body is interconnected to one another. The absence or lacking a certain part produces a worse effect not just on its system, but to the functions of other parts and to the general process in the body as well. The amazing connection of one part to another is made possible by the existence of the hormones, the chemical messengers of the human body.

HORMONES: WHAT ARE THEY?

Known as the messaging agents in the whole system, hormones are produced by some parts of the endocrine system like various glands. These chemicals’ main job is to become in-charge of most of the functions done by the body, from expressing feelings of hunger and pain, reproduction, even to the controlling of the moods and emotions.

Every “message” a hormone sends is received by a hormone receptor inside the cell membrane. This will process the message by another signaling mechanism that will make the target body part to respond. So, without these hormones, every single cell in the body will not be able to perform their tasks well, at the same time, they will not be able to reach out to the other parts of the body.

THYROID: Another Hormone Secretor

The thyroid is one of the glands in the endocrine system that produces several hormones collectively called thyroid hormones, that aids in the development of the body. Like other hormones, it acts all throughout the body, influencing various bodily functions. In the case of thyroid hormones, they control the body’s metabolism, growth and development, and body temperature. On a person’s infancy up to childhood years, adequate thyroid hormones are needed by the body for an established development.

ESTROGEN: A Major Hormone

Aside from progesterone, estrogen is another major sex hormone of a woman. It plays a vital role in the development of the woman’s secondary sex characteristic like the breast and hips, regulation of the menstrual cycle and the reproductive development, preparing the body during the child-bearing years.

The Relationship Between the Thyroid and Estrogen

Like other glands, the thyroid and its group of hormones are essential in the overall functions of the body. It also gives effect to every single cell, tissue, and organ in the entire body. Generally, the human body is also dependent on the thyroid. For the Yes Wellness Store, the sex hormones including estrogen are influenced by the thyroid, and the thyroid is also influenced by its existence as well.

As men and women start to age, the production of their sex hormones also starts to decline. This gives worse effects on the entire body, especially for the women. When this happens, it will be the thyroid’s job then to adjust and to aid in producing the hormones needed by their body to avoid the negative effects of declining hormones. Depending on the condition of the thyroid among other factors like the nutritional state and various environmental factors, the thyroid can either achieve the mission of supplementing the needed hormones by the body, or not to keep up to the needed phase of hormone production. This typically happens to women who first enter the stage of menopause. The transition that happens to women at this time coincides with dysfunctions in the thyroid.

How Estrogen Affects the Functions of the Thyroid

The thyroid has Thyroid Binding Globulin (TBG). This is a protein that binds and can lessen the activities happening and done by the thyroid hormones. It also has an effect on the sex hormones like the estrogen. The following are some of its effects:

1. Estradiol, one of the hormone types of estrogen, has the capacity to increase the TBG. When this happens, the thyroid hormones loses its effectiveness in the body.
2. As women enter the perimenopause, one of its effects is that the estrogen also lowers at this phase. As this sex hormone gets lower, so is the thyroid or the hypothyroidism. At this condition, the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is also low.
3. The estradiol directly stimulates the triiodothyronine (T3) and triiodothyronine (T4), thyroid hormones. Stimulating these two hormones contributes to the decreasing of TSH.

How the Functions of the Thyroid Affect Estrogen

Generally, the deficiency or poorly functions of the sex hormones like estrogen happens because of the low thyroid or hypothyroidism. Some of the women’s gynecological-related conditions are because of this issue. That is why maintaining the balanced levels of thyroid hormones can aid in the maintained levels of the estrogen in a woman’s body as well.

Here are some of the effects of thyroid in estrogen:

1. An increased T3 means an increased sensitivity level of Luteinizing Hormone (LH), a pituitary hormone that stimulates testicles and ovaries to produce more sex hormones/
2. Having hypothyroidism increases the risk of having enlarged and cystic ovaries.