Just For Women

by Charles Weller

Estrogen is an essential hormone for reproductive and sexual development, primarily in women. Estrogen imbalances are connected with various health conditions, with recent research demonstrating that exercise may be the key to regulating estrogen imbalances and improving the overall quality of life.

Importance of Exercise Clearance and Healthy Estrogen levels

Exercise influences “estrogen clearance,” which is the body’s ability to break down estrogen and remove them from the body. It’s an essential process as if estrogen is not efficiently metabolized and cleared from the liver, remain in the body and increase disease risk. Regular exercise helps assist in estrogen clearance, having an impact on healthy estrogen levels in various ways; improves storage of fat and metabolism, reduction of weight loss, elevate energy levels and enhance proper digestion.

Research on Exercise and Estrogen Levels

Physical activity changes the way the body breaks down estrogen. In a study, of healthy premenopausal women who participated in 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise for 16 weeks resulted in significant changes to estrogen metabolism.
Sedentary, young, and healthy women who participated in moderate-intensity exercise 5 times a week for 16 weeks had lower levels of estradiol, a form of estrogen, as compared to those who didn’t exercise.
Sedentary, postmenopausal women age 50-75 years who participated in a 12-month moderate-intensity exercise regime, resulted in a significant decrease in serum estrogen levels.

How Do Exercise Balance Estrogen Levels?

Adopting an active lifestyle can assist in balancing estrogen levels. Exercise encourages the regulation of estrogen levels by gaining lean muscle mass which in turn increases metabolism to help burn fat mass. Reducing fat mass decreases the amount of aromatase, which is an enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen. Burning fat cells through exercise; more testosterone is produced to help build lean muscle mass.

The type of exercise performed is critical to balancing estrogen levels. Current studies have demonstrated that short-duration and moderate-intensity resistance training is enough to provide the needed stimulus to burn fat and build muscle mass to prevent excessive strain on hormone glands. Exercising on a consistent and reasonable schedule is the key to keeping estrogen levels balanced and healthy.

Tips for Increasing Physical Activity

1. Develop Goals and Start Small

Start with simple exercise goals you are able to achieve. Choose exercises that make you feel confident and happy. As you meet these goals, you are able to slowly build momentum because your self-confidence will increase to encourage you to move to more challenging exercises.

2. Sneak Exercises into Your Schedule

If taking on a structured exercise program is not for you, look at your schedule and consider ways to sneak exercise throughout the day. Simple activities such as chores, walking to school, moving at work, or exercise during commercial breaks are a few easy exercises.