Acupuncture and Estrogen Metabolism

BOSTON - Nov. 27, 2018 - PRLog -- Estrogen can be metabolized through either beneficial or harmful biochemical pathways. The optimal pathway breaks down estrogen into 2-hydroxyestrone. Metabolizing estrogen via this pathway decreases hormone related cancer risk such as breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. The other pathway metabolizes estrogen to the carcinogenic products 16-hydroxyestrone and to a lesser extent 4-hydroxyestrone. An elevated ratio of these metabolites to the preferential 2-hydroxyestrone metabolites in women is associated with increased risk of invasive breast cancer.

1. Acupuncture helps women produce more progesterone to balance the estrogen by improving ovarian and adrenal gland function. Acupuncture can also help men and women lose weight, so less estrogen can be stored in the fat tissue. Stress can lower our progesterone level. After menopause, the adrenal gland can produce small amount of progesterone to counteract the estrogen stimulating effect. Acupuncture can reduce the stress so the adrenal gland can produce more progesterone.  Furthermore, acupuncture can improve the liver function, so the bad estrogen can be cleared up from our body more efficiently.

2. Avoid or cut down alcohol intake can reduce the activity of aromatase, decreased level of aromatase indicates less production of bad estrogen because this enzyme can convert testosterone into estrogen. Ovaries still produce small amount of testosterone after menopause.  Men need to cut down the alcohol intake if they already have elevated PSA. Once PSA goes up to 10 and continues to go up every year, the cancer rate can go up with the increased level of estrogen.

3. Cruciferous vegetables include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, parsnips, kale, and Brussels sprouts. Increased intake of cruciferous vegetables has been shown to decrease overall cancer risk and general inflammation. One of the constituents found in these vegetables, indole-3-carbinol (I3C), has been widely studied as a potential chemo-preventative and chemotherapeutic agent. I3C increases estrogen metabolism via the beneficial 2-hydroxylation pathway in humans from 29 percent to over 45 percent. Increasing the 2-hydroxylation beneficial pathway decreases the activity of  more harmful pathways.

Furthermore, 2-hydroxylation end products decrease cell proliferation and increase apoptosis, or programmed cell death, which are important in the prevention of cancer. I3C also increases the expression of the well-known breast cancer suppression gene BRCA1. Additionally, I3C inhibits the activation of estrogen receptors by estradiol, which may prevent estrogen-enhanced cancers. I3C also protects against cervical cancer. Estrogen promotes development of cervical cancer in cells infected with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV). I3C and 2-hydroxyestrone (beneficial metabolites of estrogen) inhibited the estrogen-increased expression of the HPV cancer-promoting genes. Evidence also demonstrates that I3C is a potent scavenger of free-radicals, highly reactive species that cause damage in the body and lead to aging, degenerative diseases, and cancer. Visit: https://bostonchineseacupuncture.org/news/acupuncture-bal...