Female hormones in the male body: influence and role

Female hormones play a very important role in the male body, no less important than testosterone in the female body. Unfortunately, there have been very few studies on this subject, so the role of female hormones in men's sports life can be discussed with a fair amount of assumption. All female sex hormones are divided into estrogens and progestins.

Of the estrogens that combine estradiol, estriol and estrone, the first is the most active and significant for us, it is into it that excess testosterone in peripheral tissues (especially in the fatty layer and liver) tends to turn. Of the progestins, progesterone is of the greatest interest to our topic. Estrogen in the female body is produced in the adrenal glands and ovary; in the male body, excess male sex hormones turn into estradiol. In the blood, most estrogens are bound by globulin - SHBG, the same one that binds testosterone.

Both excess and deficiency of estrogens in the male body leads to a decrease in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular arc, and therefore to a decrease in the production of its own testosterone. Excessive increase in the level of estrogens in the blood of men begins to occur on its own, starting from 45-50 years. Together with the age-related decline in the level of production of its own testosterone, which occurs at the same time, this leads to various and very unpleasant disorders - these are problems with the cardiovascular system, memory, diseases associated with weakened immunity and age-related gynecomastia.

Oddly enough, but at the same time, an increase in mood and general vitality under the influence of estrogens on the male body has been experimentally noted. And some scientists associate increased sexual activity in men during the use of anabolic steroids with high levels of estradiol. A positive effect of increased levels of estrogens in the blood of men has also been noted, not on just anything, but on the most sacred thing - the growth of muscle volumes. This effect is associated with the ability of estrogens to increase the levels of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor in the body. The whole point here, again, is in the ratio of testosterone and estrogens - below a certain level - bad, and above - even worse. The ability to convert androgens into estradiol gives them several more useful qualities: aromatizing drugs significantly better promote the accumulation of glycogen in cells than their non-aromatizing counterparts; the use of such drugs also leads to aregulation of androgen receptors, which is also important.

It's exactly the same story with progesterone. This hormone is something between testosterone and estradiol. Progesterone is produced in the adrenal cortex, but its main place of formation in the female body is the corpus luteum.

Progesterone has a calming effect on the central nervous system and can help men suffering from premature ejaculation solve their sexual problems. Moreover, some athletes take progesterone to enhance muscle growth - it stimulates appetite and retains water and sodium in the body. However, all this is true if the level of progesterone in the blood of men does not exceed a certain value. Excess progesterone leads to no less sad consequences than excess estrogen: this is the risk of the same gynecomastia, and a decrease in muscle volume, etc., etc.

What follows from all of the above? Female sex hormones can be both a friend and an enemy for a man, it's all about the ratio of their amount in the blood to the amount of testosterone. There is no need to be afraid of aromatizing and progestogenic anabolic steroids - due to their transformation into female sex hormones, they can work much more effectively than their non-aromatizing counterparts. The main thing is to know when to stop, not to cross the line beyond which a friend turns into an enemy.

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