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(Health Secrets Newsletter) There may be a link between the use of oral contraceptives and the growth of prostate cancer, according to an open report from Toronto University, published in the British Medical Journal.
But hang on a minute! I can hear you thinking, how can a pill that is taken by women increase a disease found only in men? Well it’s really quite simple. The researchers suggest that estrogen by-products in the urine of women that take the contraceptive pill may be contaminating agricultural produce and the water supply, meaning that men are consuming high levels of estrogen, a hormone that in an unbalanced state is suspected of feeding the growth of certain cancers including prostate cancer.
What Did the Study Show?
The report was the result of a broad study which looked at data from individual nations and continents worldwide to see if there was any discernible pattern linking contraceptive use and prostate cancer.
The results suggested there was a significant correlation between the use of the contraceptive pill and both deaths from prostate cancer and new cases of prostate cancer. The results appeared to be independent of the wealth of the countries or continents involved. It was assumed the wealthier countries would have a higher rate of contraceptive use and of disease detection, but this factor did not appear to make a difference to the overall findings. The link between contraceptive use and prostate cancer was strongest in Europe.
While the authors of the study, Dr. David Margel and Dr. Neil Fleshner, admit that their finding only suggest a link and don’t actually prove one, they do believe that it is worth further investigation, saying that “It must be considered hypothesis generating and thought-provoking.”
The Dangers of Excessive Unbalanced Estrogen
While this study is seen as radical by many, there’s no reason why it should be as the problems caused by high levels of unbalanced estrogen for both women and men have been well documented. Estrogen is an important hormone that regulates the basic female biological functions of puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. Estrogen powers the female brain and keeps the skeleton strong and healthy. However, an imbalance of estrogen can cause a number of health problems.
The general increase in estrogen imbalance in women can be seen in the rise of related conditions such as endometriosis, which affects around 10% of women, uterine fibroids, affecting a quarter of 35-50 year olds, and estrogen related breast cancer, affecting around 10% of women.
In addition to the contraceptive cause, the type of hormone replacement therapy that replaces only estrogen without also replacing its balancing hormones progesterone and testosterone, poses its own risks.
Men can have similar reactions to excessive amount of unbalanced estrogen. As well as the prostate tumors that are referred to in the study, they may gain weight especially in their chests in the form of man breasts. They may also suffer from fatigue, insomnia or depression, and they may experience decreased sex drive or erectile dysfunction.
Sources of Excess Estrogen
Alongside the use of contraceptive pills, which are now being considered as an environmental source of synthetic estrogen, there are a number of other reasons we can suffer from estrogen imbalance. These include:
- Eating commercially produced meat which has often been injected with a variety of hormones
- Exposure to xenoestrogens, chemical compounds with a similar structure to estrogen which are found in plastics, exhaust from the burning of petroleum based products, pesticides and soy, and which can mimic estrogen
- Being obese can increase levels of estrogen as estrogen is a hormone secreted by fat cells
- Liver dysfunction reduces the body’s ability to excrete hormones such as estrogen when they are no longer needed, leaving them to circulate in the body for longer than they should
Although the latest research indicates that the use of contraceptive pills may be linked with the growth of prostate cancer, it is clear that there are a great many other ways in which excessive amounts of unbalanced estrogen can impact our health. Women can regulate their estrogen levels and help to avoid these health issues by using Fem-Support, a supplement that contains the top natural hormone balancing herbs and compounds that modulate estrogen levels and increase progesterone levels.
