Over the next few weeks I’ll be writing a series of articles on three very powerful molecules: estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. For men AND women alike, these three hormones are power brokers in most, if not all, of human behaviour. Language, digestion, reproduction, energy, mood, apatite, libido, ability to think, sleep and feel well are all deeply tied to the health and balance of these three molecules. Sex hormones don’t just appear out of nowhere, they are made from one of the most vitally important molecules in your body: cholesterol.
Yup, that stuff that has such a bad rap is crucial for you to make babies and think clearly. Cholesterol is an important part of every cell in your body and knowing that your sex hormones sprout from cholesterol helps to underline why taking statins to lower cholesterol often results in loss of strength, sexual dysfunction, memory loss and changes in mood. I’m not saying this to discourage you from taking a statin, just to highlight that cholesterol and sex hormone balance are deeply intertwined and messing with one can have wide ranging effects on the others.
Most of us have socially ingrained ideas about the sex hormones despite the fact that their impact and inter-relationships are subtle and often counterintuitive. Estrogen is seen as necessary for keeping memory sharp in women before menopause but for post-menopausal women it can cause memory problems. Testosterone in men who are inclined to seek power makes their aggression stronger where it has very little effect in men who are not power seekers by nature.
I’m sure most of us think of progesterone as a female hormone despite the fact that it is the building block for testosterone and critically important for men. Progesterone is also thought of as a calming hormone however it can make some people wired and anxious as it is also the building block for the stimulating adrenal hormone cortisol. Over the next set of articles I’ll attempt to unwind bits of the complex web of cholesterol, sex hormones and your health.
