In my PCOS journey when I was learning about root causes of my hormonal imbalances, I learnt just how important the liver's role is for our hormonal harmony. When we think about our hormones, we often picture the glands that produce them—like the ovaries, thyroid and adrenal glands. However, there's a silent superstar in the background that plays a pivotal role in maintaining our hormonal balance: the liver. This vital organ does much more than detoxify our blood; it is also crucial for metabolizing hormones, particularly estrogen. In this blog I’m going to talk about how the liver influences hormonal balance and why nurturing it is so important, especially if we’re dealing with PCOS.
Understanding the Liver’s Role in Hormone Metabolism
The liver is often likened to a complex chemical processing plant. One of its key responsibilities is to break down and neutralize hormones once they have served their purpose in the body. This is especially true for estrogen, a hormone that, in excess, can lead to weight gain & mood swings!
Estrogen Metabolization
Estrogen is metabolized in the liver through a series of intricate biochemical processes. Once estrogen has circulated through the body and performed its necessary functions, it is sent to the liver to be broken down. This is what happens next:
- Phase I Detoxification: In this phase, enzymes convert estrogen into intermediate metabolites. These metabolites can be more or less active than the original hormone.
- Phase II Detoxification: The intermediate metabolites are further broken down and made water-soluble. This transformation is crucial as it prepares the estrogen metabolites for excretion from the body, mainly through bile or urine.
This meticulous process ensures that estrogen levels remain balanced. However, if the liver is overburdened or not functioning optimally, these processes can be disrupted, leading to hormonal imbalances.
The Queue Up Process: When the Liver Gets Overwhelmed
Imagine the liver as a busy post office, where packages (in this case, hormones) are constantly arriving to be processed and sent out. If the post office becomes overwhelmed with too many packages at once, delays occur. Similarly, when the liver is overloaded it can start wreaking havoc in our bodies.
Now when we’re chronically stressed and there is a constant elevation of cortisol levels in our body, our liver experiences something known as a “pregnenolone steal”. So cortisol - along with estrogen, testosterone and various other hormones - is synthesized in our liver from a precursor called ‘pregnenolone’. Now under chronic stress, in reaction to our stress response that is the fight or flight response, our body wants to process cortisol more quickly. What happens next is that the cortisol pathway then ‘steals’ this pregnenolone from other sex hormones. This can lead to what we know as estrogen dominance due to hormones not being metabolized and excreted by the liver.
When estrogen is not efficiently metabolized and excreted, it can be reabsorbed into the bloodstream, leading to elevated estrogen levels. This condition, known as estrogen dominance, can result in various symptoms such as:
- Heavy bleeding on your periods
- Breast tenderness
- Mood swings and irritability
In essence, the liver's ability to process estrogen efficiently is crucial for maintaining hormonal harmony.
Supporting Your Liver for Hormonal Balance
Taking care of your liver is paramount for sustaining hormonal balance. Here are some practical tips to keep your liver in tip-top shape:
- Eat nourishing foods: Incorporate plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Foods rich in antioxidants, like berries and leafy greens, help protect the liver from damage.
- Stay hydrated: Drinking enough water aids in the detoxification process and supports liver function.
- Keep a check on alcohol: While we all enjoy a drink here and there, frequent consumption seriously overworks the liver.
- Avoid processed foods: Processed foods often contain additives and preservatives that can burden the liver.
- Herbs can help: Adaptogenic herbs such as lemon balm and maca root helps our body respond to stress better so that cortisol does not overburden the liver. I’ve incorporated these herbs into our hormonal blend for women, What Women Want. I would also recommend combining 'What Women Want' with 'Love Your Liver' if you're seeing signs of estrogen dominance such as breast tenderness and heavy bleeding.
Your liver is an unsung hero in the complex orchestra of your body's hormonal balance. By understanding its role in metabolizing estrogen and other hormones, you can appreciate the importance of maintaining liver health. Simple lifestyle changes can go a long way in ensuring your liver operates efficiently, keeping your hormones in check and your body in harmony.
So next time you think about hormonal balance, give a nod to your liver. It's working hard behind the scenes to keep you feeling your best.
