Oestrogen Linked to Insulin Resistance

Postmenopausal women taking oral oestrogen, with or without progesterone, show increased insulin resistance, even when allowing for being overweight.

Researchers used a three-hour hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic in the study, which is the most sensitive way to assess a person's insulin level. They found women taking oestrogen had a 31 percent lower utilization rate of insulin compared to postmenopausal women not on oestrogen replacement therapy.

The authors concluded that postmenopausal women taking oral oestrogen, with or without progesterone, show a greater degree of insulin resistance than those not taking hormone replacement therapy, even allowing for total and abdominal adiposity.
Diabetes Care January 2002;25:127-133

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:
Unless you had your head buried under the sand for the last few years, you should be aware that excess oestrogen is one of the main causes of breast cancer.

The key here is excess. Women do need oestrogen. The problem is that most western women have excessive amounts. Many women also have total hysterectomies in which their ovaries are removed. This is one of the few times where oestrogen replacement therapy is appropriate.

Unfortunately the above study was quite small and did not seem to differentiate between these two groups. However, in addition to oestrogen increasing the risk of breast cancer, the study shows it increases insulin levels.

This is important as increased insulin levels are associated with not only increased risk of cancer, but high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity.

Oestrogen has also been promoted for many years to decrease the risk of heart disease. Well folks, this is simply not true.

Although oestrogen does appear to lower cholesterol levels, heart disease prevention is clearly far more complex than cholesterol levels alone. It seems quite clear that oestrogen supplementation in postmenopausal women who still have their ovaries does not lower the risk of heart disease.

Additionally oestrogen is not the cure for bone loss that it is commonly promoted to be and oestrogen does not decrease a women's risk of Alzheimer's disease. www.mercola.com