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Estrogen Types - Female Hormones - Estrone, Estradiol, Estriol
Changing Levels of Estrogen Affects Your Health

By Pam Stephan, About.com

Updated October 08, 2007

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board

Estrogen is a group of hormones that are known best for their role in changing a girl into a women with child-bearing potential. Estrogen also helps regulate your menstrual cycle, protects bones from thinning, and keeps cholesterol levels low to protect your heart. Estrogen can sometimes help turn normal breast tissue into cancers. Estrogen is made in three ways: within your body, in nature, and in a synthetic form used in medications.

Three kinds of estrogen are made in the female body:

Before Menopause

Estrone - made in the ovaries before menopause, and after that by the adrenal glands. Postmenopausal estrone is stored in body fat and muscle cells. Women who have more body fat will still experience hot flashes during menopause, even though their body is storing more estrone than slimmer women. Estrone production goes down during pregnancy, which reduces your lifetime exposure to estrogen.

Estradiol - like estrone, this is made in the ovaries, and less is created during pregnancy.

Estriol - made by the placenta during pregnancy. This kind of estrogen is produced in the greatest quantities (more than estrone or estradiol) during pregnancy. Estriol production is an indicator of the health of your baby.

During Menopause

As you approach menopause, your ovaries will shrink, and production of estrogen and progesterone will fluctuate during that process. It is the lower levels of these hormones that cause hot flashes, irregular periods, night sweats, mood swings, and other symptoms. Doctors may treat these symptoms with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for a short period of time, but prolonged use has been associated with increased risk of breast cancer.

Three kinds of estrogen outside of your body - Plants, Environment, Synthetic

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