1 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to stuff Mom Never told You from how Stuff 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: Works dot Com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:20,040 Speaker 1: Kristen and I'm Caroline, and we are finally talking a 4 00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: little bit more in depth about something that comes up 5 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: all of the time, and stuff Mom never told you sandwiches, Well, 6 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: sand man, I wish it was I wish that we 7 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:34,959 Speaker 1: were talking about sandwich is a little bit because sandwiches 8 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:40,520 Speaker 1: are a little less complicated in the hormone group estrogen. Um. 9 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:45,879 Speaker 1: We figured since estrogen comes up so much when we're 10 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: talking about women, when we're even talking about gender differences 11 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: and behavior, I feel like estrogen has become almost a 12 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:59,000 Speaker 1: shorthand for things like we be emotions, hysterical, You do 13 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: I that float around your body? Yeah, And so we 14 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,880 Speaker 1: decided that we would look a little deeper into what 15 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: estrogen really is and offer more of a broad brush 16 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,559 Speaker 1: one oh one, this is how estrogen works, and also 17 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: get into whether or not that leap frog from estrogen 18 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:25,160 Speaker 1: to women have the craziest motion swings is valid or not. 19 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,560 Speaker 1: So first up, let's get to let's let's get in 20 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: front of our imaginary podcast chalkboard. Who can it be 21 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: a white board? Though? I don't like a son of chalk. Okay, 22 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,199 Speaker 1: So we're on one of those white boards, thankfully, very 23 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: very quiet white board, and we're going to talk about 24 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: what estrogen is because a lot of times we talked 25 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 1: about it as though it's a singular hormone, but in fact, no, 26 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: estrogen is a group of hormones. It's like a get together. Yeah. 27 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: I imagine them as as the cool girls in the 28 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: corner of the lunch room. Yeah. That sow. And that's 29 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: how I learned science. I like it and I like 30 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: it well. So, first of all, hormones, as we have 31 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: talked about, our chemical messengers secreted by one tissue that 32 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: travel via body fluid to affect another tissue. Sex hormones 33 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,919 Speaker 1: estrogen and testosterone, which we are talking about in these 34 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:22,000 Speaker 1: two very special back to back hormone episodes, are secreted 35 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,399 Speaker 1: in short bursts that vary throughout the day, the night, 36 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: your minstrel cycle, et ceteras. So, as Christian was saying, 37 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: estrogen is a group of hormones that get together and 38 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: have pizza parties. And those hormones include estriol, which is 39 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: made from the placenta and is produced during pregnancy, an estrone, 40 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: which is widespread throughout the body and happens to be 41 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: the only estrogen present after a menopause. And then we 42 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 1: have one left, Christian, what is it? It's estra dial 43 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: and estra dial is the main hormone in this group. 44 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: She's sort of the alpha dog, Okay in this this 45 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,239 Speaker 1: mythical like endocrine click that I have in my brain 46 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: and it's produced in the ovaries. And you can thank 47 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: estradiol for you boobs, your hips, your strong bones. And 48 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: it also predisposes us to things like endometrios is and fibroids. 49 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 1: I thinks a lot estradie me girl. Yeah, but but 50 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: these these three hormones do all sorts of things around 51 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:30,959 Speaker 1: both the male and female body. It's not just limited 52 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: to women. Um, and it helps out in our bones, 53 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: our brain are uterie uterus is. I always still I 54 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 1: still say ter, I've got to stop that is that? Well? 55 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: I like it, but it's grammatically incorrect in our uterus 56 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,960 Speaker 1: is and in our hearts, our blood vessels, our skin, 57 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: and our lungs. So it's a very important group of hormones. Yeah, 58 00:03:57,120 --> 00:03:59,600 Speaker 1: and in men, I mean men, Folks out there, don't 59 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: think that you don't have any estrogen. Uh, you do, 60 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: as a man, make a small amount in your sex 61 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: organs and adrenal glands, and it helps regulate the fluid 62 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,400 Speaker 1: in your reproductive tract. Yeah. And when it comes to 63 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,719 Speaker 1: the potency of estrogen versus testosterone, Um, I thought it 64 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:23,160 Speaker 1: was interesting that men produce more testosterone and women produce estrogen. 65 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: But that's because estrogen is far more potent than testosterone. 66 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: So what's up. Yeah, we're potent um And at one 67 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: thing though about us studying estrogen because it does so 68 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: much around our body, and also because there has been 69 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:53,360 Speaker 1: a longstanding scientific bias towards studying things like exclusively male 70 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,200 Speaker 1: rats and male bodies because they don't have these complicated 71 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:01,120 Speaker 1: things like menstrual cycles. And sciences starting to catch up, 72 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,520 Speaker 1: but there's still a lot of questions about what exactly 73 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: estrogen does in our body. But we do obviously have 74 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: have some knowledge of what's going on. Okay. So one 75 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: of the reasons that we know all that we know 76 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: about estrogen today is due in part to or do 77 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:26,560 Speaker 1: mostly to Edward Soycy Christens. That's correct. Yeah, he actually 78 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: extracted the female sex hormones estrone and estriol from urine 79 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: from lots of urine, Yes, lots of They figured out 80 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: basically that uh, that there was a lot of estrogen 81 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:47,000 Speaker 1: in pregnant women's urine. And so Edward Adelberg, Deussey enterprising 82 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: man that he was at a St. Louis University medical school, 83 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,480 Speaker 1: said Hey, you know what, I really want to isolate 84 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: these compounds, So I'm gonna need a lot of urine. 85 00:05:59,160 --> 00:06:02,919 Speaker 1: And there was this anecdote that we found in the 86 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:05,880 Speaker 1: paper the Discovery of estro and Estriol and estra dial 87 00:06:05,960 --> 00:06:09,640 Speaker 1: and the Biochemical Study of Reproduction, the work of Edward Aidelbert, 88 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:13,160 Speaker 1: publishing the Journal of Biologic Chemistry in two thousand two, 89 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: that talked about how this poor driver had to bring 90 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: over these vats of urine, and um, I'm just gonna 91 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna read from the paper. While making collections 92 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: of urine, he committed a traffic violation, and the policeman 93 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,040 Speaker 1: who glanced in the back of the car and saw 94 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: the bottles with amber fluid, thought that he had caught 95 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: a bootlegger. Obviously this s happening during prohibition. He couldn't 96 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: he would not believe the driver, so he was invited 97 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: to get in to sample the amber fluid. After pulling 98 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:44,359 Speaker 1: the cork and sniffing, the cops said, my god, it 99 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: is urine. Your job is bad enough without getting pinched 100 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: for it. Drive on so urine not only helped us isolate. 101 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: These hormones also got this driver out of a traffic violation. 102 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: Maybe that is uh, maybe that's a notice. Well, yeah, 103 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: that takes care of a lot of things on long 104 00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,719 Speaker 1: road trips. Yeah, take care of you don't have to 105 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: stop for bathroom breaks and you can get yourself out 106 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: of a ticket. Yeah, the things that we learn so um, 107 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 1: different levels of estrogen and our bodies affect us differently. 108 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:25,760 Speaker 1: So what happens when estrogen levels fall? Why? What causes 109 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: estrogen levels to fall in women? And I mean they 110 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 1: differ from you know, as we get older, especially as 111 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: we enter menopause. But there are also particular conditions that 112 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: can lead to lower levels of the hormone, such as hypogonadism, 113 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:47,280 Speaker 1: hypo pituit terrorism, that's that's hard, that's hard, pregnancy failure, paramenopause, 114 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:51,720 Speaker 1: and menopause. The paramenopause is leading to menopause, uh, polycystic 115 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: ovarian syndrome and orexia. Extreme exercise, certain drugs, and it's 116 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:01,560 Speaker 1: your levels of estrogen change postper and during breastfeeding. So 117 00:08:01,640 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: there's a lot that's going on with your hormones all 118 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 1: throughout your life, right, And that's a good point to 119 00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:09,560 Speaker 1: to bring up the perimenopause and menopause because obviously that 120 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: is when the body stops producing the estra die all 121 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: and the estra will also be gone, but like we mentioned, 122 00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: the estrone will stick around post menopause. And one thing 123 00:08:20,880 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 1: that we're not going to get into on this episode 124 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 1: just because it is it is such a large topic, 125 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:29,760 Speaker 1: almost too big to tackle um in this episode is 126 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,680 Speaker 1: hormone replacement therapy that has come under a lot of 127 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: scientific scrutiny because when women were going through menopause, because 128 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,840 Speaker 1: of that drop off and estrogen, uh, there were a 129 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: lot of negative side effects. So hormone replacement therapy was 130 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: giving women um this uh, these jolts of estrogen to too, 131 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,440 Speaker 1: I guess to what the like alleviate mood swings and 132 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: hot flashes and help ease them through the great transition. 133 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: And they've actually found that because of things like increased 134 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:04,559 Speaker 1: risk for heart disease and breast cancer that can come 135 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: along with elevated levels of estrogen, that the hormone replacement 136 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: therapy is not as common as it used to be. 137 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:16,760 Speaker 1: Has it been faced out completely? No, My, I just 138 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:22,320 Speaker 1: remember when my mother was on hormone replacement therapy, estrogen therapy, 139 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,240 Speaker 1: and I just remember when all of that stuff hit 140 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:27,320 Speaker 1: the news because her doctor took her off of it 141 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:30,679 Speaker 1: and tried to find some different different methods. But she's 142 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: she's always hot, like she just never stopped having hot 143 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:37,800 Speaker 1: flashes after menopause, which must be miserable. I know that 144 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: whenever I go home, I have to put on a sweater. 145 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,679 Speaker 1: I'll tell you that much. Because it's chili. Because it's chili. Um. Now, 146 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: one thing that I mentioned as far as estrogen levels 147 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,320 Speaker 1: dropping that I thought was interesting, um, was the whole 148 00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: like working out and losing weight thing can really throw 149 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,559 Speaker 1: your hormones into a tailspin, whether you're a man or 150 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:57,400 Speaker 1: a woman, depending on estrogen, testosterone, whatever. But women with 151 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: low body fat often don't produce suffic amounts of sex hormones. 152 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: And so many elite athletes, you know, like you, I've 153 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: heard about this with gymnasts in particular, But like many 154 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: elite athletes experience a cessation of menstruation and end up 155 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:17,200 Speaker 1: developing osteoporosis. Well, it makes sense because on that on 156 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: that end of the spectrum, because estrogen, some estrogens are 157 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,840 Speaker 1: are stored in our body fat. When you don't have 158 00:10:24,120 --> 00:10:26,040 Speaker 1: body fat, that can tinker with things. But then on 159 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: the opposite end, when you're dealing with obesity, you have 160 00:10:30,679 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: an excess of you can't have an excess of estrogen production. 161 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: That will also throw things out of whack. The balancing 162 00:10:38,520 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: act of these hormones airline it is. Well. An article 163 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in May found that 164 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:48,440 Speaker 1: weight loss among overweight and obese women could help lower 165 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:53,440 Speaker 1: circulating estrogen levels linked with increased breast cancer risk. Why, 166 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:56,959 Speaker 1: just because what Christian was saying, fat cells secrete estrogen, 167 00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: and so the more weight we're carrying around, the more 168 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 1: estrogen is being really east. Yeah. And the and that 169 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: breast cancer risk um is so so tied to estrogen 170 00:11:05,559 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: because the estrogen actually stimulates or canstimulate too much cell 171 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:15,840 Speaker 1: division in the breast, therefore increasing the chances of cancerous 172 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:19,680 Speaker 1: mutations like tumors. And since we're also talking about some 173 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 1: of the downsides of estrogen exposure, we often hear about 174 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:29,440 Speaker 1: osteoporosis risk and increasing in menopausal and post menopausal woman. 175 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: And that's because estrogen has protective effects on bone health. 176 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,280 Speaker 1: But then when that drops off with paramenopause and menopause, Uh, 177 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:43,679 Speaker 1: then that heightens your risk of of bone of bone loss. 178 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:48,199 Speaker 1: Oh dear, I'm clutching my bones. Now, drink your milk. 179 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:50,720 Speaker 1: My mom was always very insistent about me drinking my 180 00:11:50,760 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: milk as a child because because of those things, because 181 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:57,280 Speaker 1: of being a lady. Yeah. Well, I don't actually like 182 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:00,280 Speaker 1: milk too much honestly anymore. I don't drink it anymore, 183 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: but I drank it every night with dinner. Yeah, so 184 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 1: maybe my bones are just like paper now I don't 185 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:11,600 Speaker 1: know paper tubes inside my skin. Um. There's also a 186 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 1: lot of research going on to look at estrogen's role 187 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:20,600 Speaker 1: in the brain, specifically with our working memory, because some 188 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 1: doctors want to know why Alzheimer's tends to affect women 189 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: more often than men, and they wonder if it has 190 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: to do with estrogen. Again, kind of like that with 191 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: the osteoporosis effect. As we age, um, estrogen being good 192 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,400 Speaker 1: for our working memory. There have actually been some studies 193 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:41,880 Speaker 1: saying that like attributing estrogen to women perhaps being a 194 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 1: little bit better multitasking, also comparing it to uh substances 195 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 1: like riddling me. Yeah, math, Yeah, we're a little meth 196 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 1: meth machines in here. It's like breaking bad inside of 197 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,520 Speaker 1: our bodies. Um. And so they're wondering what the drop 198 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:02,720 Speaker 1: off and strogen production if perhaps that might have to 199 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,840 Speaker 1: do with the gender difference in Alzheimer's, which is something 200 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: we have not talked about on the podcast. Hopefully I 201 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:13,560 Speaker 1: can remember to put that on our to do list. So, yeah, this, 202 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:17,920 Speaker 1: Kristen sent me this, this article talking about estrogen affecting 203 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: our concentration or memory or moods, et cetera. It was 204 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: in Scientific American. Couldn't start reading it. Actually, try to 205 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 1: send it to some other people in the office. They 206 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: didn't care. But so in this article, you see Berkeley 207 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:33,559 Speaker 1: researchers were found that women with lower levels of dopamine 208 00:13:33,760 --> 00:13:38,120 Speaker 1: struggled with memory tasks, but when the test was repeated 209 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:42,400 Speaker 1: during ovulation, when estrogen levels are higher, these women did 210 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 1: much better. Those with naturally hyd dopamine, however, did worse 211 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:51,319 Speaker 1: during ovulation. So it like pushes people over the edge 212 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 1: into a different concentration category. But it's again it sounds 213 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,760 Speaker 1: like it's uh. The study would suggest that again we 214 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 1: have that issue of alans where it's like too little 215 00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:06,880 Speaker 1: and too much is not optimal. Right. So Emily Jacobs, 216 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:09,280 Speaker 1: who's one of the study authors, said that for women 217 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,320 Speaker 1: with the highest dopamine levels, ovulation seems to take them 218 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: beyond a threshold and impair thinking. And so that's what 219 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 1: I'm going to blame my space out moments on. I'm sorry, 220 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: I just have I'm ovulating. I have way too much 221 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: dopamine right now. We just can't even listen to what 222 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,480 Speaker 1: you're saying. But I do know that I, for some reason, 223 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,000 Speaker 1: you want to baby right now, a baby and a brownie. 224 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:35,960 Speaker 1: Now speaking of we're making some fun of the latest, 225 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: but crazy on the babies. Um, it's so estrogen and emotions. 226 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:44,760 Speaker 1: This was one thing that I did want to look into, 227 00:14:44,800 --> 00:14:49,600 Speaker 1: and it's actually the behavioral impact of estrogen is something 228 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:54,160 Speaker 1: that scientists have been looking into for over a century. 229 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: So we've had this notion in our head that there's 230 00:14:56,040 --> 00:15:00,160 Speaker 1: got to be so something inside, ladies, let's make this 231 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:05,680 Speaker 1: just be be our selves. We are wonderful, are wonderful cells. Um, 232 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:08,600 Speaker 1: And so the notion is that you know that that 233 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:14,320 Speaker 1: estrogen makes women crazy, but that's actually crazy because when 234 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:18,360 Speaker 1: you think about how estrogen is released, both estrogen antestosterone 235 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: is released in the body in UM. It's produced in 236 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:26,120 Speaker 1: these periodic bursts that vary from hour to hour day today. 237 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 1: So it's not like we have a sudden onslaught of 238 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:35,840 Speaker 1: estrogen that just waterfall that there's everything out of whack. 239 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:41,120 Speaker 1: And there was a study published earlier in UM in 240 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: the study title is Estrogen Impacts on Emotion, Psychological, Neuroscience 241 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:51,400 Speaker 1: and Endocrine Studies, And the conclusion of the study looking 242 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: into the correlations between estrogen and emotions and women specifically 243 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: is that it's complicated. Yeah, there seemed to be a 244 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:05,040 Speaker 1: just a lot of attributes as far as estrogen treatments 245 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:08,600 Speaker 1: and depression and how it affects all of the stuff 246 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: going on in your brain. And a Chinese analysis of 247 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: a whole bunch of studies UH found that estrogen can 248 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 1: influence emotional behavior and processing, but it varies depending on 249 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: the person. So self freighted depression scores among women with 250 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:28,440 Speaker 1: depressive symptoms are reduced, they found by administration of estrogen. Yeah, 251 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: a lot of times they'll find that the typically like estrogen, 252 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: will a surge of it. If you give someone some estrogen, 253 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:41,240 Speaker 1: then it tends to temper your mood in a good way. 254 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: So why is it some people have wondered when girls 255 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:49,200 Speaker 1: go through puberty and obviously like the body starts producing 256 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:54,160 Speaker 1: this sex hormone, does the rate of anxiety and clinical 257 00:16:54,160 --> 00:17:00,400 Speaker 1: depression skyrocket for girls and women? And if this is 258 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: going to come up to in our episode that we're 259 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:05,280 Speaker 1: gonna do after this on testosterone, is that the relationship 260 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:09,240 Speaker 1: that we have between estrogen and depression the same way 261 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:13,639 Speaker 1: that we think about testosterone fueling aggression is often a 262 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 1: little bit backwards in our brains. It's not the estrogen 263 00:17:17,359 --> 00:17:22,399 Speaker 1: that is necessarily causing that kind of emotional downslope. It 264 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: is most likely because estrogen tends to increase our sensitivity 265 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:32,600 Speaker 1: to cortisol, the stress hormone, so we're a little more 266 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:38,919 Speaker 1: primed in a way too negatively react. Yeah, it actually 267 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 1: interferes with serotonin, and researchers found, you know, shortages of 268 00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:48,000 Speaker 1: serotonin during that stage in life can lead to fatigue, anxiety, 269 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:52,000 Speaker 1: and other symptoms of depression. And I thought it was interesting, Um, 270 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:55,880 Speaker 1: there's a study in a journal that I can't pronounce, Kristen. 271 00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:00,320 Speaker 1: What is it? Psycho neuro Oh yeah, okay, psycho anarrow 272 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:04,479 Speaker 1: into chronology. It just looks so long, But I got it, 273 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:06,920 Speaker 1: got it, I got it all right. This is back 274 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: In two thousand and eight, researchers found that S S 275 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 1: R eyes might work better in the presence of estrogen. 276 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 1: So depending on if you have more estrogen or testosterone, 277 00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 1: different antidepressant or anti anxiety medications might work better for you. 278 00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 1: They found that zolof for instance, produced no effect on 279 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:31,959 Speaker 1: female rats that didn't produce estrogen. It helped depression like symptoms, however, 280 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 1: if it was accompanied by estrogen treatment. Psychologists Susan Cornstein 281 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: in addition, found that men and post menopausal women, so 282 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 1: people with a lower estrogen level, respond better to antidepressants 283 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:49,680 Speaker 1: that target dopamine and nora epenefron, which no peneffron always 284 00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: makes me think of nora efron, But anyway, that's it 285 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: regulates that nor efron in your brain. Um well, speaking 286 00:18:58,359 --> 00:19:00,920 Speaker 1: though of of Mag's feel like we've covered a lot 287 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:06,800 Speaker 1: of our estrogen basis. Basically, estrogen is a group of hormones. 288 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:10,159 Speaker 1: It is three of them. We have these receptors and 289 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: our bodies that receive the hormones that will do things 290 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 1: like stimulate secondary sex characteristics such as boobs. And also, uh, 291 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:22,760 Speaker 1: it has an influence on our emotions, but maybe not 292 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:27,639 Speaker 1: as directly as we think stereotypically of you know, the 293 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 1: whole like roller coaster thing. And there are also some 294 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: some downsides and some upsides because these hormones, you know, 295 00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:40,880 Speaker 1: need a nice balance inside of the body. And as 296 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:45,080 Speaker 1: we mentioned at the top of the podcast, men, estrogen 297 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 1: is not just for for women. You make it too 298 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,760 Speaker 1: estradiale coming out them test these and your adrenal gland. 299 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: So that's what it does. That's how estrogen works. And 300 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,680 Speaker 1: like giant road brushes. Yeah, well, you know, we wanted 301 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:05,440 Speaker 1: to bring it up just because we reference sex hormones 302 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:09,080 Speaker 1: all of the time, so just to just to give 303 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:12,360 Speaker 1: you a little overview. Yeah, and um, we didn't talk 304 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:17,760 Speaker 1: about very much, was um. Also the association between estrogen, testosterone, 305 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:22,280 Speaker 1: these secondary or these sex hormones excuse me, and gender constructs. 306 00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:24,440 Speaker 1: But that is something that we're going to get into 307 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,280 Speaker 1: more in our next episode in which we're going to 308 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:34,320 Speaker 1: tackle how testosterone works. Does it really turn us into 309 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: aggro bulldozing, muscle machines find out on the next episode 310 00:20:42,080 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: of Stuff Mom Never Told You, and um, if there's 311 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,240 Speaker 1: something about estrogen, Like, like I said, we didn't really 312 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: go in depth on menopause mormon replacement therapy. That is 313 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:53,680 Speaker 1: something that we will revisit in the future in uh 314 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:57,040 Speaker 1: in depth a little bit more. But if there's anything 315 00:20:57,119 --> 00:20:59,399 Speaker 1: regarding estrogen that we didn't touch on or that you 316 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:01,880 Speaker 1: would like to know more about or have some experience with, 317 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 1: let us know. Mom. Stuff at Discovery dot Com is 318 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:08,000 Speaker 1: where you can send your letters. And before we get 319 00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 1: to our letters in this listener male segment, well, we've 320 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:20,040 Speaker 1: got a couple of letters here in response to our 321 00:21:20,080 --> 00:21:24,520 Speaker 1: episode on the friend zone, because they just keep coming. 322 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: The friend zone. It's just it's happening everywhere. And this 323 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:33,080 Speaker 1: first one is from Keegan, who writes, it's taken a while, 324 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:35,760 Speaker 1: but I have to say I'm finally figuring out how 325 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,120 Speaker 1: to talk to girls personally. I feel like I've gone 326 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: through many of those types of friend zones. For the longest, 327 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,600 Speaker 1: I couldn't figure out why I had so much trouble 328 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,920 Speaker 1: with relationships with a lack thereof, and after talking with 329 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:49,879 Speaker 1: some girls. I came to the conclusion that I was 330 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:54,440 Speaker 1: that guy who took too long to make my intentions clear. Unfortunately, 331 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,760 Speaker 1: by this point, and he's in college now, I'm friends 332 00:21:57,800 --> 00:22:00,520 Speaker 1: with the girls on campus, so any chance for a 333 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:04,040 Speaker 1: relationship is dead and gone. As for that one percent, 334 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: I hate to say, it's the one girl that I 335 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 1: am friend zoned with, and I just can't seem to 336 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,720 Speaker 1: figure out what to do. We met during a weekend 337 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:16,120 Speaker 1: field trip and I have hung out consistently since then, 338 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:20,280 Speaker 1: Yet she's had no intention of dating me. Like you 339 00:22:20,359 --> 00:22:23,199 Speaker 1: said in the podcast, she was completely oblivious to my feelings, 340 00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:25,960 Speaker 1: and when I finally confronted her about them, she brought 341 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 1: a swift hammer down to crush them. As she said, 342 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:34,320 Speaker 1: she simply didn't find me attractive. Many closer friends say 343 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:36,800 Speaker 1: she's not worth it and I shouldn't bother, But I 344 00:22:36,840 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 1: try to see the good in people. So here I 345 00:22:39,400 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 1: am asking for your advice. Should I even bother? If so, 346 00:22:43,359 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: is there anything I can do? The feelings were strong, 347 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: but they're gone now and I just want my friendship back. 348 00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:53,919 Speaker 1: So he's saying that he wants to repair the friendship. 349 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:58,760 Speaker 1: It's fine not dating her. What do you do well. 350 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,920 Speaker 1: You said that she cry to you like with a hammer, 351 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:08,440 Speaker 1: So that doesn't sound very friendship e. So I mean, 352 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:11,720 Speaker 1: you know, I think you and I have been on 353 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 1: both sides of a friend zone equation, and you have 354 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,200 Speaker 1: to decide if it's worth it. I guess, uh yeah, 355 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:21,480 Speaker 1: And I think you have to be real honest with 356 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:25,639 Speaker 1: yourself about why you want that friendship back. Is it 357 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 1: because you really want that friendship or because you missed 358 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:35,359 Speaker 1: their company in that way that made your heart flutter 359 00:23:35,359 --> 00:23:38,960 Speaker 1: a little bit when you saw them. And if that's 360 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 1: the case, then you got to give yourself more time. 361 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,400 Speaker 1: I think it sounds like it's still fresh. And if 362 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: all he says that all of his friends are saying 363 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 1: that she's not worth it, then you also should listen 364 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:52,680 Speaker 1: to your friends. Your friends. You Yeah, I'll say nine 365 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:54,680 Speaker 1: times out of ten when my friends have said don't 366 00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 1: do it, and I've done it anyway, I should not 367 00:23:56,359 --> 00:24:01,880 Speaker 1: have done it. Yep. So yep, the hard true. So 368 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,119 Speaker 1: that's that's what we got for you, Keegan. I know 369 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:06,439 Speaker 1: it's not it's not super easy, but hey, you know what, 370 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:09,720 Speaker 1: they're always they're always new people, new friends to make. 371 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:13,520 Speaker 1: That's right. So when you do that. Yeah, Well, here's 372 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: a letter from Adam and he's here to say that 373 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,440 Speaker 1: friend zoning is equal opportunity. All right, as far as 374 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 1: sex roles go, let's hear it. So Adam said, I 375 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 1: loved your podcast on the friend zone, and I'm here 376 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,240 Speaker 1: to say men do indeed put people in the friend zone. 377 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: I also think I can give some advice for friends zoning. 378 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: Almost immediately after I sense romantic attraction, whether it's really 379 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:35,959 Speaker 1: there or not, I try to spend less time with 380 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,040 Speaker 1: that person. While this may seem harsh, it helps create 381 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:42,920 Speaker 1: emotional distance to ensure the appeal doesn't intensify, and also 382 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,879 Speaker 1: to avoid the hurt feelings that can occur from a 383 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,200 Speaker 1: friendship damaged by one side of attraction. Even though losing 384 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:50,000 Speaker 1: a friend is always tough, I believe it is a 385 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,160 Speaker 1: better option than expecting a platonic relationship from someone who 386 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 1: wants more. I hope he says this helps anyone who 387 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:01,480 Speaker 1: has felt alienated by such messy cross gender interactions. And 388 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:03,360 Speaker 1: I have to say, I think it's funny that this 389 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: is his advice, because so many of those dumb advice 390 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:10,680 Speaker 1: columns on the internet were like distance yourself to make 391 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:14,640 Speaker 1: yourself more attractive, So be careful what you wish for. 392 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: And thank you Adam, Thanks Adam, and thanks to everyone 393 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:21,320 Speaker 1: who's written into moms Stuff at Discovery dot com. And 394 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:23,560 Speaker 1: you can also head over to Facebook and start a 395 00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,280 Speaker 1: conversation there like us. While you're at it, follow us 396 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,159 Speaker 1: on Twitter at mom Stuff Podcast. You can also have 397 00:25:29,280 --> 00:25:32,560 Speaker 1: fun on our Tumbler page. You can follow us It's 398 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,600 Speaker 1: stuff Mom Never Told You dot tumbler dot com. And 399 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:38,600 Speaker 1: if you would like to get a little smarter about 400 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,359 Speaker 1: estrogen and all sorts of that fun science e stuff, 401 00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:43,760 Speaker 1: why don't you head over to our website, It's how 402 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:49,640 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com for more on this and thousands 403 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:56,959 Speaker 1: of other topics. Is it how Stuff Works dot com.