Where does this news come from?
A surprising number of articles appear about hormones and health. in De Morgen Magazine On February 24 he was the winner again. Under the title Embrace your hormonal rollercoaster, a piece by Amber Dujardin, speaks by Rineke Dijkenga. I wrote a book about hormones and mentioned that unbalanced hormones can turn your life upside down.
Dikinga in De Morgen Magazine: 'A lot of people get it Too much estrogen from processed foods. This hormone promotes fat storage. And belly fat can convert your hormones into estrogen itself, so you end up in a negative spiral.
We read on her website that Dijkinga is not a nutritionist, but a naturopath and osteopath. In other words, this is it Pseudoscience.
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Amber Dujardin. Embrace your hormonal rollercoaster. De Morgen Magazine. February 24, 2024.
How should you interpret this news?
We can be brief. Processed foods do not contain estrogen. Dikinga's statement is incorrect.
Food can contain estrogen Related materials It contains and is Phytoestrogens or isoflavones. These are found naturally in many plant products. Especially in vegetables and fruits, for example in broccoli. These plant estrogens are not harmful to health. Unless you consume a lot of it, if you frequently take isoflavone supplements. This would be harmful to them (1).
Dikinga also says that belly fat can convert hormones into estrogen. This is closer to the scientific truth: Fat cells actually produce estrogen themselves. This occurs in addition to the production of the ovaries.
Menopausal complaints
During the Premenopausal period (The period before menopause) The ovaries produce less estrogen. As a result, some women experience symptoms of menopause. Anyone who is having a lot of problems can start treatment with estrogen, with or without a combination of progestogens. So women feel this way Miserable due to lack of estrogenAnd not much.
a too many Estrogen can also make you sick, but that's a lot rarer From a deficiency of this hormone. The excess can be a result of overproduction of the ovaries due to disease. Or from poor breakdown of estrogen in the body. This has nothing to do with nutrition.
Amber Dujardin interviewed many people for her article, most of whom said very reasonable things about hormones.
Conclusion
Processed foods do not contain estrogen and do not directly affect estrogen production in the body. There may be an indirect connection. If you eat a lot of processed foods, which are often high in calories, your body turns the excess nutrients into fat and your fat cells produce estrogen. But: this is not what Rineke Dijkenga meant. Therefore, what she said is incorrect.
