Estrogen is defined as the main sexual and reproductive hormone in women.
Men have estrogen but in much smaller amounts.
Due to various factors, estrogen levels in men can become too high. When that happens, various symptoms occur and affect your quality of life.
Fortunately, there are ways you can balance your hormones. Green tea is often dubbed effective for this purpose.
Does green tea lower estrogen? Read on to find out.
What is green tea?
Green tea is a tea made from leaves and buds of Camellia sinensis, a species of evergreen shrub or small tree native to East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.
Interestingly, green tea comes from the same plant as black tea. The difference is that unoxidized leaves are necessary for green tea, whereas oxidized leaves are used for black tea production. Basically, leaves are grown the same way for both teas, but they are treated differently after harvest.
Today, green tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages. What’s more, the value of the green tea market in 2019 was $13,000 million, and it is expected to jump to $20,000 million by 2026. In other words, the value of this market grows consistently, and it’s all due to high demand.
What is estrogen dominance in men?
Estrogen dominance doesn’t only affect women. Men can experience this problem too. In men, progesterone production takes place in the testicular and adrenal tissue. As men age, the declining progesterone levels lead to a reduction in testosterone levels too.
Estrogen dominance occurs when both progesterone and testosterone levels are too low or insufficient to balance estrogen circulating in your body.
In other words, estrogen dominance can occur even when your estrogen levels are normal as long as progesterone and testosterone are low. But in most cases, men have low testosterone and higher estrogen due to lifestyle and other causes.
Generally speaking, estrogen dominance occurs due to alcohol consumption, obesity or being overweight, an unhealthy diet, and exposure to environmental estrogens.
Symptoms of estrogen dominance in men include:
- Depression and anxiety
- Irritability and mood swings
- Abdominal weight gain
- Brain fog
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Low libido
Men with high estrogen are also at risk of developing gynecomastia (man breasts), erectile dysfunction, infertility, or other problems affecting sexual health.
High estrogen could also affect prostate gland health and function, and increase the breast cancer risk in males. This whole subject of clinical nutrition requires a lot of research.
Can green tea lower estrogen in men?
Many supplements and other products that support hormonal balance in men contain green tea. This isn’t by accident!
Although research on this subject is scarce, current evidence confirms green tea helps lower estrogen or contributes to improving hormonal balance.
You see, green tea intake is associated with decreased estrone and estradiol levels. Both estrone and estradiol are forms of estrogen hormone.
Green tea’s potential to lower estrogen could stem from its polyphenols that inhibit aromatase, the crucial enzyme for converting androgens to estrogen. Tea polyphenol is the active compound in different teas, responsible for various health benefits.
One study found that green tea consumption was linked to decreased levels of total estrogens. Catechins from green tea could act on aromatase by modulating the expression of CYP19 (aromatase) isoforms. This tea could also act on estrogen receptors and downplay the expression of this hormone.
The main active compound in green tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), is also associated with anti-estrogenic effects. However, this subject requires more research, especially on male subjects. At this point, studies usually focus on Asian women and other female subjects.
One way of green tea’s ability to suppress estrogen could be the favorable effect on testosterone production. In one study, regular consumption of green tea was associated with spermatogenesis and improved sperm quality. The same research found increased testosterone values with a higher concentration of green tea, thanks to EGCG.
Green tea and weight loss
Mechanisms associated with estrogen-lowering effects of matcha green tea require further elucidating. Green tea could have both direct and indirect impacts on estrogen and levels of other hormones.
An indirect link could be through its potential to promote weight loss. A review of evidence on this subject, published in the Canadian Pharmacists Journal, revealed green tea could aid weight loss.
Supplementation with green tea results in 0.2kg to 3.5kg greater weight loss. That being said, studies focus primarily on green tea extract, which you can find in the products and dietary supplements, not green tea as a beverage.
Some studies do evaluate the impact of tea itself. Interestingly, consumption of green tea was found to support fat oxidation and fat burning even at rest and during exercise. With green tea, you also get some caffeine intake, which could accelerate metabolism.
Why does the role of green tea in weight loss matter? It matters because excess body weight is associated with lower testosterone levels in men. For many years, studies have confirmed that obesity leads to increased estrogen production in men.
Reductions in total testosterone levels in overweight or obesity are mainly a consequence of decreased sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) due to obesity-related hyperinsulinemia.
Another factor that plays a role here is that adipose tissue expresses aromatase which converts testosterone to estrogens. The bigger the adipose or fat tissue, the more aromatase it contains. That explains why overweight or obese men tend to have low testosterone and high estrogen levels.
Estrogen in men is a broad subject that stretches from child health to adulthood. But, before you start drinking green tea or buying products with this extract, you should consult your doctor.
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10 health benefits of green tea
Green tea is known for its outstanding health benefits. Many people credit green tea improvements to their overall health and wellbeing. Some of the most significant health benefits for green tea drinkers include:
- Improved brain functions such as memory
- Supports fat burning
- Exhibits antioxidant effects
- Better mood, vigilance, and reaction time
- May protect the brain against aging
- Promotes oral health and tackles bad breath
- May prevent type 2 diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity and decreasing blood glucose levels
- Improves main risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, which includes LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol
- Promotes weight loss
- Cancer prevention
Green tea is safe for general consumption and doesn’t induce side effects unless you have sensitivity to caffeine consumption. Drinking three to five cups of green tea a day is enough to obtain its effects. To get the best results, make sure you buy high-quality green tea from a reputable brand.
Ways to naturally lower estrogen levels
Since high estrogen levels have a major impact on a man’s physical, sexual, and mental health and other aspects of life, you need to be proactive and maintain proper hormonal balance or manage hormone imbalance.
There’s a lot you can do to naturally lower estrogen levels if you have dominance of this hormone. For instance, you can:
- Manage your weight: high-fat diets and excess body fat are associated with higher levels of estrogen metabolism in men. One of the most important strategies to lower estrogen hormone levels is to lose weight and maintain it in a healthy range.
- Modify your diet: reduce alcohol and caffeinated soda intake, and increase consumption of cruciferous vegetables to encourage the production of testosterone and lower estrogen levels. Diet adjustments can also support weight loss.
- Reduce exposure to environmental estrogens: while it’s impossible to avoid all environmental estrogens, you can reduce exposure to them. For example, you can avoid meat products from animals fed synthetic hormones, plastic bottles, and food containers. Environmental estrogens are also present in some shampoos and other toiletries that contain parabens.
- Try supplements: some dietary supplements are known for blocking estrogen production. These include wild nettle root, chrysin, maca, and grape seed extract. Vitamin D supplements are also beneficial for men.
Our Natural Estrogen Blocker for Men: Estro Clear
Estro Clear is an all-natural, clinical-grade estrogen blocker for men. Estro Clear works as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle to help reduce excess estrogen for men with estrogen dominance or low testosterone levels.
Studies show the active ingredients in this natural hormone treatment have a clear anti-estrogenic effect. This, therefore, helps to rebalance your hormone levels which have a positive impact on your sexual and prostate health. Moreover, by lowering their estrogen level, men can regain their masculine traits and may find it easier to lose weight naturally.
Conclusion
Green tea could be helpful for reducing estrogen levels in men. A lot more research on this subject is necessary. Current evidence focuses primarily on postmenopausal women and menopausal women.
Several mechanisms are involved in the estrogen-lowering effects of green tea drinking, including its influence on aromatase which converts testosterone to estrogen.
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