What is Estrogen?
Estrogen is a hormone produced naturally by your body. Everyone assigned male and female at birth makes it [1]. Different tissues, not limited to the reproductive organs, produce, store, and secrete estrogen. Estrogen comprises three hormones: estradiol, estrone, and estriol [2]. Of these, the first, estradiol, is the most active and can be considered the most potent, exerting significant effects on ovulation, egg maturation, and thickening of the uterine lining to allow egg implantation [2, 3].
Estrone is weaker than estradiol and is produced by both the ovaries and fat tissues. It’s the estrogen responsible for most of the effects related to sexual development in females [2]. Estriol is the weakest of the three and almost undetectable outside of pregnancy. This is when estriol’s primary purpose occurs [2].
What Does Estrogen Do?
Estrogen helps regulate your reproductive system, keeps your bones strong, and helps your skin recover from bruises and damage [1]. In females, it helps build breasts and prepare the uterus and ovaries for fertility [4]. It also triggers the beginning of a woman’s period. While your period is happening, levels of estrogen rise, paving the way for the growth of a lining in the uterus that helps a new egg find a home if it’s fertilised [4].
Estrogen also has multiple other roles throughout a woman’s life, including helping make and keep bones strong, controlling cholesterol possibly by helping raise good (HDL) cholesterol levels, boosting blood supply to the skin and increasing skin thickness, and helping to regulate moods and perhaps control depression and anxiety [4].
Along with its known roles in reproductive tissues, it now seems estrogen and its receptors might have functions elsewhere in the body, including in the brain. The neuroprotective activity of estrogen has been intensively studied. The hormone is a potent neuroprotective antioxidant molecule and may directly induce the transcription of neuroprotective genes and cross-talk with other intracellular signalling pathways [5].
Can Food Influence Estrogen Levels?
Yes, food can influence estrogen levels. Certain compounds found in food have been shown to have an estrogenic effect when ingested. These include isoflavones, lignines, and lactones commonly found in vegetables [6].
One study showed that high amounts of saturated fat in the diet increased the estradiol hormone level in premenopausal Japanese women [7]. Another study shows that a unit increase in the Western dietary pattern index was associated with a 16.2% increase in the serum concentrations of free estradiol [8]. A rise of 31.0% for each serving per week of chicken eggs and 64.9% for each serving of red meat was also observed [8].
Nevertheless, dietary effects on estrogen levels are complex and not well understood. Some studies have found only modest associations between diet and estrogen levels, while others have found no effect of a high-soy diet on estrogen metabolites [9].
Do Chickpeas Affect Estrogen Levels?
Chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, are legumes that have been studied for their effects on estrogen levels. The plant compound in chickpeas that may affect estrogen levels is known as isoflavones. Isoflavones are part of the group of phytoestrogens, which are plant-derived estrogens.
It is proven that isoflavones extracted from chickpea sprouts could have estrogenic activities. In a previous study in ovariectomised rats, the muscles that guard the uterus (a rodent model) recovered significantly, with increased uterus weight, epithelial height, and gland number after being dosed with isoflavones extracted from chickpea sprouts [10].
Meanwhile, one study found that isoflavones extracted from chickpea sprouts stimulated the growth (at low concentrations) of MCF-7 cells – a cancer cell derived from human breast carcinoma – indicating that they could be used as estrogen mimics in the body [11].
But even so, it’s worth noting that chickpea isoflavones’ estrogenic activity appears mild compared to the body’s estrogen. In the above-described rat study, the estrogenic actions of chickpea isoflavones were milder than those of estrogen itself, as evidenced by the estrogen administration in the form of the hormone estradiol [10].
In conclusion, while chickpeas contain compounds that can mimic the effects of estrogen in the body, more research is required to fully comprehend the extent of these effects in humans.