How Estrogen Gets Made, Used & Cleared From Your Body

If you’re somewhere in your 40s or 50s, there’s a good chance you’ve learned more about estrogen lately than you ever really wanted to.

High estrogen. Low estrogen. Fluctuating estrogen. Perimenopause. Menopause. HRT.

I feel like estrogen suddenly became part of the daily vocabulary.

But through my own perimenopause experience, I realized something: I actually knew very little about what estrogen does once our body makes it.

Where does it come from? What does it do? And maybe the question I had never thought to ask: where does it go when our body is finished with it?

I’m not a hormone expert or practitioner. I’m simply a woman in her 50s who has become much more curious about her body, and I love sharing the things I learn along the way.

So here’s the estrogen story in regular-person language.

First, where does estrogen come from?

During our reproductive years, our ovaries are the main producers of estrogen.

But they aren’t the only place estrogen can come from. Other tissues in the body, including fat tissue, can produce forms of estrogen too. And as we move toward menopause and ovarian estrogen production declines, those other sources become relatively more important.

During our cycling years, estrogen naturally rises and falls throughout the menstrual cycle.

And then along comes perimenopause, when that once somewhat predictable rhythm can become a lot less predictable.

Some days it feels like our hormones have looked at the calendar and said, “Nah, we’re just going to wing it from here.”

Estrogen isn’t just about your period

This was one of the bigger things I learned.

I spent most of my life associating estrogen with periods, reproduction and eventually menopause.

But estrogen receptors are found throughout the body, which is why estrogen has effects well beyond our reproductive system.

It plays a role in things like our:

• bones

• brain

• cardiovascular system

• skin

• reproductive tissues

So when estrogen starts fluctuating during perimenopause, it makes a little more sense that we can notice changes that seemingly have absolutely nothing to do with our period.

Our hormones don’t operate in one tiny department of the body. They’re part of a much bigger picture.

So…where does estrogen go?

This was the part that sent me down the rabbit hole.

Estrogen doesn’t just finish its job and disappear.

Our body metabolizes it, and our liver plays an important role in that process.

The liver converts estrogen into different metabolites, basic forms that can continue to be processed and eventually eliminated from the body.

Some leave through urine, while others are sent into the digestive tract through bile.

Which brings us to another part of the estrogen story I hadn’t really thought about.

Your gut gets involved too

Once estrogen metabolites enter the digestive tract, some can leave the body through our stool.

But it’s not necessarily a one-way trip.

Certain gut bacteria produce an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase, which can convert some estrogen metabolites into forms that may be reabsorbed back into circulation.

There’s even a term researchers use for the collection of gut bacteria involved in estrogen metabolism: the estrobolome.

There’s your little nutrition nerd nugget for today.

Researchers are still learning a lot about the relationship between the gut microbiome and estrogen, so I don’t think we need to turn this into another thing to obsess over.

For me, the takeaway was much simpler.

Oh look, another reason the boring basics matter

I know. I know.

You came here to learn about estrogen, and somehow I’ve brought us back to fibre, water, food and movement.

But that’s what I keep discovering about health.

The basics aren’t flashy, but they support a whole lot of what our bodies are already trying to do.

Getting enough fibre helps support regular bowel movements.

Drinking enough fluid helps our digestive system function normally.

Eating a variety of plant foods provides fibre and nutrients while also supporting a diverse gut microbiome.

Movement can support overall health and normal digestive function too.

None of those things is a magical “estrogen detox.”

And eating broccoli isn’t going to suddenly balance your hormones by Tuesday.

They’re simply everyday habits that support the systems involved in normal hormone metabolism and elimination.

What does that look like in real life?

This is where I always like to bring things back down to earth.

You don’t need a complicated hormone protocol or a refrigerator full of foods you’ve never heard of.

It might look like adding berries to your oatmeal.

Throwing some ground flax or chia into your yogurt.

Adding beans or lentils to a soup.

Getting another vegetable onto your dinner plate.

Drinking your water.

Taking a walk.

And paying attention to whether your digestion is actually regular.

Small things. Done fairly consistently.

Real life. Real health.

The biggest thing I’ve taken from learning all of this

The more I learn about my body at this stage of life, the less interested I am in trying to control every hormone or chase every symptom.

I want to understand what’s happening so I can make choices that support my health without turning wellness into another full-time job.

Estrogen is made.

It travels around the body and does a whole lot of important work.

It’s metabolized, with the liver playing a major role.

And metabolites are eventually eliminated through pathways that include our urine and digestive system, with some potentially being reabsorbed along the way.

That’s obviously a very simplified version of a complicated process.

But sometimes understanding the simple version is enough to make those everyday healthy habits feel a little more meaningful.

And if you’re navigating perimenopause or menopause and something feels off, that’s where your doctor or qualified healthcare practitioner comes in. Your symptoms, hormone levels and any decisions around hormone therapy are individual and definitely not something we can figure out from an Instagram post or a bowl of flaxseed.

I’m just over here learning about my own body and sharing the interesting bits with you along the way.