The two main female hormones, estrogen and progesterone, play essential roles in reproduction, a woman's development, as well as her fertility throughout life. These hormones interact not only with female reproductive organs, but also with other tissues throughout a body to help maintain a woman's health. Vitamin D can complement the function of some female hormones and these vitamin-hormone interactions may play a beneficial role in preventing disease. Some cases of breast cancer develop because of an imbalance in female hormones, which can lead to abnormal breast development. Normally, the hormones estrogen and progesterone control breast growth, and variations in the levels of these hormones allow for cycles of growth during to each menstrual cycle. Abnormal estrogen or progesterone function can promote breast cancer development. A study published in "Cancer Causes & Control" in March, 2010 indicates that vitamin D can help balance the levels of estrogen and progesterone in young women and help prevent a hormonal imbalance that might promote breast cancer.
Vitamin D's effect on female hormones may also prove important for women entering menopause. At the onset of menopause, women naturally experience a hormone imbalance characterized by low estrogen levels, since the ovaries cease to produce the hormone. Many women correct this imbalance by receiving hormone therapy, which increases the level of estrogen in the bloodstream. Vitamin D can complement estrogen therapy in menopausal women and help prevent bone loss that can occur as a result of a low estrogen. Vitamin D can also benefit neurons, or nerves. Maintaining a proper balance of female hormones proves important to the health of your brain, since both estrogen and progesterone play important roles in maintaining brain function. Progesterone helps protect neurons from toxicity due to an overstimulation of brain cells. A study published in "Molecular Medicine" in June, 2009 indicates that vitamin D supports progesterone in protecting brain cells. By helping maintain a proper balance of progesterone functioning within your brain, vitamin D might help prevent or treat some forms of brain damage.
Maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D can prove important to regulating the levels of female hormones in a woman's body -- potentially helping to prevent a hormonal imbalance -- and also supporting the natural functions of those hormones in preventing disease. If you currently suffer from a hormonal imbalance, talk to your doctor about the possibility of a vitamin D deficiency, or the potential benefit of vitamin supplements to help increase your body's vitamin D levels. Never take vitamin D supplements to correct a hormonal imbalance without consulting your doctor. Hormonal imbalances require medical attention to identify and treat the underlying cause of the imbalance. Causes of Lower Left Side Abdominal and Back Pain Vitamin D and Hormonal Imbalances The Connection Between Low Estrogen and Low Vitamin D Reasons for Pain in Lower Left Side What Effects Does Estrogen Have on an Adolescent Girl? List of Female Hormones Hormones of the Female Reproductive System
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The glands -- located in your neck -- secretes parathyroid hormone, a signaling molecule that helps to regulate calcium in your body. The release of parathyroid hormone promotes the activation of vitamin D within your cells, which in turn leads to calcium regulation. A vitamin D deficiency can lead to the abnormal release of parathyroid hormone: since, in the absence of vitamin D, your body does not respond to parathyroid hormone, your hormone gland begins to produce very large amounts of the hormone to compensate. Over time, this can lead to a hormonal imbalance due to high levels of circulating parathyroid hormone. A vitamin D deficiency can also have an effect on your pituitary gland, a small hormone in your brain that produces a range of hormones. One crucial aspect to regulating pituitary function is the control over pituitary cell growth; abnormal pituitary growth can lead to the development of tumors, which can in turn disrupt normal pituitary function and cause a hormonal imbalance.
A study published in "Brain Pathology" in 2006 identifies vitamin D as important in regulating pituitary cell growth, and indicates that the vitamin might help to treat some pituitary tumors. As a result, vitamin D might help to prevent a pituitary hormonal imbalance in some cases. In some cases, treatment with vitamin D supplements can help to relieve the symptoms associated with rapid changes in hormone levels. Hormonal imbalances cause by abnormally low estrogen production in a woman's body can occur as a side effect of some cancer treatments, surgeries, or can occur naturally as a result of menopause. This low estrogen can prove harmful, increasing the risk of osteoporosis. Taking vitamin D can help prevent the bone loss caused by low blood estrogen levels, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. You can help to prevent some types of hormonal imbalances by avoiding a vitamin D deficiency. Moderate sun exposure -- sometimes as little as a few minutes in the sun between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. -- allows your skin to make vitamin D to sustain your hormone levels.