Getting Your Prostaglandins in Control
January 13, 2010 by Dee
Filed under Estrogen Dominance Treatment
You may never have heard of prostaglandins but they play a significant role in your health. Prostaglandins help regulate every cell in your body, including hormones. 
Some prostaglandins are beneficial while others are not so beneficial but, like nearly everything else where your health is concerned, your prostaglandins need to be balanced. So how do they get out of balance and what can you do to help keep the scales level? First, let’s take a closer look a prostaglandins and the role they play in the development of estrogen dominance.
What are Prostaglandins?
Prostaglandins are compounds derived from certain fatty acids. There are a variety of prostaglandins, each of which have specific tasks to perform. Depending on which class of fatty acids they were made from, prostaglandins fall into three different categories.
Series 1 prostaglandins are derived from linoleic fatty acids. These prostaglandins work s to relax blood vessels, lower blood pressure, improve circulation, decrease inflammation, improve nerve function, improve T-cell function, regulate calcium metabolism and, most importantly, keep cells from releasing “arachidonic acid”, or AA.
AA is what makes up Series 2 prostaglandins. These are considered the “bad” form of prostaglandins. It is the job of this type of prostaglandin to promote the formation of blood clots, make your body retain sodium, encourage the production of cortisol, increase inflammation, and even promote heart disease. It is incredibly important to regulate this type of prostaglandin.
Series 3 prostaglandins are made from the fatty acids found in fish oil. Series 3 prostaglandins are like the police, striving to prevent the ‘bad guys’ from being released into your body. If they fail to do their job, your blood tends to clump together and you are more likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack.
Why Your Prostaglandins become Unbalanced
The most common culprits throwing your prostaglandins out of balance are poor diet, stress and viral illnesses. Hydrogenated oils (trans-fatty acids) and sugar are two of the worst enemies of prostaglandins. Avoiding these substances will help keep Series 1 and Series 3 prostaglandins strong and prevent them from being overwhelmed by Series 2 prostaglandins.
Stress is also a major factor in prostaglandins balance. When your body releases stress hormones it encourages inflammation-producing prostaglandins, which, in turn, raises the levels of cortisol and estrogen in your body while restricting the production of progesterone. These imbalances in turn contribute to the development of estrogen dominance.
Evening Primrose Oil Helps Keep Prostaglandins Balanced
Evening primrose oil is a natural source of linoleic acid and Gamma-linoleic acid, the material from which the all important Series 1 prostaglandins are produced. It is one of the richest sources of those important substances available anywhere. If you are unable to get enough of these building materials from your diet, which is often the case with today’s hectic lifestyles, you may benefit from adding an evening primrose supplement to your regime.
Of course, a combination of evening primrose oil and an improved diet can make an even greater difference in your health. In addition to taking evening primrose oil supplements you’ll find that avoiding margarine and other hydrogenated oils, cutting back on sugar and eating fish once or twice a week will provide your body with the weapons it needs to combat prostaglandin imbalances.
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