Binge eating in women in women who have menstrual irregularities has long been suspected of being related to circulating estrogen levels.
Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital have published a new study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation which found that estrogen can inhibit binging by increasing the production of brain serotonin. This study was done in mice but is consistent with previous knowledge.
“Previous data has shown that women who have irregular menstrual cycles tend to be more likely to binge eat, suggesting that hormones in women play a significant role in the development or prevention of the behavior,” said Dr. Yong Xu, senior author of the research paper. “Previous data has also shown that in humans, there is a strong association between estrogen and binge eating. When estrogen is high, binge eating is inhibited, but when estrogen is low, binge eating becomes more frequent.
Binge eating, is an eating disorder in which one eats a large amounts of food in a short period of time, and affects many women with menstrual irregularities including those in peri-menopause. Consideration of Bio-identical Hormone replacement may be a reasonable choice for women who have binge eating associated with these hormonal states.
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