Estrogen Dominance
Are you struggling with mood swings, weight gain, or low libido? If so, you could be dealing with a hormone imbalance called estrogen dominance. Estrogen is one of the most important female reproductive hormones. Estrogen regulates menstruation, improves the thickness and quality of the skin, helps regulate cholesterol production in the liver, contributes to bone health, and more. Without estrogen you can experience symptoms of menopause, like vaginal dryness, hot flashes, moodiness, and irregular periods but too much of a good thing can cause mayhem.
Estrogen dominance can wreak havoc on your entire body
Having too much estrogen and not enough progesterone is known as estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance is linked to a long list of symptoms and puts you at risk for a variety of chronic issues. The greatest risk associated with estrogen dominance is hormone-dependent cancers such as estrogen receptor positive breast cancer in women. Statistics show that one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Thyroid issues can also occur because excess estrogen blocks the thyroid hormones from hitting their receptor sites and doing its job. Excess estrogen can wreak havoc on your body if it’s not in proper balance with your other reproductive hormones, mainly progesterone. Since progesterone is a natural diuretic, estrogen dominance can also lead to high blood pressure. Properly balanced progesterone will also stabilize blood sugar; when estrogen is dominant we see increased insulin resistance and diabetes.
Symptoms of estrogen dominance
Do you struggle with mood swings, weight gain, or low libido? If so, you could be dealing with hormone imbalance. Similar to low progesterone, estrogen dominance can cause a variety of symptoms, including:
Weight gain (particularly in hips, midsection, thighs)
Fibrocystic breasts
Fibroids
Endometriosis
Abnormal menstruation
PMS
Bloating
Fatigue
Low sex drive
Mood swings
Depression
Anxiety
Brain fog
Insomnia
Causes of estrogen dominance
1. Food
One of the biggest sources of excess estrogen is our modern diet. Commercially raised animals are injected with growth hormones to make them grow bigger and faster or increase milk production. These hormones make their way into your food where they can disrupt your own natural hormone balance.
The pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides found on conventional produce are known endocrine disruptors that interfere with your natural hormone activity and metabolism. While there is a small quantity on individual fruits and vegetables, the cumulative effect quickly adds up and hasn’t been studied enough to determine what the long-term effects might be.
2. Water
Water is heavily polluted with hormone-disrupting compounds including pesticides and fertilizers, synthetic and natural estrogens from livestock and prescription medications, and an unknown number of industrial chemicals from chemical plant runoff or the disposal of plastics and chemicals in landfills.
3. Personal Care Products
Cosmetics, lotions, shampoos, soaps, toothpastes, and numerous other body products we use often contain parabens, phenoxyethanol, phthalates and other compounds that all have estrogenic activity. The average person uses 10-15 body products a day, with a total of 126 different ingredients, this exposure can quickly add up!
Xeno-estrogens in skin care products are especially harmful because they are absorbed directly into your tissues therefore they never have the chance to be detoxified by your liver. You can check out the safety of your products on the Environmental Working Group's website.
4. Gut Dysbiosis
Your gut microbiome regulates circulating estrogen using an enzyme known as beta-glucuronidase. When your microbiome is out of balance, these enzymes can’t properly metabolize estrogens, leaving you more susceptible to breast cancer and other conditions caused by estrogen dominance.
5. BPA and Other Plastics
Plastic in all its forms, including in water bottles, food wrap, and storage containers, contain hormone mimicking xeno-estrogens that can leach into what you’re eating or drinking and cause major problems for your health. Microwaving, dishwashing, and exposing plastic to sunlight increases the estrogenic activity of plastic even more.
6. Heavy Metals
Heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, and mercury have estrogen-mimicking properties. It has been suggested that the presence of these endocrine-disrupting elements in our environment may be behind the early onset puberty that has become the norm.
7. Body Fat
Excess body fat—especially stored in the hips, waist, and thighs—is one of the leading causes of estrogen dominance. Not only does fat tissue absorb and store estrogen circulating in your bloodstream, it also synthesizes estrogen from your other hormones. Having high levels of estrogen cues your body to make more fat cells, which then produce even more estrogen creating a vicious cycle.
8. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and Birth Control
Hormone replacement therapy medications and most oral contraceptives contain estrogen without the necessary progesterone to maintain proper hormone balance. The hormones used in HRT and birth control tend to be toxic, synthetic hormones that are not easily metabolized by the liver, leading to DNA damage and an increased risk for breast and endometrial cancer.
9. Chronic Stress
When you’re chronically stressed, your body uses progesterone to make cortisol. Low levels of progesterone lead to estrogen dominance.
Until you balance your hormones, you will have problems with stubborn weight, mood, sleep, energy, and a host of other frustrating symptoms. Hormones can be complicated. This is why I do my work . I want to make it simpler for you. You do not have to be at the mercy of your hormones. There is a simple, effective, and natural way for the body to correct hormone imbalance. I want to empower women to find quality of life through hormonal balance.. I believe you deserve to look and feel your best at every age. Contact me to find out how!