Low Estrogen
Estrogen dominance gets talked about a lot but inspired by the DUTCH results I’ve reviewed the last few weeks, let’s talk low estrogen. Five women in the last few weeks had low estrogen. Low as in peri-menopausal or menopausal levels yet these women were all age 40 and under.
Why does estrogen matter?
It is responsible for the sexual development of girls when they reach puberty
Estrogen controls the growth of the uterine lining during the menstrual cycle and at the beginning of a pregnancy
It causes breast changes in teenagers and women who are pregnant
It is involved in bone and cholesterol metabolism
It regulates food intake, body weight, glucose metabolism, and insulin sensitivity
The most common symptoms of low estrogen I see in my practice:
Brain fog: Brain fog but also depression, irritability, and memory loss are common symptoms when estrogen is low.
Dry, thinning skin: We need estrogen to keep up collagen production. Without estrogen and collage, skin begins to age rapidly.
Frequent UTIs: Estrogen helps the lining of your urethra keep unhealthy bacteria out. Low estrogen can cause the lining to thin which makes it easier for bacteria to get in.
Hair loss: Think back to pregnancy and your full head of hair. That’s because estrogen increases the time hair follicles spend in a growth cycle. After pregnancy when hormone levels return to normal, hair falls out. Same same when your estrogen levels are low.
Headaches: Headaches, especially migraines, can be a result of low estrogen. This happens because estrogen impacts the brain chemicals responsible for pain.
Hot flashes + night sweats: Estrogen affects the hypothalamus which regulates body temperature. Low estrogen causes hot flashes and night sweats, neither of which are fun.
Low libido: Yep. Low to no estrogen and low testosterone will make your libido non-existent.
Sleep issues: Estrogen is linked to serotonin, and serotonin makes melatonin. If you’ve been sleeping less and feel tired, you could have low estrogen.
Vaginal atrophy: This is one of the more severe symptoms of low estrogen yet also quite common. This is characterized by a thinner, dryer vagina that can cause sex to be painful.
If you’re experiencing symptoms of low estrogen, I recommend a DUTCH test to learn where your levels are and know best how to move forward.
Questions? Hop on a no-pressure Root Cause Discovery Call and get some answers!