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What Every Woman Needs to Know about Oestrogen Dominance

Apr 21, 2018

Have you noticed your PMT grow much worse over the past few years?

You’re feeling pretty low, you’re struggling with your energy levels, your libido has practically vanished, you’re piling a few extra pounds (especially onto your tummy) and you’re just not sleeping as you should.

So your first thoughts are likely to be, ‘OMG! It could be the menopause. Is it really time???

However, these uncomfortable, annoying and even debilitating symptoms might not be the menopause at all. Instead, they could be another hormonal issue which can occur as early as a woman’s 30s and continue right the way through the peri-menopause to the menopause and beyond.

It’s oestrogen dominance.

Today I’d like to walk you through what oestrogen dominance actually is, explain some of its many causes, and share the holistic ways you can start easing those symptoms and feeling great again.

What is oestrogen dominance?

Oestrogen dominance is a condition where a woman’s oestrogen-progesterone balance is out of whack, and oestrogen is running the show.

Oestrogen and progesterone are two hormones which fluctuate naturally over the course of a normal menstrual cycle. Oestrogen is in charge for the first two weeks of your cycle until you ovulate. Then for the last two weeks, it’s progesterone’s turn to be in charge.

However, if you have an excessive amount of oestrogen in your body, or you simply don’t have enough progesterone to counterbalance the oestrogen, you’re likely to fall prey to oestrogen dominance.

Although these problems can happen at any stage in woman’s reproductive life, it’s especially common during the years of the peri-menopause when shifting levels of oestrogen and progesterone become more noticeable. 

What are the symptoms of oestrogen dominance?

The symptoms of oestrogen dominance can often be quite easy to identify as they’re the ones which seem to get better and worse over the course of the menstrual cycle, over the month, and especially in response to stressful periods in your life. They include:

  • Heavy menstrual bleeding
  • Irritability
  • Depression
  • Weight gain (especially around belly and hips)
  • Hot flushes
  • Painful breasts
  • Low libido
  • Bloating
  • Brain fog
  • Fatigue
  • PMS
  • Headaches
  • Insomnia

And worryingly, it’s not just these short-term symptoms of oestrogen dominance that we need to be worried about.

There are also many symptoms which we might not be aware of which have a much further-reaching effect upon our health. These include things like accelerated ageing, fibroids, ovarian cysts and even breast, thyroid, ovarian and gastric cancers.

Clearly, oestrogen dominance isn’t just an annoying hormonal problem that makes you feel worse. It’s not something that you should ever just ‘put up with’ or try to ignore. For the sake of your current and future health and happiness, you really need to start doing something about it.

But first, let’s explore some of the causes.

What causes oestrogen dominance?

The most common cause of oestrogen dominance is simply the natural ageing process. Your natural progesterone production slowly throughout your reproductive years (as early as your 30s), until you eventually enter the peri-menopause, then eventually hit the menopause.

But this isn’t the only cause of oestrogen dominance, nor does this necessarily affect how severe it will be. Other factors, such as the below, also have a strong role to play:

  • Being overweight:  It’s bad news for your hormones if you’re overweight, especially if you’re severely overweight. Any excess oestrogen gets stored in your fat cells and makes the problem worse. Not only this, but body fat is also the main source for aromatase- an enzyme which converts testosterone to oestrogen, further increasing your oestrogen levels and potentially leading to more problems.
  • Stress: Stress triggers the ‘fight or flight’ response and spikes your stress hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine. This disrupts the overall hormone balance. When you are chronically stressed (even if you barely detect it), your body uses progesterone to make more cortisol which worsens your oestrogen dominance even more. This is something I see frequently when my clients undergo the Organic Acid test.
  • Xenoestrogens: Sadly, one of the leading causes of oestrogen dominance these days is xenoestrogens. These are substances found everywhere; in plastics,  pesticides, cleaning and beauty products, animal foods, drinking water and birth control pills. They mimic the oestrogen naturally found in our bodies, tricking your body into thinking that more oestrogen is present than there actually is. [Read more about them in my article, ‘What You Really Need to Know about Plastic Water Bottle’ here.]
  • A poor diet: Eating a diet that is high in processed foods will also be low in naturally occurring nutrients, healthy fats and proteins, which will starve your body of what it needs for optimal hormone production and balance. Naturally-occurring dietary fibre is also vital for a healthy gut and optimal oestrogen metabolism.
  • A ‘toxic’ liver: Your liver filters unwanted substances from your body, including environmental toxins and excess oestrogen. If it’s not working properly you’ll start noticing the symptoms of overload. These days our livers tend to be quite overwhelmed with toxins as they deal with the environmental toxins, chemicals, caffeine, drugs, alcohol, and other unwanted substances.

How to heal your oestrogen dominance naturally

When you read through a big list like the one I’ve just shared, it would be easy to feel pessimistic. After all, if those xenoestrogens are everywhere, stress makes it worse and our livers are getting overloaded, we often feel powerless to do anything to address that oestrogen dominance.

However, this certainly isn’t the case. Even tiny new habits and minor lifestyle tweaks can make a massive difference to the severity of your symptoms and how you feel overall.

Here are some great ways to rebalance your hormones and beat that oestrogen dominance holistically.

#1: Lose weight

The best thing you can do to rebalance your hormones is to lose weight. Now, I’m not encouraging you to go on a crazy fad diet here, just be more mindful about what you’re putting into your body.

Eat fresh, natural, unprocessed foods as much as possible, eat until you are satisfied and consider tackling any food issues you might have. Also have a read of my recent post ‘How to Lose Weight by Improving Your Gut Health’.

#2: Exercise

Exercise is also vitally important for hormonal health. It boosts your circulation to keep you looking young and healthy, it helps flush toxins from your body, and it keeps your hormone levels more stable.

Be aware that activities like swimming or gentle walking are good, but they’re not enough to heal your hormones. For best effect, do weight-bearing exercises too.

#3: Manage stress

Stay calm, feel happier and keep your hormone levels stable by practicing visualisations, meditation, practicing yoga and prioritising your own health and happiness.

Also find something you love to do and invest time in doing it. With our busy lifestyles, this might be easier said than done, but it’s vitally important for your health, happiness and wellbeing. Don’t worry- it’s not selfish- it’s vital for taking care of yourself.  

#4: Eat your veggies!

Veggies are rich in vitamins and minerals which help promote healthy hormone levels, they’re great for your gut and liver and they help to remove unwanted oestrogen from your body. Pile up your plate with as many rainbow colours as you can and tuck right in!

#5: Detox your liver

Help your liver help you beat your oestrogen dominance by giving it some TLC so it can work better. Great ways to do this include sweating (exercise is the best way), eat more green leafy veggies (they contain a compound called DIM), and also consider supplementing with hydrochloric acid, Milk Thistle or B-complex vitamins for additional support.

**Please seek further advice from a health professional if you choose to supplement**

 

So if you’re suffering with similar symptoms to the ones I mentioned at the beginning- if you’re feeling tired, headachy, irritable, depressed, you’re getting hot flushes, you’ve lost your sex drive and you’re piling on the weight, don’t automatically presume that the menopause has arrived.

Of course, the menopause might be part of the picture, but oestrogen dominance might be playing a huge part in how you’re feeling at the moment. By focussing your energy on healing this hormonal issue, you’ll alleviate many of those symptoms you’ve been struggling with and start to feel like yourself again.

 

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