Estrogen Dominance: Signs of this Common Hormonal Imbalance & How to Correct It

This common hormonal imbalance affects both women and men and can leave you feeling blue, overweight, and unable to sleep. Estrogen dominance occurs when estrogen levels are too high relative to other hormones, especially progesterone.  This can occur in the presence of excess estrogen or when there are deficient progesterone levels to counterbalance estrogen.

These two hormones need the presence of each other in order to correctly perform their individual roles and act like a system of checks and balances to one and another. In general progesterone calms the effects of estrogen and keeps it in check.  But when their delicate balance becomes skewed, estrogen can overstimulate the brain and body and you can experience a wide variety of mild to serious symptoms including...

Signs of Estrogen Dominance:

• Weight gain and/or weight loss resistance  -  the inability to lose weight despite doing the right things
• Extra weight around the hips, butt, and thighs specifically
• Fibrocystic breasts
• Uterine fibroids
• Irregular cycles
• Infertility, endometriosis, and/or PCOS
• Mood swings and irritability
• Water retention/edema,  and bloating
• Tender breasts
• Anxiety and/or depression
• Hypothyroidism
• Chronic dry eyes
• Brittle, dry nails
• Hair loss or hair thinning
• Low libido
• Insomnia

As someone who experienced most of these symptoms throughout my teens and twenties, I can tell you this can happen to anyone at anytime in life.  While it is often the result of chronic stress and/or hidden chronic infections or imbalances, many people will experience this just from the effects of the excess estrogens we are all exposed to in our modern diet, environment, and lifestyle.  Check it out...

Causes of Estrogen Dominance:

1. Obesity -  Fat cells contain an enzyme that converts adrenal steroids to estrogen increasing estrogen levels in the body and causing havoc.  NOT COOL!  Estrogen slows metabolism and boosts insulin production, which causes the body to store more calories as fat rather than use them for energy. In a nutshell, the more fat you have, the higher your levels of estrogen will be. This is just one more reason to maintain a healthy weight.
   
   
2. Chronic stress or Chronic illness - When our body experiences stress of any kind (internal or external), it responds by pumping out cortisol, a steroid hormone produced in the adrenals that helps "prepare" the body for stress in a variety of ways. When stress becomes chronic and the demand for cortisol is high over a longer period of time, our bodies use progesterone to make the additional cortisol needed.  This happen in those with adrenal fatigue and this is why we often see depleted or imbalanced sex hormones along with adrenal fatigue. This is because progesterone is a parent or master hormone that can make cortisol, estrogen, and testosterone. When the body "steals" progesterone and another hormone called pregnenalone to make cortisol, progesterone levels will often become depleted, leaving estrogen unopposed.  
   
   
3. Phytoestrogens - These are estrogen like compounds found in plant based foods that many of us have in our diet. The biggest source are soy products but foods like flaxseed , sweet potatoes, and red clover are also contenders.  When consumed regularly over long periods of time, they increase the risk of estrogen dominance significantly.  Phytoestrogens have also been shown to inhibit the conversion of T4 (thyroid hormone) to T3, the active or available form of thyroid, which contributes to hypothyroidism and additional metabolic imbalances. 
   
   
4. Xenoestrogens - These environmental chemicals are proven carcinogens and well known for their ability to damage the immune system and disrupt hormonal balance.  They look similar to our body's natural estrogen and our body cannot often distinguish between the two.  
   
   Sources of xenoestrogens include:  pesticides, conventionally raised meats, poultry, and seafoods, canned goods, plastics and plastic wraps, industrial wastes, personal care products, home cleaning products, styrofoam, and air-fresheners. 
   
   
5. Poor diet - A diet consisting of conventional meats and seafood, non-organic foods, and processed and canned foods is loaded the xenoestrogens mentioned above and the body gets too much estrogen on board. Additionally a diet low in healthy fats can stress your metabolism! Healthy sources of saturated and omega fats are actually needed to manufacture hormones in your body. When you don't eat enough healthy fats, hormones like progesterone suffer and can become depleted leaving your more susceptible to estrogen dominance. 
   
   
6. Poor hormone metabolism/impaired liver function - The liver is our master detoxification organ that is responsible for cleansing our body from the harmful effects of chemicals, elements in food, environmental toxins and even natural products of our metabolism, including excess estrogen.  Anything that impairs liver function or ties up the detoxifying function, like a hidden or underlying chronic infection,  can result in excess estrogen levels and contributes to estrogen dominance in a significant way.  

Conventional medicine uses a narrow minded approach to correct estrogen dominance, typically using Hormone Replacement Therapy, birth control, or IUD's to tame estrogen levels.  The problem with this approach is that it only treats the test results - low or imbalanced hormones, by replacing them. BUT it doesn't actually address the causes of estrogen dominance at all!  Particularly if the person cannot metabolize excess estrogens, this type of treatment approach is like adding fuel to the fire. 

I was someone who experienced this personally - I spent my teens in and out of several endocrinologists and gynecologists office suffering from endometriosis, PCOS, depression and difficulty losing weight.  And then spent my twenties in fertility clinics trying without success to get pregnant.  Now that I understand what was really going on with my body chemistry and metabolism at that time, I also understand why none of the hormone replacement or fertility treatments were effective. My body was suffering from a chronic illness that was taxing my adrenals and throwing my metabolism out of balance, leaving my progesterone levels significantly depleted. Plus my liver detoxification pathways were overloaded because of my hidden, chronic infections and I was not metabolizing all the excess estrogens I was being exposed to in my diet and lifestyle.  Using the hormone shots and tablets never worked because they just made the imbalances worse! (Wish I could have discovered this information 8 years,  4 doctors, and thousands of dollars ago!!)

It wasn't until I got off the synthetic hormones, addressed my chronic candida infection,  and made big changes in my diet and lifestyle that I started to lose the extra 20 pounds I had carried my whole life.   And after being diagnosed with Chronic Lyme Disease and early onset menopause in 2013, I've made it my personal mission to become an expert on balancing hormones naturally and I practice what I preach everyday!

As a Functional Nutritionist, my goal is to help my clients identify the specific metabolic and chemical imbalances that are unique to them using  functional nutrition labs. This allows me to develop a customized diet and lifestyle protocol to correct their specific imbalances and help them meet their health goals.  Here are some of my basic tips to correct estrogen dominance naturally...

How to Correct Estrogen Dominance:

1. Get a quality hormone panel done - Information is power and understanding what your specific metabolic imbalances are will allow you to implement a protocol that is personalized to your body.  A hormone panel that looks at your daily cortisol patterns, DHEA, progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen is what I recommend.  Take a peek at my Metabolic Recovery Program that includes a complete hormone panel test as well as a 90-day personalized protocol to re-set your hormones. 
   
   
2. Switch to organic, grass-fed, free-range, antibiotic and hormone free meats and dairy products - to avoid xenoestrogens that increase your risk of estrogen dominance enormously . 
   
   
3. Increase leafy greens and fiber  - which helps to attract and bind excess estrogens and pull them out of your body via stool. If you are not getting enough fiber or are constipated regularly, stool remains in the bowel and estrogen gets reabsorbed.  Include 3-6 cups of fibrous vegetables each day into your diet, some with each meal is ideal. Shoot for a variety of cooked and raw. Choose items like broccoli, arugula, kale, asparagus, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts.  Try our Simple Detox Salad. 
   
   
4. Get enough quality fat in your diet - Fats are an essential building blocks of hormones! Your body needs some healthy cholesterol in order to be able to make hormones, which is why low-fat diets can plummet your metabolism and make it more difficult to lose weight. Ditch the old school, low-fat trend and opt for a diet with 25-35% of your calories coming from healthy fats.  Check out our blogs: 4 Sources of Healthy Saturated Fat, Health Benefits of Monosaturated Fats, and Omega Fats for an Anti-Inflammatory Diet to learn more about how to incorporate healthy fats into your diet and which are the best choices. 
   
   
5. Reduce stress - Invest some time and energy into yourself and learn to say no more often! Get rid of negative people or things from your life that bring you down rather than build you up.  Our blog, 10 Self-Care Practices to Promote Healing & Relaxation have some great tips for how to unwind and remove stress from your life. 
   
   
6. Swap your home cleaning and personal care products for all natural, organic brands! Cut down on your exposure to environmental estrogens called xenoestrogens and switch to all natural products. 
   
   
7. Reduce use of plastics, Styrofoam, and canned goods - Ditch those styrofoam cups and plastic tupperware for some glass tupperware pieces, and mason jars of various sizes. NEVER heat food in a plastic container in the microwave and try to choose fresh or frozen vegetables over canned to avoid excess estrogens.
   
   
8. Assess liver function - If your liver is having trouble "keeping up with the toxic load" this can increase the occurrence of estrogen dominance since the liver is unable to filter it from the blood effectively.   I offer a basic Metabolic Lab Panel that looks at your liver's function inside  my Metabolic Recovery Program. If your liver could use some extra support, there are many natural products available to help that I can recommend.  

If this blog has resonated with you, I offer a FREE 20-MINUTE PHONE CONSULTATION, where I will review your health history and give you some recommendations on how to balance your hormones naturally.  You can also learn more about how you can work with me by viewing our programs page.

~Billie

DISCLAIMER: MEAL PLANS FOR HEALTH DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Meal Plans for Health is designed and intended for educational and informational use only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other health care provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.