What does Estrogen Dominance mean?
Hormonal health is primarily about balance vs. absolute levels of any one hormone at any point in time.
The most common hormonal imbalance challenge for women before menopause, and a notable number of men, is estrogen dominance.
The most common contributing Root Causes include at least one of the following:
• Excess estrogen (e.g. hormones in food, estrogen-potentiating chemicals, birth control pills, body fat e.g. high-glycemic diet, hypothyroid state, hyperinsulinemia)
• Inability to detoxify/excrete estrogen (e.g. low B vitamins, low-nutrient diet, fatty liver, constipation, caffeine intake, imbalance of strong vs. weak estrogens)
• Insufficient progesterone (e.g. high or ongoing stress/cortisol, luteal insufficiency, natural reduction from age ~35-50, hypothyroid state, menopause, toxic exposure/stress causing anovulation (recent or much earlier in life)
Estrogen dominance can manifest as many common, modern hormone syndromes, diseases, and illnesses. And a diagnosis is not a Root Cause discovery:
e.g. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS), Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), Premenopausal Syndrome (PS), highly-symptomatic perimenopause or menopause, Endometriosis, Fibrocystic Breast Disease (FBD), Breast/Uterine cancer.
Some of the potential symptoms of Estrogen Dominance are:
o Bloating
o Water retention/weight gain/ swollen appearance
o Strong premenstrual symptoms (PMS) e.g. abdominal cramps
o Heavy, lengthy menstrual bleeding, perhaps with many clots
o Irritability/Impatience
o Anxiety
o Headaches, perhaps migraines
o Breast tenderness, cysts
o Outbursts of rage
o Hypothyroid function
o Extreme emotional sensitivity
o Panic attacks
o Excess weight in lower torso, hips, buttocks, thighs (pear-shape vs apple shape – which is associated with androgen dominance and insulin resistance).
There are multiple strategies that can help address estrogen dominance. However, we need to understand first the root cause of each particular client. In general, some of the following recommendations may help: low glycemic diet, lose body fat, reduce/eliminate caffeine, eliminate dairy products, reduce/eliminate xenoestrogens, stress reduction, eliminate constipation, estrogen detoxification support, modulate estrogen balance, improve methylation.
If you feel you may be experiencing estrogen dominance please contact your health practitioner to address it.
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