Estrogen dominance occurs when your body has either higher levels of estrogen than normal or just higher levels of estrogen compared to the progesterone in your body. Estrogen dominance can lead to symptoms as minor as allergies and as major as infertility. Luckily there are measures you can take to control this female hormone imbalance.
What is Estrogen?
In Estrogen Dominance the Silent Epidemic from An Insiders Guide to Natural Medicine (2004) Dr. Michael Lam says that estrogen is a hormone with a vital role to women's health and wellbeing. Estrogen, Dr. Lam writes, "...affects all female sexual organs, including the ovaries, cervix, fallopian tubes, vagina and breasts." When women have an imbalance of the hormone estrogen, many symptoms can occur. The symptoms may be caused by too much estrogen, or could in fact be the result of low progesterone, another hormone that works together with estrogen to regulate a woman's menstrual cycles.
What Causes Estrogen Dominance?
Woman's hormones are delicate and can be thrown off balance by almost anything, including illness, vitamin deficiencies or stress. The important point to remember about estrogen dominance is that it can present in two ways.
- Too much estrogen hormone
- Low progesterone, making the ratio of estrogen to progesterone higher
Identifying which is your particular case can help determine what caused the imbalance and how to fix it. Common causes for estrogen dominance include:
- Eating commercial poultry and cattle, which have been fed estrogen-like hormones
- Eating non-organic fruits and vegetables, which could contain high levels of pesticides
- Stress
- Obesity
- High Estrogen Production
- Increased caffeine consumption
These are just some of the commonly identified reasons for estrogen dominance. Other causes may be vitamin deficiency, eating too much sugar or fats or exposure to estrogen-like environmental pollutants called xenoestrogen.
What are the Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance?
The symptoms of estrogen dominance differ from woman to woman. Dr. Igor Tabrizian outlines some of these symptoms in Nutritional Medicine: Fact and Fiction?(NRS Publishing 2002):
- Allergies and Asthma
- Missed or irregular periods
- Swollen or Fibroycystic Breasts
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- PMS
- Infertility
- PCOS
- Fibroids
- Mood Swings
- Magnesium deficiency
- Thyroid dysfunction
Other symptoms not listend here may be also be present.
Treatment for Estrogen Dominance
To control estrogen dominance, Dr. Lam suggest a firm protocal:
- Natural progesterone therapy
- Dietary adjustments, eating less commercially produced meat and vegetables
- Cutting out caffeine
- Exercising
- Taking nutritional supplements
Weight loss and stress control seem to be the two leading solutions to lowering estrogen. However, if you also have low progesterone levels (consult your doctor to determine this) than supplementing with natural progesterone cream (as directed by your health care professional) may help to resolve your hormonal imbalance.
Most important to remember is to eliminate any food items that replicate estrogen, such as certain vegetables.
Consulting with your Doctor
If you suspect estrogen dominance or a female hormonal imbalance it is important to discuss this with your heathcare professional right away. They will be able to order tests which can determine your hormone levels.
Knowing this, you may decide to start on a estrogen dominance diet and exercise protocal. Making healthy eating choices, exercising daily and lowering stress levels are the main keys to overcoming hormonal imbalance and a good place to start for overall health and longevity.
