Women have been led to believe that many symptoms of hormone imbalance are attributed to estrogen deficiency due to ovarian failure. Though estrogen does decrease in menopause, the fact is that it does not fall significantly until after the last menstrual period. In reality, a much larger percentage of women suffer from the symptoms of estrogen dominance during the transition period. Estrogen dominance – meaning too much estrogen relative to progesterone. Symptoms from estrogen dominance can last 10-15 years before menopause, with some women experiencing symptoms at age 35.
The symptoms of estrogen dominance include; Weight gain especially around the hips and thighs, mood swings, breast tenderness/ swelling, hair loss, irregular periods including heavy bleeding and painful periods, bloating and water retention, problems sleeping, and PMS.
There are many reasons for estrogen dominance. Living in an industrialized country like the US we are in contact with thousands of chemicals every day that act like estrogen in our bodies, these chemicals are known as xenoestrogens. You may have heard of BPA, which is now known to be an endocrine disruptor and has been removed from many plastic products like water bottles. There are many more chemicals in makeup, perfume, and household cleaning products as well. Other reason for estrogen dominance include diets low in fiber and high in carbohydrates, obesity or excess fat, too much STRESS.
5 Natural way to correct estrogen dominance
- Increase your fiber intake – 5-9 servings of vegetables a day is recommended. A serving is 1 cup. You want to make sure you are having a bowel movement every day as constipation allows for resorption of estrogens.
- Eat lots of Cruciferous vegetables – cauliflower, broccoli, kale, cabbage, and brussel sprouts. There foods contain a compound called Indole-3-carbinol which help the liver to process the “bad estrogens” so they are removed safely from the body.
- Decrease stress – this is an extremely important one! Learn to say no, hold on to your energy and put it back into yourself.
- Lose excess weight and get regular exercise – Fat cells produce estrogen in males and females.
Detox and liver support – I run a REBOOT program with my patients which starts with 5 days of green juice fasting. There are less “intense” ways to detox, including herbal teas to support the liver and removing toxins from the diet.