Are you experiencing unwanted symptoms of estrogen dominance and what you can do about it?

So many women experience unwanted symptoms related to estrogen dominance and often few have been informed about the connection or what you can do about it.⁠⠀

The list of symptoms is long and can look like:⁠⠀

• PMS⁠
• Hormonal acne⁠⠀
• Headaches⁠⠀
• Bloating or puffiness⁠⠀
• Mood swings or irritability⁠⠀
• Tender, swollen or fibrocystic breasts⁠⠀
• Irregular, abnormal or heavy periods⁠⠀
• Spotting between cycles⁠⠀
• Fat gain, especially around abdomen & hips⁠⠀
• Feeling tired or lethargic⁠⠀
• Fibroids or myomas⁠⠀
• Ovarian cysts⁠⠀
• Endometriosis⁠⠀
• Low libido⁠⠀
• Hair loss⁠⠀
• Estrogen related cancer⁠⠀
• Infertility or miscarriage⁠⠀
• Trouble sleeping⁠⠀
• Allergies or histamine intolerance⁠⠀
• Accelerated aging⁠⠀
• Brain fog or memory issues⁠⠀
• Brown facial spots (melasma)⁠⠀
• Hot flashes⁠⠀
• Restless legs at night⁠⠀
• Feeling groggy upon waking⁠⠀
• An increase in colds or infections⁠⠀
• Feeling anxious or easily stressed⁠⠀
• Dizziness⁠⠀
• High blood sugar levels⁠⠀
• And more…⁠⠀

Sound familiar? (I’d love to meet a woman who hasn’t experienced any of these!) ⁠

Estrogen dominance is so common and can happen for so many reasons, but that doesn’t mean it has to become your normal.⁠⠀

Furthermore there’s so much we can do about it, that doesn’t involve MDs, a pill or an expensive protocol.⁠ Curious to know more? You can find some ideas here or simply carry on reading.

Estrogen dominance can happen for many reasons and  it’s often not just one. ⁠⠀

These reasons include:⁠⠀

• Xenoestrogens from the environment. Xenoestrogens are estrogen-like chemicals often found in plastics, beauty products, fragrance, cleaners and more. To learn more about them, read up on xenostrogens here.
• Perimenopause, when estrogen fluctuates⁠⠀
• Hormonal birth control⁠⠀
• Constipation⁠⠀
• Imbalanced gut bacteria (dysbiosis)⁠⠀
• Stress of any kind — it comes in so many forms⁠⠀
• Low levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), maybe due to PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), insulin resistance, hypothyroidism, alcohol use, and more…⁠⠀
• Estrogen supplementation, most often without progesterone supplementation to complement⁠⠀
• Recreational and prescription drugs⠀
• Cigarette smoke⁠⠀
• Alcohol, especially if it has additives⁠⠀
• Insufficient diet or movement for your current hormone type (which varies throughout our life)⁠⠀
• Suboptimal nutrients or nutrient deficiencies⁠⠀
• and more…⁠⠀

Thankfully, just about everything on this list we can easily do something about, if we want to shift away from experiencing symptoms that is. ⁠⠀

Here are a few things you can do to combat estrogen dominance:⁠⠀

• stay hydrated⠀
• poop regularly (1 to 3 times a day!)⁠⠀
• reduce stress where you can⁠⠀
• optimize your diet for your hormones and phase of life and get plenty of protein
• move and sweat⁠⠀
• get adequate sleep (maybe more than you think)⠀
• eat and drink foods with natural probiotics⁠⠀
• reconsider hormonal birth control, maybe try other options⠀
• reduce xenoestrogens & known toxins⁠⠀
• optimize HRT (hormone replacement therapy), if you’re on it⁠⠀

Perimenopause (the years leading up to menopause) can make it more of a challenge when ovulation fluctuates from month to month but these things also help it go more smoothly.⁠⠀

To learn more take my quick hormone assessment here to find out if you’re experiencing estrogen dominance and what you can do about it.⁠

Citations:

Paterni I, Granchi C, Minutolo F. Risks and benefits related to alimentary exposure to xenoestrogens. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2017 Nov 2;57(16):3384-3404. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2015.1126547. PMID: 26744831; PMCID: PMC6104637.

Fardoun M, Dehaini H, Shaito A, Mesmar J, El-Yazbi A, Badran A, Beydoun E, Eid AH. The hypertensive potential of estrogen: An untold story. Vascul Pharmacol. 2020 Jan;124:106600. doi: 10.1016/j.vph.2019.106600. Epub 2019 Oct 17. PMID: 31629918.

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, manage, or treat disease or serious conditions. Always check with your doctor before making any changes. It’s important to consult a well-informed health practitioner for personal advice about your situation before relying on general information — we’re all wonderfully unique.