Hormonal imbalances: estrogen dominance

Hormonal balance: why you should care about your estrogen levels.

To start, let’s find out what hormones are. These little friends are messengers that send signals to organs telling them what to do. So if we have too little or too much of a hormone, then our organs do not receive the signals to function properly. This is very problematic, and we get a cascade of symptoms as a result. 

Estrogens should have a perfect balance with progesterone, but this is very uncommon. Estrogen Dominance is one of the most common hormonal imbalances that women and men experience due to excessive exposure to environmental toxins present in our foods, beauty and cleaning products, medications, poor sleep, stress, and slow hormonal elimination pathways. 

High estrogen levels can cause a range of health issues including:

• Lots of PMS (Swollen, tender, and fibrocystic breasts, pain in the ovaries, acne)
• Low libido
• Hair loss
• Weight gain
• Migraines
• Irregular or heavy periods
• Water retention and bloating
• Anxiety, stress, and depression
• Sleep deprivation and fatigue
• Endometriosis, Fibroids & Ovarian cysts
• Breast and endometrial cancer

Unfortunately, there is not a one size fits all detoxification process. If you suspect that your symptoms could be the result of a hormonal imbalance, speak to your doctor. 
What you can you do to help your body maintain the perfect balance?

1. Eat cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, watercress, and Brussels sprouts.  Aim for three servings per day as these vegetables contain indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a compound that helps break down estrogen.
2. Watch your drinks: More than 2 small cups of coffee a day increases estrogen levels. Remember that caffeine is also present in soda and energy drinks. Alcohol is another one to watch for. Consider 3 glasses of wine per week a considerable limit.
3. Avoid chemicals: Finding clean products can be a struggle these days. If you want to make some small changes start with your shampoo, body lotion and body wash. Also, avoid direct contact with cleaning products that can be absorbed through the skin.  
4. Sweat: exercise reduces our estrogen levels. Recent studies say that women who participate in aerobic exercise reduce their estrogen levels and risk of breast cancer (1)
5. Manage stress: estrogen has an impact on cognitive and emotional function. High levels of this hormone can produce anxiety and stress. So the more you keep your stress under control the more you help your body. (2)
6. Optimize your intestine lining: when you have a detoxification process, everything that you eliminate goes through your stomach lining, so the healthier your intestines are the more you’ll eliminate. Candida, Small Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), Parasites, or Intestinal Bowel Syndrome (IBS) could be an obstacle in your detox process. 

I hope you enjoy to learn about your hormones and this simple tips help you to increse your self knowledge.