Am I Oestrogen dominant?
Oestrogen, one of the female sex hormones is fundamental to our health and wellbeing and has important functions well beyond the arena of reproduction. However, when there is too little or too much of it we can experience a lot of health issues.
Oestrogen naturally declines with age and can lead to potential issues with bone density, cardiovascular health and so on but oestrogen dominance from excess environmental estrogens and other lifestyle factors can also wreak havoc on our wellbeing.
You can be in menopause and still experience symptoms of oestrogen dominance because of poor detoxification or too much exposure to environmental oestrogens. More on that later!
Do you experience any of the following signs and symptoms of oestrogen dominance?
Severe PMS, painful or irregular periods, lack of ovulation, painful and fibrocystic breasts, PCOS, weight issues (stubborn hip and belly fat), excessive cellulite, fertility issues, sleep issues, fibroids, ovarian cysts, uterine polyps, water retention, oestrogenic cancers of the breast, uterus and ovaries, endometriosis, hair loss, lowered libido, elevated thyroid antibodies, thyroid dysfunction.
“Oestrogen Dominance is one of the most common hormonal imbalances women experience today”
Saliva hormone tests like the DUTCH one can show you if you are oestrogen dominant if:
It shows you have more of E1 (estrone) and E2 (estradiol) known as the aggressive oestrogens as compared to E3 (estriol), the protective one.
OR
You have too little progesterone to counteract estradiol
OR
Estrone metabolites are being broken down into ‘dirty’ oestrogens such as 16-H estrone.
Even without testing, if you experience the symptoms described above, you can be pretty sure that there is an imbalance and that you have one or all of the following that needs addressing:
High toxicity:
Getting too many hormone disrupting substances from your environment. These chemicals (xenoestrogens) are disrupting the messages sent via your own hormones.
These are found in herbicides, pesticides, the plastics in our water bottles and food containers, in our water through contamination, in flame retardants, cigarette smokes and our cosmetics.
They can wreak havoc with all our hormones but mostly they imitate oestrogen.
Sluggish liver- poor detox of hormones:
The liver plays a fundamental role in the inactivation and safe detoxification of oestrogen from the body. There are many nutrients such as B vitamins that are necessary for the processes of methylation and glucoronidation and sulphation that are part of the phase II detoxification pathway of the liver that transforms that estrogens less harmful water soluble metabolites that can be safely removed from the body.
Gut issues:
If you are constipated you are not getting rid of excess oestrogens and other hormones and they can get recycled and continue to impact your body. IF you have the presence of parasites, yeast or bad bacteria, known as dysbiosis, this can lead to inflammation , which can interfere with hormonal production.
(Not enough good bacteria can also increase the activity of beta-glucuronidase, an enzyme that can prevent the elimination of oestrogen from the body. This has been shown to increase the risk of oestrogen-driven conditions and cancers.)
Blood sugar imbalances:
Meals high in refined carbohydrates or sugar lead to the sudden release of insulin by the pancreas. When too much insulin is released on a regular basis it can lead to insulin resistance and high levels of oestrogen and testosterone which can lead to hormonal imbalances such as PCOS, fibroids and endometriosis, not to mention Type II diabetes.
Too much insulin can also lead to fat storage and fat cells can stimulate the production of estrogens and therefore drive these imbalances.
Also, these imbalances can lead to excess stress hormone production, which steals cholesterol, which could be used for the production of the sex hormones.
Stress:
Can lead to disrupted cortisol levels. Too much cortisol can lead to the blocking of progesterone on a cellular level and thus an increase in the oestrogen to progesterone ratio.
High stress can also use up the enzymes needed to detoxify oestrogens as well as using up the cholesterol/pregnenolone needed to produce sex hormones like progesterone, oestrogen and testosterone.
It also depletes magnesium and other vital nutrients like magnesium required for proper hormonal function.
Oestrogen Dominance
Can also be due to a genetic predisposition but there are usually other factors involved as mentioned above.
Taking the oral contraceptive pill as well as hormone replacement therapy can also affect your oestrogen balance.
Oestrogen dominance an also lead to thyroid issues as prolonged exposure to oestrogen can increase thyroid antibody levels and can also suppress the thyroid hormone.
Read here about healthy dietary and lifestyle approaches for restoring hormonal balance.
References:
https://thyroidpharmacist.com/articles/estrogen-dominance-as-a-hashimotos-trigger/
https://dutchtest.com
https://avivaromm.com/high-estrogen/
https://www.drnorthrup.com/estrogen-dominance/
The Functional Nutrition Cookbook, 2013. Nicolle & Bailey. Singing Dragon: London.
