Have you heard about oestrogen dominance, but you’re not really sure what it’s all about?
Well, today, I’m going to share my knowledge with you. I’m going to get a bit sciencey – but it’s all for a good reason. I want you to understand why it’s essential for you to understand why being oestrogen dominant is a problem.
Why being oestrogen dominant is a bad thing
You know those debilitating symptoms you’ve been struggling with for months or maybe even years? Symptoms such as tender breasts, migraines, mood swings, irritability, heavy bleeding, hot flushes, fibroids and weight gain.
It’s highly likely that the culprit is oestrogen dominance.
What is oestrogen dominance?
There are two main types of oestrogen dominance;
- Relative oestrogen dominance
- Frank oestrogen dominance.
Relative Oestrogen Dominance
First, let us talk about relative oestrogen dominance. This is where you have more oestrogen compared to the amount of progesterone in your body. This typically happens in perimenopause as we move closer to menopause.
In many cases, I can lift progesterone levels naturally using nutrition, self-care practices and targeted supplements. We can enjoy foods that increase progesterone such as strawberries (organic only) kiwis, red peppers, guavas, broccoli and of course, healthy fats because they are the backbone of our sex hormones.
Frank Oestrogen Dominance
Next, let’s talk about frank oestrogen dominance. This is where I start talking about science, but it will all make sense, I promise.
This type of oestrogen dominance means that your body is in a state of inflammation and will compromise your immune health if it continues. It can also potentially increase your risk of developing an oestrogen-dependent cancer such as breast cancer.
Frank dominance means you have way too much oestrogen! And this can happen during perimenopause and post-menopause.
Once our lovely oestrogen has done its job of supporting our body, we need to flush out the excess – let’s call it unwanted oestrogen. This also includes any artificial oestrogen from the contraception pill or HRT; we still need to flush it out thoroughly.
Our livers have two detoxification processes that use enzymes to help us process the oestrogen in our bodies effectively.
These enzymes are called 2OHEL, 4OHEL, and 16OHEL.
The first of these, 2OHEL, is the one we want to have the most of, whereas 4OHEL, and 16OHEL are the ones we want to avoid. This is because the latter are responsible for swollen tender breasts, clotting in your menstrual blood, heavy bleeding, migraines, mood swings, and even cancer.
To get your oestrogen to move towards the better ones, you need to be eating cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, broccoli sprouts, bok choy, Brussel sprouts, and cauliflower. Aim for 45g per day.
What causes oestrogen dominance?
What causes it? It’s a mixture of things.
Chemicals
One of the worst is being continually hit with more chemicals than the human body has experienced before: that shampoo and hair conditioner you use, or that lovely(artificial) spring scented fabric conditioner you are exposed to every day, 7 days a week, and so on.
Gut health
And of course, we can’t forget your gut health because the health of your gut is essential to oestrogen detoxification. You need to have a healthy bowel movement daily and have a diversity of beneficial gut bacteria for your hormone levels to be as healthy as possible.
Take a look at your tongue- does it have white fur in the middle? That gives me an indication as to the state of your gut health right now.
The bottom line is that you need to pay your liver and your gut health some TLC, reduce the toxic load from chemicals that you use on your body, and opt for natural and organic if possible. Some of these products are inexpensive such as white vinegar and soda and they’re really easy to use.
They’ll also start putting YOU at the driving seat of your health.
| Your mindset is such an important foundation when it comes to any life change. So to help you understand more about perimenopause symptoms you can join this FREE webinar to figure out if you’re going through Perimenopause and how to combat its challenging symptoms. |
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