Estrogen dominance

What is estrogen dominance?

Estrogen dominance refers to a condition where a woman has excess estrogen in relation to progesterone. This hormonal imbalance can lead to various symptoms like fatigue, weight gain, irregular periods, mood changes, and more.

Some key things to know about estrogen dominance:

• It is often caused by factors like stress, poor diet, toxins in products, and hormonal birth control use. The toxins and stress can disrupt the pathway of breaking down and eliminating used hormones.


• Progesterone and estrogen need to be in balance. If estrogen is high relative to progesterone, it leads to the dominance.


• Symptoms can include:
  
  
  • Irregular, heavy, or painful periods
  
  
  • Bloating, water retention
  
  
  • Breast swelling and tenderness
  
  
  • Weight gain, fatigue
  
  
  • Mood changes, anxiety, irritability
  
  


• It has been linked to conditions down the road like infertility, endometriosis, and possibly breast cancer risk.

Diagnosing and Treating Estrogen Dominance

If you suspect estrogen dominance based on symptoms, see your doctor or women's health specialist. They can test your hormone levels via blood, saliva or urine tests to check on the estrogen and progesterone balance.

Treatment options include:

• Lifestyle changes: Reducing stress, exercising, eliminating toxin exposure, improving diet to promote healthy estrogen metabolism.


• Progesterone cream: Applying natural progesterone cream can help bring levels back into balance.


• Supplements: Certain supplements like calcium d-glucarate and DIM can aid estrogen breakdown and elimination.

Living with Estrogen Dominance

Making sustainable long term lifestyle changes is key to managing estrogen dominance. Be diligent about keeping stress low through yoga, meditation or therapy. Exercise regularly, focusing on both cardio and weights. Eliminate endocrine disrupting chemicals in beauty and home products. Stick to a nutrient dense whole foods diet high in clean protein and fiber. Stay vigilant about symptoms and get testing done annually to ensure hormones stay balanced.

With commitment to healthy lifestyle habits and working collaboratively with your healthcare team, relief from estrogen dominance is within reach! The future of women's hormone health looks bright.