Hormones
Estrogen
If you’re ever struggled with breast pain and tenderness, you’ve most likely experienced estrogen dominance. Maintaining healthy hormones on a monthly basis isn’t very apparent, especially for women. Aside from poor sleep, stress, nutrient poor and pesticide filled foods, nutrient deficiencies, xenoestrogens, metalloestrogens (mercury) and chemical filled skin care our environments are not conducive to living our healthiest lives.
Estrogen is an incredibly important hormone.
It regulates the menstrual cycle, insulin, hunger, sexual organ development (breasts, uterus), pubic hair, metabolizes cholesterol, bone development, heart health, and lots more.
Estrogen keeps the skin and connective tissues of your breasts firm and strong, aka perky.
We often think of estrogen as having a negative effect on our bodies, but it’s an incredibly healing and important hormone for a woman’s overall health. It has a protective effect on bone, heart and brain health.
Estrogen is excreted in the bowels, which is why eating a diet high in fibre (fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds) is so important. Daily bowel movements ensure that you’re excreting excess estrogen daily. If you’re not having daily bowel movements, estrogen is remaining too long in the intestinal tract and is reabsorbed, stimulating cell growth and causing inflammation.
Estrogen is produced primarily by the ovaries. It is also produced by the adrenal gland and fat tissue but in smaller amounts. The ovaries produce estrogen, progesterone and androgens.
Important nutrients include iodine, vitamin D3 and E which protect the breasts from the stimulating effects of estrogen.
Bioflavonoids, B vitamins and healthy fats are building blocks for healthy hormone production.
Your body produces 3 different types of estrogen:
Estradiol (E2) most common in women of childbearing age
Estriol (E3) the prominent estrogen in pregnancy
Estrone (E1) the only estrogen produced after menopause
Iodine sufficiency ensures the correct balance of these three estrogens.
Causes of Estrogen Dominance
Congested liver
Poor digestion
Constipation
Being overweight
Nutrient deficiencies – low B vitamines, magnesium, zinc, etc.
Toxin overload
Drinking unfiltered water
Eating pesticide filled food.
Poor sleep
Dehydration
Iodine deficiency
Mercury fillings
Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance
Dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine imbalance – neurotransmitters that make you prone to anxiety, PMS symptoms and nervousness.
Breast pain and tenderness
Fibroadenomas, fibroids, cysts, tumors, cancer
Fibrocystic breasts
Weight gain
Acne
Fatigue
Endometriosis
Irregular menstrual cycle
Brain fog
Low libido
Symptoms of Low Estrogen
Menopause or removal of the ovaries
Menstrual periods that are less frequent or that stop
Hot flashes, night sweats
Trouble sleeping
Low libido
Mood swings
Dry skin
A drop in estrogen right before a woman’s menstrual period can cause a menstrual migraine.
We live in a estrogen dominant world, what are some things women can do to reduce their exposure?
“We really have to assess our lives and see where these estrogen mimickers are coming from, where it’s from in our food supply, beauty supply or environment. I was really aware of my mom’s health and her health history so I was able to see the patterns that led to her breast cancer diagnosis. I could see that, of course, she would have been a candidate. She was on the early forms of birth control, she’d had a hysterectomy at 35 due to endometriosis and so she was on hormone replacement therapy for 35 years. That alone increases your chances just by being on it for a few years. She had a few root canals on her two front teeth which came out when she was nine years old from a leap frog game. She also had mercury fillings for a long time. There weren’t any alternatives then. Our mothers’ and grandmothers’ generation were the first of the 19th century where there were more synthetics were being invented and female bodies were so experimented on with so many devastating things, it’s really sad.
These ultra birth control pills we have right now, we don’t know the future. The birth control pill is really asking your body to be in menopause. You’re ceasing ovulation. You’re playing with that internal body lunar rhythm.”
Nadine Artemis, Healing Women Series Interview.
Progesterone
Progesterone is known as the ‘pregnancy’ hormone.
It plays an important role in getting pregnant and maintaining a pregnancy.
It prepares the uterus for implantation of the egg.
It’s the hormone produced by the ovaries after she ovulates.
Not enough progesterone can cause estrogen dominance. Perhaps your estrogen levels are normals but your progesterone is too low. You have estrogen dominance but in this case you’ll want to examine bringing your progesterone levels up.
Estrogen dominance means examining estrogen levels relative to progesterone levels.
Progesterone helps keep estrogen levels in check.
If you’re struggling with breast imbalances , fibroadenomas, cysts, tumors, and or breast pain, maintaining hormone balance will be very important in your healing journey. Now, that’s not to say that your hormones will never go out of balance, life happens, but if you’re able to do your best with your diet, exercise regime, supplementation, and stress management, that’s a big part of the battle. Your body has all the mechanisms it needs to heal. Your job is to support is as best you can so it can do it’s job. Sometimes balancing our hormones takes time and different approaches. Work with a practitioner who’s well versed in this area: herbalist, naturopath, functional medicine doctor, etc.
Get tested and make sure you’re satisfied with the treatments you’re receiving. If intuitively you feel like you need a certain test, don’t be afraid to ask and push for it. At the end of the day you make all the decisions about your health. Don’t let anyone dissuade you from what you feel is right.
“With hormonal balance, we need to address multiple systems that affect hormones, such as herbs that affects the communication between the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian system, herbs that affect tissue specificity to the ovaries such as phytoestrogens, liver supporting herbs to assist with recycling and clearing, and digestive antimicrobials to ensure that the hormone once processed does not get recycled in the intestine via an enzyme being produced by negative gut bacteria.”