Estrogen Dominance
Estrogen Dominance occurs when our body has either higher levels of estrogen than normal or higher levels of estrogen compared to progesterone levels - basically your hormones become unbalanced. Estrogen is potentially a dangerous hormone when it is not balanced by adequate progesterone.
There are many factors than can cause this hormone imbalace:- these include stress, vitamin deficiencies, many of the foods we eat today contain estrogen (eg poultry or beef are often fed estrogen-like hormones, while fruit and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides containing estrogen) - all contributing to a rise in your estrogen levels. Estrogen dominance is at its most severe during the peri menopausal and early menopausal years.
The symptoms of estrogen dominance can vary from woman to woman and some of these symptoms include:
- irregular menstruation - bleeding comes earlier or later than usual
- allergies and/or asthma
- tiredness/chronic fatigue
- nausea
- fibroids
- PMS
- PCOS
- breast tenderness
- magnesium deficiency
- mood swings
- weight gain
- mild depression
- dizziness
- severe menstrual cramps
- decreased libido
- dry eyes
- insomnia and restless sleep
- muscle weakness
The Pill and HRT contain estrogen and synthetic progesterone (which is commonly called 'progestin'). Progestins cause natural progesterone levels to drop, leading to many of the above symptoms.
If you are on either HRT or a contraceptive pill and you wish to come off it, it's far gentler on the body to do this gradually in conjunction with progesterone.
Avoid...
- large meals (due to the increased metabolic clearance rate of progesterone)
- all forms of oestrogen
- oxidised fats, (ie margarine, refined oils, and fried foods, in particular fried animal protein)
- pasteurised, homogenised milk
- tap water, which is now contaminated with prescription drugs, including oestrogen from the Pill and HRT, plus the estrogen mimics generated by industry. Drink only filtered water
The use of a natural progesterone therapy as well as regular exercise and nutritional supplementation can help control estrogen dominance.
It is essential to use enough progesterone, about 100-200mg per day to overcome the excess estrogen. Many women use too little, 20-40mg/day, so progesterone is always in the stimulation mode. This leaves them in a permanent state of estrogen dominance.
If symptoms are severe, for instance heavy continual bleeding or debilitating hot flushes, up to 400mg/day will be needed.
Normally men will benefit from 10-20mg/day of progesterone but if a higher than normal amount of oestrogen is present, it's advisable to use up to 100mg/day.
It is easy enough to reduce the amount of progesterone to the optimum level, once symptoms have resolved. The reduction should always be done slowly over several weeks.
Please bear in mind that stress drops progesterone levels sharply, so symptoms can come back. If you experiencing a stressful time, it is recommended to Increase the amount of progesterone cream.