When our hormones are out of balance we feel unwell and are subject to a whole range of distressing symptoms. It was the Dr John Lee who first observed this in his women patients in his general practice and named them oestrogen dominance. He called them that because of what he saw when a woman's hormones were out of balance and particularly where the levels of oestrogen were not being balanced by progesterone.
Women may think that because their oestrogen levels are low that they cannot be oestrogen dominant, but this can still occur because it is not the actual levels of the individual hormones that matters but their the ratio to each other. This means you can have oestrogen dominance with both high levels of oestrogen and with low levels, it all depends on the progesterone level as this is the key factor. In fact it is also possible to now see it occurring in men with the additional amount of oestrogen's in the environment and the food chain.
Identifying the Symptoms of Oestrogen Dominance
It is possible to diagnose oestrogen dominance for yourself. You can see from the list below that most of the effects balance each other out. If you cover up the list of progesterone effects you can see what the effects of unbalanced oestrogen are. If you are experiencing any, or all of these, then you may well have oestrogen dominance.
Effects of Oestrogen
- Creates proliferation of the endometrium
- Stimulates breast tissue - tenderness
- Increases body fat
- Fluid retention
- Depression
- Suppresses action of thyroid
- Increases blood clotting
- Decreases libido
- Interferes with blood sugar levels
- Reduces zinc and retention of copper
- Reduces cell oxygen
- Increases risk of endometrial cancer
- Increases risk of breast cancer
- Slows bone breakdown
Effects of Progesterone
- Stabilises the endometrium
- Protects the breast
- Helps break down fat
- Natural diuretic
- Anti-depressant
- Facilitates thyroid function
- Normalises clotting mechanism
- Increases libido
- Stabilises blood sugar
- Normalises zinc and copper
- Restores cell oxygen
- Protects the endometrium
- Protects the breast
- Builds up bone
Conditions Associated With Oestrogen Dominance
Oestrogen dominance can occur at any age where the excess oestrogen from the Pill or Coil plus everyday oestrogen factors in the environment or diet. The dangers of excess oestrogen in relation to breast and endometrial cancer are well known, but also is linked to heart disease and bone loss.
Young women may find it occurring as PMS, heavy menstrual bleeding, endometriosis, hormonal weight gain and migraines.
Those trying to start a family, or suffering miscarriage often have a lack of progesterone and excess oestrogen is also linked to breast cancer which is why women with a family history of this are not recommended to use additional forms of oestrogen as are found in the Pill.
At menopause is when most women first encounter oestrogen dominance symptoms with hot flushes and night sweats being the main problem. Heart disease is also much more common at this age, and good progesterone levels act in a protective fashion as they do for breast cancer.
Those at risk of osteoporosis can find that HRT may slow down bone loss, but it does not actually stimulate bone building, as progesterone does.
What Can You Do?
No matter what your age it is not too late to get your hormones back into balance. The first step is to eliminate any excess oestrogen where possible including from medications, oestrogen herbs and foods containing added hormones.
Stress is a key factor in making oestrogen dominance symptoms worse, so altering your life style to eliminate as much stress as you can is a good place to start. Diet is also important so ensure that you eat a good well-balanced whole food diet to give you the full range of vitamins and nutrients that you need, particularly for osteoporosis where there are a number of minerals that are highly effective in supporting bone building.
Hormonal imbalance and oestrogen dominance can be treated by restoring the proper balance of oestrogen and progesterone and this is best done by supplementing with a bioidentical source that produces the same amount of progesterone as a woman would normally produce in her own ovaries. This is a natural way to bring the body back into harmony and eliminate oestrogen dominance symptoms.
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