6 Simple Tips For Overcoming Estrogen Dominance You Can Try Today
Some experts predict that over 50% of women have estrogen dominance! I personally think it may be even higher. If you are experiencing any signs of estrogen dominance, chances are you likely have an estrogen to progesterone hormonal imbalance.
You may be experiencing debilitating menstrual cramps every month, are struggling to lose weight, or can’t think straight because of the constant brain fog. I promise this isn’t normal. I’m here to share simple tips for overcoming estrogen dominance so you can feel like yourself again.
What is Estrogen Dominance?
Estrogen dominance is one of the most common hormonal imbalances in women. This is when your estrogen levels are elevated in ratio to your progesterone. So, while your estrogen levels could be high, causing your estrogen imbalance, it could also be caused by low progesterone.
In fact, there are 3 scenarios that could lead to estrogen dominance:
High estrogen, normal progesterone
High estrogen, low progesterone
Normal estrogen, low progesterone
Estrogen itself isn’t bad. It’s actually required for your body and optimal well-being. But too much is when issues start manifesting. As with most things in the body, balance is key.
Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance
When your body is out of balance, it can impact various other systems in your body. Since there are hormone receptors in almost every cell of your body, your symptoms of estrogen dominance may differ from a friend who has it.
However, there are common symptoms that show up time and time again in my clients who have estrogen to progesterone imbalances.
Common Estrogen Dominance Symptoms
Heavy Periods
Irregular Menstrual Periods
Severe Menstrual Cramps
Mood Issues
Inflammation
Insomnia
Anxiety/Depression
Weight Loss Resistance
Brain Fog
Wild PMS
Fibrocystic lumps in your breasts
Bloating
Frequent headaches and migraines
Decreased sex drive
Consequences of Estrogen Dominance
If estrogen dominance isn’t addressed, it can manifest into more serious estrogen-related health issues. It can increase your risk for PCOS, endometriosis, breast cancer, and uterine fibroids. You may even experience these lesser-known impacts of estrogen dominance.
Estrogen Dominance + Thyroid Issues
Most people don’t know that estrogen dominance can manifest in autoimmune diseases and thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s. This can lead to fatigue, unwanted weight gain, and more annoying and life-debilitating symptoms.
Estrogen Dominance + Gut Issues
Estrogen dominance can also contribute to gut-related issues, like constipation, bloating, and diarrhea and a poor gut can contribute to estrogen-related issues. If left untreated, an unhealthy gut can lead to a plethora of health issues since most diseases stem from an imbalanced gut.
Estrogen Dominance in Men
Don’t think you’re in the clear, men. You can have estrogen dominance too. It could be the reason you’re having such a challenge with weight loss.
Overcoming estrogen dominance is vital to feeling your best and ditching those nagging symptoms of estrogen dominance, and preventing serious health issues from occurring. So what is the secret to overcoming estrogen dominance? Here’s how…
How to Fix Estrogen Dominance
Estrogen Dominance Diet
Take a look at how you are fueling your body every day. Are you relying on quick processed foods to fill you up between your busy schedule? Foods that contribute to estrogen dominance are coffee, alcohol, refined sugar, refined flour products (like cakes and cookies) and processed soy products.
It’s time to ditch that “fake” food and begin to fuel your body with real, whole organic foods. An Estrogen dominance diet with more nutrient-dense foods will provide the necessary resources your body needs to carry out functions like estrogen metabolism and detoxification in your liver. This could also be accompanied by the appropriate targeted supplements.
2. Promote Bowel Movements
If you are constipated or do not have at least one solid bowel movement every day (ideally two), this is a red flag. This is the only way your body is able to eliminate excess estrogens. If your body is trying to detox from extra estrogens, but they have nowhere to go, they will get reabsorbed back into circulation, causing more of a burden on your liver, gut, and cells.
Eating whole foods can help provide you with more fiber and increasing your water intake can also help. You can also consider taking a specific form of a magnesium supplement that has more laxative effects. Encouraging regular bowel movements is one major step in overcoming estrogen dominance that you can’t ignore.
3. Find the Right Workout for Estrogen Dominance
Fixing estrogen dominance symptoms requires you to be active…but not to the extreme. Again, this is all about balance. While daily movement is great for hormones, running your body to the ground by running 6 miles a day may actually be doing more harm than good. It could lead to excess adrenaline and cortisol.
Having a combination of yoga, HIIT, pilates, and running is best. But remember, it’s essential to listen to your body, and don’t overdo it.
4. Keep Your Gut Healthy
Keeping your gut balanced is key to keeping estrogens in check. This is because within your gut is where your estrobolome is located. This is a collection of bacteria that is responsible for metabolizing and regulating your estrogen hormones.
If your gut is imbalanced due to poor diet, stress, alcohol consumption, and toxins, your estrobolome won't function properly, leading to the inability to keep estrogen levels balanced.
Keep your gut healthy by avoiding excess sugar, processed foods, and artificial ingredients, reducing toxic products in your home, limiting antibiotics, taking probiotics, and consuming gut-healing foods like bone broth, fermented foods, chia, flax, and hemp seeds, and dandelion greens.
If you want to know if your gut is healthy, take my gut health quiz HERE.
5. Time Time to Relax + Unstress
Chronic stress can cause your hormones to become imbalanced. When you are stressed, your body needs more cortisol and begins to use progesterone to produce it. This leads to an estrogen-dominant state since progesterone levels become too low in relation to estrogen.
Reducing and learning how to manage your stress can help reduce your cortisol levels and help keep estrogen levels balanced. But not only that, but stress management and taking time to slow down improve overall wellness.
6. Detox Your Life
We are surrounded by hundreds of toxic chemicals every day. They are hiding in our beauty products, household cleaners, on our food as pesticides, in our polluted air, and even in our drinking water.
What happens is that these toxins can mimic estrogens. They can also block up your detox pathways, causing additional estrogen accumulation. It’s VITAL to ditch these toxins and support and open your detox pathways.
Address Estrogen Dominance Symptoms with an Integrative Health Coach
Overcoming estrogen dominance doesn’t have to be complicated. When you work with an Integrative Health Coach, you will gain the education, tools/resources, support, and motivation you need to feel better than you have in years and to truly understand how to fix estrogen dominance.
Sign up for a discovery call to learn more about our Detox Your Life - a 6-week small group coaching program or one-to-one coaching.