Support Your Liver And Gut Health
A properly functioning liver is vital to good health, and it does much more than just purify your blood or regulate your metabolism. A sluggish or improperly functioning liver can be a major factor in hormonal imbalances and estrogen is no exception.
Your liver is responsible for removing excess hormones from the body, but if its not functioning properly those hormones get recirculated. When the liver is overworked and cant perform at expected levels, estrogen is recirculated back into the body rather than removed, contributing to estrogen dominance.
Liver detoxification is a key step in estrogen dominance treatment. Without getting into the complicated processes of the liver, it is simply enough to say start paying more attention to your liver and the load you are placing on it.
Your liver, the bodys largest internal organ, does more than just detoxing. Responsible for over 500 vital functions, your liver processes virtually everything you eat, drink, breathe, or put on your skin. When the liver is burdened by filtering out excessive toxins , it simply cant function to support hormone health in the same way.
And when it comes to your guts, emerging research shows that optimizing your gut microbiome is key to keeping hormones balanced.
Try the following strategies for treating estrogen dominance and improve gut health:
Improve Phase 3 Estrogen Detoxification
While there is Phase 1, 2, and 3 with liver detoxification I always make sure that Phase 3 is working first, because if this is not working then you will simply reabsorb toxins and hormones processed in Phases 1 and 2.
If you experience constipation then you have an issue with Phase 3 detoxification and clearance of estrogen. It is essential that you are having at least one healthy bowel motion every day.
Insulin Resistance And Estrogen
Insulin resistance and a higher carbohydrate diet can also increase estrogen levels. If you have excess body fat you may need to reduce carbohydrates. Although, you can still eat lots of vegetables and other fiber-rich foods such as flaxseeds and psyllium.
This is especially important for women with PCOS and men with excess estrogen as the insulin resistance will up-regulate the aromatase enzyme causing excess estrogen.
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Dr Marizas Supplements For Estrogen Dominance
I know looking at this list may feel daunting at first, so I want to do everything I can to make this as simple as possible. I know what it feels like to feel so desperate for a solution. I was in that place where I said every day, I just want SOMEONE to tell me what to do to make this better!If youre there too, heres a simple protocol you can follow to get your liver and gut back to working their best so you can get your estrogen dominance under control:
- Essentially Whole® Magnesium RestorePLEASE NOTE: Not all magnesium supplements are the same. This dosage recommendation only applies to Magnesium Restores pure formulation of magnesium biglycinate and magnesium oxide. Magnesium citrate, chloride, malate, lactate, sulfate, etc. will NOT be as effective and may lead to digestive upset.
- Essentially Whole® Liver Support Blend
- Probiotics should be taken every day, whether in the form of food or a pure supplement. Some good food options are fermented vegetables , dairy-free yogurt , and coconut kefir.
- Digestive enzymes taken shortly before you eat, at least once a day . Make sure the enzymes you take include protease , amylase , and lipase so you cover all your bases!
If youre ready to fight back against estrogen dominance, this is where you start! By supporting your liver and gut, you can give your body what it needs to break down and remove excess estrogen from your body so you can get yourself back.
How Do I Know My Estrogen Level
There are three types of estrogen that your body makes. An estrogen test can measure all three: estrone , estradiol and estriol . Your provider will do a simple blood draw and send it to a lab for analysis.
- Estrone is the primary hormone your body produces during menopause and postmenopause. Its a weaker form of estrogen than estradiol .
- Estradiol is the primary hormone your body produces in your reproductive years.
- Estriol is the primary hormone your body makes during pregnancy.
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How Is Estrogen Broken Down In The Body
Once your body has created natural estrogen and it has exerted its effects in the desired tissues in the body, it needs to be metabolised and eliminated. Estrogen is broken down via two steps.
The first step takes place in the liver where natural and synthetic estrogen-like substances are broken down. The second step takes place in the gut where the metabolised estrogen is packaged up and eliminated via our stool.
If either or both of these processes is not functioning optimally, estrogen can be reabsorbed into circulation rather than eliminated, contributing to high levels of estrogen.
The breakdown of estrogen in the liver requires several nutrients including B-vitamins, magnesium, glycine and selenium. Deficiency in these nutrients can slow or impair liver breakdown of estrogen and other hormones. Liver function is further impaired by high intake of alcohol, caffeine and pharmaceutical drugs.
The second part of estrogen metabolism happens in the gut. This requires a healthy gut bacteria , as well as regular bowel movements. Having an unhealthy ratio of bacteria in your gut can cause estrogen to be reabsorbed rather than broken down and eliminated. Similarly, if you are suffering from constipation or infrequent bowel movements, there is more time for estrogen to be reabsorbed, contributing to estrogen excess.
Putting It All Together
Estrogen is a hormone that your body needs to protect bones, support fertility, and is responsible for great things like healthy skin, and curvy hips.
But when estrogen levels are too high due to genetics, other underlying hormone imbalance , or a high toxic load, it can start to manifest in unpleasant ways.
Progesterone is crucial to helping balance estrogen, as estrogen circulating unchallenged by progesterone is a common cause of hormone imbalance in modern women. Living a lifestyle which supports healthy progesterone production is important for balancing estrogen.
Estrogen dominance can raise your risk for certain cancers, so its important to dial in diet, stress levels, and sleep to balance hormones.
Sometimes, one-on-one support is what you need, and if thats the case, Id like to invite you to learn about how we do things at CentreSpringMD, my integrative clinic. Virtual visits are available, and integrative womens medicine is one of our specialties.
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Take A Dim Supplement To Eliminate Excess Estrogen
If youve been wondering how to lower your estrogen levels with supplements, then its time to meet DIM.
DIM is a natural compound found in cruciferous veggies .
When you take DIM in supplement form, it:
- helps your body metabolize estrogen.
- supports a healthy ratio of good and bad estrogens.
In addition, DIM can improve acne, support a healthy metabolism , provide relief from menopause symptoms and reduce inflammation .
Heres a DIM supplement you can add to your daily routine.
What Are Some Lifestyle Changes You Can Make To Preserve Hormonal Balance
Hormones can be such a pain, however there are things you can do to help. Here are some way of life changes you can make to keep hormonal balance:
Guarantee you get a lot of fruits, vegetables, and entire grains. Limitation processed foods, hydrogenated fats, and sugar. Consuming a healthy diet will assist your body to work at its finest.
Workout helps to reduce stress, which can affect hormonal agent levels. It likewise helps to regulate blood sugar levels. Go for 30 minutes of moderate activity most days of the week.
Sleep is important for general health and can likewise affect hormonal agent levels. Go for 7-8 hours of sleep each night.
Stress can have a substantial effect on hormonal agent levels. Try relaxation methods like yoga or meditation if youre stressed out.
Smoking cigarettes and excessive alcohol can both impact hormonal agent levels. If you can, attempt to prevent these things.
Making these way of life modifications can assist to maintain hormonal balance. So if youre feeling out of balance, provide a shot!
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Ways To Reverse Estrogen Dominance Naturally
Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutritionon
Estrogen is important for the female body, but having too much of it can be problematic. Learn how to reverse estrogen dominance naturally and protect your body from its unpleasant symptoms.
Estrogen is extremely important for womens health. Estrogen helps manage our brain, bones, cholesterol, and other tissues, while feminizing our bodies. But, having too much estrogen can cause unpleasant symptoms and put you at risk for certain conditions and cancers.
Estrogen dominance is a hormonal imbalance in which a womans estrogen levels are too high. Estrogen dominance can be categorized in two ways: frank estrogen dominance and relative estrogen dominance. While both have similar symptoms, the causes differ.
Frank estrogen dominance is an excess of estrogen on its own, while other sex hormone levels are at normal levels.
Relative estrogen dominanceoccurs when a womans estrogen levels are elevated in relation to her progesterone levels, which are often too low.
Liver Detox Phase 2 For Hormone Support
This is where the liver neutralizes the metabolites and prepares them to be expelled from your body. Also called methylation or conjugation, Phase 2 detoxification makes the metabolites water-soluble so you can get rid of them safely through your digestion. IF YOU DONT METHYLATE your estrogens, they will re-enter your bloodstream and cause estrogen dominance.Supporting Phase 2 with supplements focuses on cutting inflammation and pushing your body to neutralize the estrogen metabolites effectively. All the supplements from Phase 1 are also helpful here, plus:
- Choline: This is an essential nutrient that your liver relies on for the methylation process. Research shows that choline supplements protect your liver and keep it functioning at its best.
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What Is The Role Of Estrogen In Womens Health
The hormone is vital in females. Some of the functions are:
- Secondary sexual characteristics in women develop when the levels of estrogen rise. These characteristics include rounded hips, breast tissue, and menstrual cycle.
- Growth of the uterus lining during the menstrual cycle for the implantation of the egg
- Thickening of the vaginal wall
- Bone health and bone formation
- Stimulate platelet production
- Enhances the production of certain proteins
- Levels are important for the control of breast cancer
- Improves skin texture and glow by increasing blood supply to the skin and improving collagen production
- Reduces inflammation through the body
The role of estrogen in men is:
- Plays a role in modulating the sex drive
- Spermatogenesis or the production of sperm and their development
- Plays a role in erectile function
The Best Supplements For Estrogen Dominance
Your diet is the foundation of your health and if your diet is poor then you will never be able to correct an estrogen dominance. It can be difficult to get the right balance of nutrients, particularly if youre busy or just dont have a lot of time free to worry about food combinations. Thats why supplements for estrogen dominance can be so helpful. Used correctly, they can help to fill nutritional gaps and give your body what it needs to start functioning correctly again.
You must understand that supplements shouldnt be a replacement for a healthy diet. There is no substitute for the combinations of nutrients found in healthy, organic foods. Thats why you need to make dietary changes first before turning to supplements. Some helpful supplements for estrogen dominance include:
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Address Your Stress Levels And Coping Mechanisms
Being stressed all times can increase your cortisol levels. As a result, your body stores more fat in the abdominal area.
So, reduce stress by doing the following:
- Minimize alcohol consumption
- Take time out to rest and enjoy scenic views
- Engage in relaxing activities such as walking, meditation, and yoga
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Histamine And Mast Cell Activation
Estrogen stimulates mast cells to make more histamine plus estrogen down-regulates the DAO enzyme that you need to clear histamine. The result is more histamine, which, unfortunately, then stimulates the ovaries to make more estrogen. The net result is a vicious cycle of:
estrogen histamine estrogen histamine.
For many women, symptoms of estrogen dominance such as PMS, period pain, and heavy periods improve by reducing histamine by avoiding cows dairy and other strategies. Read The curious link between histamine intolerance and estrogen.
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You Can Reduce Excess Estrogen With Supplement Dim
Hethir Rodriguez – Certified Herbalist and NutritionistJuly 8, 2021
Many fertility issues are the result of having estrogen dominance in the body. There are many ways for the body to become estrogen dominant, including:
- The environment
- Processed soy foods
- Chemicals in products
The good news is that there is now a natural way to rid the body of an overabundance of estrogen: a supplement called DIM.
How Do I Get Rid Of Excess Estrogen
Your provider can help you address a hormone imbalance based on whats causing it. In some instances, your provider may need to adjust your medications. If high estrogen is related to your lifestyle then diet, exercise, alcohol consumption, and sleep changes may help. Discuss your medical history with your provider to identify opportunities to balance your hormones.
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Temporary Relief From Estrogen Supplements
Estrogen supplements can initially bring a relief from symptoms. Because Estrogen activates the progesterone receptors causing progesterone to become the dominant hormone. But this relief is short lived as estrogen becomes the dominant hormone.
You now understand why so many women keep alternating their HRT treatments. For those women who do not suffer any adverse reaction, the risks of using HRT or the contraceptive pill for any length of time is associated with high health risks.
Boost Your Livers Detox Powers With Whole Foods And Herbs
Your liver has the heavy task of filtering your blood and cleaning out 100% of the junk that is messing with your hormones.
So, in order to reverse estrogen dominance symptoms, its important to show your liver some TLC with foods like:
- cruciferous veggies
In addition, dont forget to use herbs for your liver.
In particular, you want to focus on bitter herbs because bitter compounds trigger the production and flow of bile .
Not only can you cook with bitter herbs , but you can take them in a convenient supplement formula.
To get started, heres a liver tincture that combines popular liver herbs like dandelion and milk thistle, with lesser known ones like schisandra, oregon grape root and artichoke leaf.
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Broccoli Kale And Cauliflower
These cruciferous vegetables are naturally rich in a sulfur-containing compound called diindolylmethane or DIM. This substance supports the function of liver enzymes that make the good kind of estrogen. They also promote regularity and detoxification by assisting in estrogen metabolism.
Cruciferous veggies also contain another type of indole, indole-3-carbinol, or I3C. IC3 has been shown to reduce the risk of hormone-related cancers by reducing how much estrogen is available in the body and by promoting detoxification .
Aim for about 1-2 cups of cooked cruciferous vegetables per day.
How To Treat Estrogen Dominance
To fix estrogen dominance, youll want to focus on: balancing your overall hormones, making sure excess estrogen can leave your body, and supporting healthy progesterone production.
You can do this by
Fixing your gut This allows your body to absorb nutrients needed for hormone production, and helps get rid of excess estrogen through bowel movements.
Supporting detox Your liver is your most important detox organ, and is responsible for making sure your body metabolizes estrogen you no longer need.
Stressing less and sleeping more Stress reduces progesterone production, which you need to balance estrogen.
Testing your hormones Work with a functional womens health doctor to determine your hormone levels and how you can get back into balance. This is especially important if youre trying to get pregnant, or if you have PCOS or endometriosis.
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Other Ways Men Can Naturally Reduce Their Estrogen Levels
We mentioned that estrogen detox programs to reduce your estrogen levels include supplements and lifestyle modifications.
These lifestyle modifications are also essential for estrogen detox. Nowadays, we have a strong environmental influence and dont even realize it. But we can make at least four changes to correct the problem:
Sample Diet For Your Estrogen Dominance Treatment Plan
Now that weve covered all the basics of how to eliminate estrogen dominance naturally, its time to put it all into action!
To help you get started, Ive put together a comprehensive post that walks you through what you need for a hormone balancing diet.
You get a breakdown of foods and drinks to add to your diet, herbs and you can get the whole guide as a downloadable PDF.
For more details, visit this post on how to put together a hormone balance diet plan.
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Do You Have Estrogen Dominance
Wondering what estrogen dominance is, and whether or not you have it? Estrogen dominance is a term given to a type of hormone imbalance where your body has too much estrogen. This can be either because your body cant get rid of excess estrogen, or your estrogen levels are out of balance compared to progesterone.This occurs for a few different reasons that well discuss shortly.
When there is too much estrogen in your body, youll most likely have more painful periods, and it may even impact your fertility, especially if your progesterone is low.
If you have other hormone issues, like PCOS or endometriosis, you can also experience estrogen dominance. Some symptoms of estrogen dominance overlap with common PCOS symptoms, like irregular periods, infertility, or weight gain.