Have you ever experienced anxiety, breast tenderness, headaches/migraines, depression, GI issues, palpitations, food cravings, irregular bleeding, bloating, or even weight gain the closer you get to your menstrual cycle? I’ll wait, please don’t all raise your hands at one time. I most definitely have, breast so tender that if the water from the shower hits them you want to scream or even driving to the other side of town to get that red velvet cake milkshake you have been craving. Some of the symptoms listed above could be as a result of estrogen levels being high as it relates to your progesterone levels. Estrogen Dominance cause uterine and fibroid growth and without the balance of progesterone, the viscous cycle of fibroid growth continues.
Ok are you ready for some pearls of wisdom about your menstrual cycle and hormones…. Ok here we go!
- During a your menstrual cycle, a driver is always present and the driver will either be estrogen or progesterone, but they have to take turns driving each month during your cycle.
- The driver is responsible for maturing and releasing the egg and preparing the uterus for possible pregnancy, if pregnancy does not occur then you have a menstrual cycle
- Estrogen rises the first half of the cycle and peaks at ovulation
- Estrogen falls the second half of the cycle and then progesterone rises
A key thing to remember about the drivers of the car on this road trip we call the menstrual cycle is that estrogen stimulates growth and progesterone signals sloughing off. Although both hormones play a major role, without enough progesterone, hormonal imbalances occur and estrogen level remain high throughout the menstrual cycle…. hence estrogen dominance.
Diets low in fiber, environmental factors, and overloading the liver are 3 of several ways that estrogen remains and accumulates in our system. Diets with low fiber content decrease the movement of material through the digestive system that results in less estrogen being secreted via bowel movements= Estrogen Dominance. Now that we know that we need more fiber in our diet, lets look at the liver. Avoid liver impairments that can occur secondary to diet, environmental toxins, alcohol consumption, and drugs that impact liver function by decreasing the livers ability to filter excess estrogen= Estrogen Dominance. Lastly, now a word that may scare you xenoestrogen, say it again with me xeno-estrogen, don’t let the word scare you, but the actual action of a xenoestrogens should. Xenoestrogens are synthetic estrogens that come form the environment i.e pesticides PCB, dioxins, growth hormones given to livestock and poultry, and byproducts released warming food in plastic containers= Estrogen dominance. The scary thing about xenoestorogen is that the estrogen receptors in the body can’t distinguish between the two and most times the xenoestrogen wins.
If estrogen levels remain elevated women can develop infertility, endometriosis, amenorrhea, heavy bleeding, uterine cancer, heart disease, stroke, decreased cognitive ability and the reason that this blog exist… FIBROIDS.
Please stay tuned for the next posting to address the things that can be done to overcome estrogen dominance….
Well said. Keep sharing that good information lady 😍☺