What is Estrogen Dominance and 6 Ways to Improve It
What is Estrogen?
Estrogen plays a crucial role in a woman’s body as it is necessary for proper thyroid function, helps keep the body lubricated, is essential for breast and bone health, and influences mood.
Adequate estrogen levels are important for regular menstrual cycles, control metabolism, maintaining good body weight, and balancing blood sugar.
Common estrogen dominance symptoms include:
-irregular or heavy periods
-water retention
-swelling or tenderness in breasts
-persistent headaches
-weight gain
-mood swings
-hair loss
-endometriosis
-depression and anxiety
-insomnia
-decreased libido
What Can You Do to Balance Estrogen?
Improve liver health! The liver is responsible for eliminating excess estrogen from the body. Therefore, proper liver function is super important! Simple actions to take include:
eat a clean diet (organic meats, fruits, and veggies are helpful)
add plenty of sulfur-rich foods such as garlic and onions
use herbs such as milk thistle to help protect the liver from toxins
get plenty Vitamin C as it helps with glutathione (antioxidant) that assists in detoxification of enzymes
Heal the gut. Good gut health is vital for moving things along and out of the body. Therefore, if you are experiencing constipation, many of those toxins will recirculate into the body causing more stress and inflammation.
Up the fiber. Good bowel movements depend on getting enough fiber to help with waste elimination. Great sources of fiber are fruits and veggies as well as use of alternative flours such as almond or coconut.
Control stress levels. Stress is notorious for messing with hormone levels. Therefore, if you are under a lot of stress, practice relaxations techniques such as meditation, yoga, short walks, adult coloring books, or any activity that can help you feel happy.
Get a good night’s sleep. Sleep is crucial for hormone balance. Therefore, you want to be getting no less than 7 hours a night and get to bed as early as you can (10 p.m. is a great start). To ensure quality sleep, try to eliminate blue light use (cellphones, tablet, tv) at least an hour before bed.
Exercise! The body needs movement not just for conditioning the muscles, but it is also helpful for lymph health and improving the flow of fluids. Maybe you aren’t quite ready to start a high-intensity workout routine yet, but something as simple as walking can make a major difference.