What is estrogen dominance?
Estrogen dominance refers to a condition where a woman has excess estrogens circulating in her body, without enough progesterone to balance its effects. This hormonal imbalance can develop due to various factors like chronic stress, poor diet, environmental toxins, etc.
Some key things to know about estrogen dominance:
- It often develops during perimenopause and menopause as progesterone levels start declining faster than estrogen. However, younger women can also suffer from it due to reasons like birth control usage.
- Symptoms can be wide-ranging including irregular periods, sore breasts, weight gain, brain fog, headaches, mood swings, etc. Many women dismiss these as normal until it starts severely impacting their quality of life.
- If left untreated, estrogen dominance can increase the risk of serious issues down the line like infertility, uterine fibroids, and even reproductive cancers. So getting hormones tested and evaluated timely is crucial.
Diagnosis involves checking levels of estrogen and progesterone through blood or saliva tests. If estrogen is high while progesterone is low, it indicates an imbalance. Based on test results and symptoms, suitable treatment is charted out.
Some ways to manage estrogen dominance include:
- Lifestyle changes like managing stress, regular exercise, eliminating xenohormone sources, improving liver detoxification, etc.
- Adopting a nutritious, anti-inflammatory diet high in foods like flaxseeds, broccoli, berries. These aid hormone metabolism.
- Taking targeted herbal supplements like Vitex, DIM, Calcium d-Glucarate which support healthy estrogen balance.
- Using natural progesterone creams under medical guidance for directly replenishing progesterone levels.
- In moderation, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can also help restore optimal hormone ratios. This is best done through supervising physicians at clinics like Vital Hormone Clinic.
The integrative doctors at Vital Hormone Clinic specialize in customized natural hormone balancing protocols for women struggling with estrogen dominance, peri/menopause, PCOS, and other hormone-related conditions. With their advanced testing and multi-modal therapies, many women are finally able to find relief from years of frustrating symptoms.
So in summary, estrogen dominance is a key women's health issue that deserves more awareness. Look out for symptoms and get your hormone levels evaluated periodically after 35 years of age. Identifying and addressing imbalances early is key to staying healthy, symptom-free and avoiding complications down the line!