A Doctor's Guide to ESTROGEN DOMINANCE: Symptoms, Root Causes, and Treatment

Welcome Friends I'm Dr red shrina budrupad and today's video is all about estrogen dominance in estrogen dominance there's high levels of the hormone estrogen and the estrogen is not balanced by a progesterone as you can see this lady is not balanced because she has so much more estrogen compared to her progesterone estrogen dominance is becoming an epidemic in both women and men in fact we're seeing a lot of men nowadays who have high estrogen levels more than ever before we are now exposed to so many chemical estrogens in our food and environmental products a lot of people suffer from sluggish detox Pathways in their liver and their gut which is causing the estrogen to accumulate normally estrogen is actually a really important hormone in the body I call it the power hormone because it gives you soft skin it improves your mood and it's good for your brain your bones and your heart estrogen needs to be balanced by progesterone which I call the calming hormone progesterone helps with sleep and it helps to stabilize your mood so estrogen is the hormone that gives you curves it gives you breasts and thighs creating that hourglass shape but too much estrogen can cause weight gain women with estrogen dominance often have a pear-shaped body habitus meaning they're carrying a lot of their weight in their hips and thighs did you know there's three different types of estrogen a strong is called E1 and it's made by fat cells estradiol is E2 this is the power hormone I was referring to that we measure on your blood work estriol is E3 and it's the primary estrogen seen in pregnancy now you may be wondering what are the symptoms of estrogen dominance well let's go over it high estrogen levels can make a woman Moody and irritable in addition to the mood swings it can cause bad PMS next it can cause heavy or painful periods high estrogen can cause problems in the breasts like breast pain cysts and even breast cancer men with high estrogen can actually start developing breast tissue we call this gynecomastia next estrogen dominance can cause the growth of fibroids in the uterus these are benign tumors in the muscular wall of the uterus but they can cause heavy periods as well as pain and discomfort high estrogen can also cause the growth of cancer cells on the inner lining of the uterus we call this endometrial cancer or uterine cancer estrogen dominance can also be a big cause of migraine headaches in the ovaries high estrogen levels can cause the growth of cysts which can sometimes be painful it can also cause a condition called endometriosis this is where the cells on the inner lining of the uterus migrate out and implant on other parts of the pelvis like the ovaries or the Fallopian tubes and this can cause severe pain during periods as well as infertility finally one of the scariest things we're seeing is early puberty in girls due to the exposure to all the chemical estrogens from food and the environment some girls are now developing breast tissue and starting their periods at a younger age like eight or nine so now you may be wondering what causes estrogen dominance great question let's go over all the possible causes if you're overweight the excess fat actually produces estrone which is E1 fat cells also contain an enzyme called aromatase and this converts testosterone into estradiol or E2 a big cause of estrogen dominance is the diet first we have alcohol whether it's beer wine or hard liquor because when your liver is focusing on metabolizing alcohol it can't do as good a job in metabolizing your estrogens next conventionally raised non-organic meats and dairy products can also expose you to hormones and xenoestrogens xenoestrogens are chemical estrogens found in food and environmental products but the scary thing is they bind to the same receptors as real estrogen in the human body xenoestrogens include parabens which are an antibacterial compound found in lotions shampoos and makeup phthalates are found in synthetic fragrances like perfumes and scented lotions BPA is found in certain types of plastics pcbs and dioxins are found in polluted air as well as contaminated food which is why it's best to buy organic as much as possible what's scary is a study published this year showed that women using chemical hair straightening products have a higher incidence of uterine cancer which remember is an estrogen-driven cancer next if your liver is sluggish or inflamed due to fatty liver this is going to slow down the metabolism of estrogens Phase 1 and phase two of estrogen metabolism happen in the liver then it gets expelled through your kidneys in your urine or it goes to your gallbladder where it gets stored and then expelled into your intestines where it gets excreted with your stool this is why constipation is a big problem if stool is just sitting in your colon estrogens can get recycled back into your body this process is called enterohepatic recirculation in addition to constipation another big cause of estrogen dominance is dysbiosis this is seen in an unhealthy gut microbiome where there's an overgrowth of bad bacteria and these bacteria produce an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase which causes an increased recycling of the estrogens back into your body the part of your gut microbiome that controls metabolism of estrogens is often referred to as the estrobolum so it's fascinating that phase 3 of estrogen metabolism happens in your gut and it's controlled by the estrabolome this is why having a healthy gut microbiome is so important research now shows that the estrobolome strongly influences a woman's risk of developing estrogen-positive breast cancer this diagram summarizes how estrogens are first metabolized in your liver in Phase 1 and Phase 2 detox Pathways followed by your gut which is phase three what about genetic causes of estrogen dominance there's a gene called comt which stands for catecholamine omethyl transferase this Gene controls the comt enzyme which is responsible for Phase 2 detoxification of estrogens in your liver if you have a mutation in the comt gene you're going to be a slow metabolizer of estrogens the good news is that magnesium and methyl B complex are cofactors for the comt enzyme so they can help your liver better metabolize estrogens regardless of your genetics pesticides can also interfere with estrogen metabolism in your liver estrogen gets metabolized into protective metabolites shown in green or bad metabolites shown in red unfortunately exposure to toxins like pesticides cause the estrogens to be metabolized to the 16-hydroxyestrone which is the bad pathway higher levels of this bad metabolite can cause all the problems we see with estrogen like the growth of fibroids or breast cysts the good news is cruciferous vegetables like broccoli have compounds called i3cn dim which promote the healthy metabolism of estrogens i3c stands for indole-3-carbinol and dim stands for diindolyl methane these compounds promote the metabolism down the healthy Pathway to the two hydroxy metabolites which are the protective or good metabolites another cause of estrogen dominance is low progesterone some women suffer from an ovulatory Cycles meaning they're not ovulating this is common in women in perimenopause which is the years leading up to menopause or in women who have polycystic ovary syndrome also known as PCOS these women suffer from low progesterone causing them to be estrogen dominant to better understand this let me show you the normal menstrual cycle estrogen peaks in the first half of the month called the follicular phase and progesterone peaks in the second half of the month called the luteal phase ovulation is when one of the ovaries releases an egg and it's supposed to happen in the middle of the month around day 14. if ovulation takes place the sac that's left behind in the ovary makes the progesterone but if ovulation does not take place no progesterone will be made this is why women who are not ovulating have estrogen dominance we can figure this out by checking hormones on day 21 of the menstrual cycle now you may be wondering is estrogen dominance treatable absolutely let's go over the treatment the first step is to clean up the diet alcohol should be avoided because it slows your liver's metabolism of estrogens avoid refined sugar which is inflammatory on the body avoid conventionally raised red meat and dairy products to minimize your exposure to xenoestrogens if you're overweight it's best to reduce your consumption of grains which include breads pastas and cereals it's best to avoid all processed foods finally you want to minimize your exposure to non-organic and genetically modified foods because remember pesticides can influence the way your body metabolizes estrogens foods to increase in your diet include cruciferous vegetables it's best to eat organic and non-GMO as much as possible include fermented foods if you enjoy them because these have natural probiotics which can improve the health of your gut microbiome I really want to emphasize the importance of eating more vegetables in general because vegetables help to lower inflammation in the body and they have minerals like magnesium that are going to help your body better metabolize estrogens cruciferous vegetables include broccoli cauliflower brussels sprouts and kale they're rich sources of i3cn dim which are the compounds that help your liver better metabolize estrogens next we have to get your bowels moving because remember constipation can make estrogen dominance worse remember how magnesium is the cofactor for the comt enzyme in your liver well it also helps to move your bowels and give you a good night's sleep essential magnesium is very popular in my practice it's a chelated magnesium that's best taken at bedtime next you can add in fiber our Prebiotic fiber is made from Green Banana flour as well as large arabino galactants from the large tree it's great for softening and bulking up your stool and it's also considered a resistant starch so it helps to keep you full and stabilize your blood sugar estrogen balancer is what I often refer to as the broccoli pill it has i3cn dim to ensure that your estrogens are being metabolized down the healthy pathway in your liver one capsule of estrogen balancer gives you as much i3c and dim as eating 20 pounds of broccoli this can be helpful especially if you're like some of my patients who are not a big fan of broccoli now what can we do about the estrogens that are being recycled back into your body from your gut remember how some bacteria make the beta glucuronidase enzyme and that causes recycling of the estrogens the great news is there's a special form of calcium called calcium d-glucarate that blocks this beta glucuronidase enzyme what's amazing is I've seen patients who have had breast tenderness for years that finally cleared up after starting calcium d-glucarate zinc is also helpful because it blocks an enzyme called aromatase aromatase is an enzyme made by your fat cells that normally converts testosterone into estradiol let's go over a couple other key supplements methyl B complex is the stress and energy vitamin it promotes methylation and detoxification of estrogens in the liver omega-3 fish oil is essential fatty acids that help to reduce inflammation in the body optimizing your vitamin D level is very important for your hormones metabolism immune system and cancer prevention taking glutathione which is the master antioxidant and detoxifier can help your liver finally taking a good quality probiotic like our probiotic 100 billion can help improve the health of your estrobolone it's also really important to avoid xenoestrogens which are those chemical estrogens from the environment to avoid BPA you want to minimize your use of plastics and use glass containers whenever possible you can avoid parabens by making sure your lotions and makeup are labeled as paraben free avoid chemical sunscreens which are known to have hormone disrupting properties and only use sunscreens where the active ingredient is zinc oxide avoid using perfumes and synthetic fragrances instead you can use essential oils for a natural fragrance avoid Teflon coated non-stick pans instead it's best to cook with stainless steel cast iron or ceramic coated stainless steel next if your progesterone is low it can be helpful to balance your estrogen with bioidentical progesterone in menstruating women we use the progesterone in the luteal phase which is the second half of the cycle so we're mimicking the natural cycle now let me share a case example this is one of my patients Morgan when I first met Morgan she was overweight suffering from severe heavy periods bad PMS symptoms and migraine headaches at her initial consultation she weighed 197 pounds we checked her hormones on day 21 of her cycle and we found her estradiol to be really high at 348. her progesterone was almost undetectable at 0.5 and her vitamin D was really low at 14. so clearly Morgan Had estrogen dominance I helped Morgan clean up her diet so she cut out all the wine and desserts and increased her intake of vegetables I put her on some essential supplements including estrogen balancer calcium d-glucarate magnesium as well as vitamin D when I saw Morgan four months later I was absolutely amazed she had lost over 30 pounds she was so happy to report that her PMs and migraines were now completely gone and her periods were now back to normal when we rechecked her Labs we were so happy to see that her estradiol had come down to 155 her progesterone had improved to 13 and her vitamin D was now optimized at 72. so here are the key points estrogen is cleared by your liver and gut non-organic meats and dairy products can increase your exposure to chemical estrogens constipation can cause you to recycle estrogens from your gut to treat estrogen dominance we recommend cutting out refined sugar and alcohol increasing your intake of cruciferous vegetables and using key supplements like estrogen balancer and calcium d-glucarine be careful with your personal care products to avoid xenoestrogens by addressing estrogen dominance you're also reducing your risk of breast cancer thanks so much for watching this video If you enjoyed it please give it a thumbs up and I'd love it if you'd subscribe to my channel please share this video with your friends and follow me on social media thank you again and have a wonderful day

Channel: Rajsree Nambudripad, MD

Views: 236,665

Keywords: estrogen dominance, high estrogen, estrogen dominance symptoms, signs of estrogen dominance, functional medicine, how to lower estrogen, balance hormones naturally, female hormones, estrogen dominance foods to avoid, estrogen dominance diet, estrogen dominance supplements, high estrogen in men, high estrogen symptoms in female, hormone imbalance, how to balance hormones naturally, hormone balance food

Id: hqmz0ul0EhY

Length: 16min 46sec (1006 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 29 2022