Balancing out your hormones, if you are a woman, can be tricky business. Yet, when your hormones are off, it can affect you physically, mentally and emotionally in ways that are inexplicable.

The one thing we are hearing more about, especially among women in the United States and more developed countries is estrogen dominance. What is estrogen dominance – it is when the body doesn’t have enough opposing progesterone to lower estrogen levels during the second half of the menstrual cycle. And why would it be a bigger problem in developed countries? It is thought it is due to what is called xenoestrogens, manmade chemicals that mimic estrogen that we consume from our environment – which means that we aren’t necessarily getting enough progesterone but just way too much estrogen.

These hormones can be in our water and food and possibly the usage of birth control pills.

Pesticides are perhaps the biggest source of xenoestrogens. Most bioaccumulate, meaning they are stored in fat cells of fish, poultry and other food sources in increasing concentration until they reach the top of the food chain — where you and I consume them! They are highly estrogenic, and some experts estimate that the average American ingests over a pound of pesticides a year.

A second major source of xenoestrogens is the many growth hormones given to livestock and poultry, most of which contain fat-soluble estrogens. When we consume those animals or their milk, we ingest that estrogen. Organochlorides like dioxin (a by-product of chlorine when it is burned or processed), PCB’s, PVC’s, and some plasticizers are just a few of the many manmade chemicals that act like estrogen in our bodies. Many others have the effect of interrupting our normal endocrine function, hence the term “endocrine disruptors.”

So what are the symptoms of having too much estrogen? Anxiety, breast tenderness, cyclical headaches or migraines, irregular bleeding, water retention, weight gain and more. (Note that a number of these symptoms are also indicative of the exact opposite condition — a deficiency of estrogen — another example of why the concept of estrogen dominance is too simplistic.)

If estrogen levels stay unopposed, women may develop infertility, endometriosis, amenorrhea (skipped periods), hypermenorrhea (heavy bleeding), fibroids, uterine cancer, heart disease and stroke, and decreased cognitive ability, among other conditions.

How can we help ourselves with estrogen dominance? One can start with putting more fiber in our diet.  A low-fiber diet causes estrogen levels to be higher, while a diet high in fiber results in decreased estrogen levels in the bloodstream. Why? Excess estrogen is excreted in the bowel. When stool remains in the bowel for a longer time, the estrogen is reabsorbed. Studies have shown that women on a vegetarian/high-fiber diet have lower levels of circulating estrogen. Lower levels of estrogen mean less estrogen stimulation of breast tissue, for example, which reduces the risk of breast cancer.

We can also help strengthen our liver. The liver is a filter of sorts. It detoxifies our body, protecting us from the harmful effects of chemicals, elements in food, environmental toxins, and even natural products of our metabolism, including excess estrogen. Anything that impairs liver function or ties up the detoxifying function will result in excess estrogen levels, whether it has a physical basis, as in liver disease, or an external cause, as with exposure to environmental toxins, drugs, or dietary substances.

Use dietary supplements. Lecithin (a phospholipid) and the sulfur-containing L-taurine and L-methionine amino acids are compounds that will promote bile circulation, which enhances estrogen’s excretion out of the body. These lipotropic formulas support the liver metabolism of estrogen. A typical formula might provide the following, sometimes in a base of liver-stimulating herbs like milk thistle, black radish, beet, or dandelion, for twice-daily consumption: choline (a concentrated form of lecithin), 500 milligrams; inositol, 250 milligrams; taurine, 250 milligrams; methionine, 250 milligrams.

And last, eat soy foods like bean curd or tofu. They contain phytoestrogens, including diadzin and genistein. They act as estrogen blockers at the tissue level, blocking receptors that could promote cancer.



Thanks to R. Fredriksen for contributing this article to our Menopause blog:

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement

Can you answer jbug’s question about Menopause?:

I had a partial hysterectomy at age 32 due to cancer, then had my ovaries removed at age 57. I just recently began having extremely intense, uncomfortable hot flashes. I am taking numerous medications and wonder if this is a side effect or if I may need hormone replacement treatment. (I thought I was too old to need hormones). I will, of course, ask my Doctor, but wonder if there are any Nurses or Doctors or persons who have had such an experience who can give me any information. Thank you.

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Can you answer justlookin4friendsonly’s question about Menopause?:

I’ve been experiencing pregnancy symptoms, but people have said it could also be perimenopause (I’m 36). My Mom passed 1`2/25/04, so I can’t ask her when she first started menopause and I know my Dad won’t know or remember. I also didn’t test for pregnancy yet.

Bleeding After Menopause

If you are an Endo sufferer, and you have just about had enough of the debilitating pain, you may be tempted to ask your doctor will there be symptoms of endometriosis after hysterectomy operations have been carried out?

This article covers some of the main considerations and implications of having a hysterectomy to eliminate endometriosis symptoms.

Having a hysterectomy was often used as treatment option with severe Endometriosis symptoms. The idea behind it is that by removing the ovaries you are removing the main source of the female hormone estrogen, which controls menstruation, so the endometriosis will go away.

It’s not surprising then that women with severe Endo symptoms might think having a hysterectomy is an obvious solution. They understandably believe that after the surgical operation, the symptoms will be relieved and the debilitating pain disappears. However this is a misconception.

Endometriosis is a chronic disease that causes women varying degrees of pain and discomfort, especially during the menstrual cycle. It can also hamper their lifestyle as the normal processes of having a bowel movement or engaging in sexual intercourse can be made very painful by the disease.

These symptoms can therefore effect the way a woman regards herself and her relationships with other people.

A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure that removes the uterus and ovaries, or either from the body.

The removal of the uterus does not guarantee to eradicate the pain and discomfort of endometriosis. The effects of endometriosis may persist even after hysterectomy if a woman retains her ovaries as these can continue producing hormones that can effect any endometrial tissue left in the body.

Should the ovaries be removed too, this will bring on menopause and all the delightful symptoms that entails.

Also, female hormones are still produced by the body even when the ovaries are removed, leaving the women to potentially suffer with both menopause and endometriosis symptoms.

Typical menopause symptoms include joint pains, headaches, insomnia and even hair loss. Behavior and attitude may also change.

There may be constant mood swings and feelings of nervousness, anxiety or depression. Weight gain isn’t uncommon and then there’s vaginal dryness to deal with too, not to mention the hot flashes.

As Endometriosis isn’t only found on the uterus and ovaries, but can be anywhere in the pelvic cavity it makes taking hormonal treatment for menopause not viable. By taking female hormone supplements or HRT you can encourage the endometriosis to continue it’s destructive cycle.

There are also additional risks other than endometriosis that a woman exposes herself too after artificially bringing on menopause through a hysterectomy. She can be prone to arthritis, heart diseases and even osteoporosis.

Continue reading to discover how to naturally combat endometriosis and sign up for our free endometriosis newsletter.

There are many crucial decisions that a woman will make in trying to resolve the problem of endometriosis. However, before taking drastic action there are options that must be carefully evaluated, like the effects on endometriosis after hysterectomy.



Thanks to Shelley Ross for contributing this article to our Menopause blog:

Menopause And Bleeding

Can you answer botheredwoman’s question about Menopause?:

I am 47 years old and am in menopause. I am not interested in sex but I do want to have the love making, a relationship, and everything else. I am single and tired of men just wanting sex. What can I do without having to get medicines to get back into the swing of things? I am financial strapped for the medicine thing. Can anyone make suggestions?

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