Tag Archive for: PMS

Why Estrogen Balance is Important

Why Estrogen Balance is Important

Why Estrogen Balance is Important

Estrogen is the name of the class of hormones related to the reproductive cycle.  It includes the three main estrogens called estrone, estradiol, and estriol.  Each of these plays a role in the hormonal balance in women.

In healthy premenopausal women, estrogen is made from progesterone and/or from androgens within the ovary’s cells. Estrogen is responsible for changes in young women at puberty and gives adult women their shapely curves. During childbearing years, estrogen rises during the first half of the menstrual cycle in preparation for pregnancy. Elevated estrogen causes water retention and weight gain, and too much estrogen can lead to excess fat and/or obesity.

There are good reasons for some of the negative effects on the body such as water retention and weight gain. In times of famine, an expectant mother would be able to store body fat.  During times of severe famine or nutritional deficiencies, when a woman would be unable to carry a pregnancy to term, the body stops the production of estrogen to prevent fertility. Most of us have not experienced a famine but a large majority of Western women are experiencing severe nutrient deficits, which is causing our bodies to stay in starvation mode.

In times of dietary abundance, estrogen’s effects can be harmful. When women consume more calories than needed, estrogen production increases to extreme levels and can create estrogen dominance and exaggerated estrogen decline at menopause.  Americans who consume diets high in animal fats, sugar, refined starches, and processed foods are creating estrogen levels twice as high as those in third-world countries. It is rare for western women to be truly deficient in estrogen but more likely they may be progesterone deficient, creating an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone levels.

SIGNS OF HORMONAL IMBALANCE

Hormone imbalance is when estrogen becomes the dominant hormone and progesterone is deficient. The estrogen in excess becomes toxic to the body.  The imbalance causes symptoms such as:

  • Infertility
  • Endometriosis
  • PMS
  • Cramps
  • Headaches
  • Hot Flashes
  • Night Sweats
  • Weight gain
  • Heavy menstrual flow (menorrhagia)

NATURALLY BALANCE HORMONES

The great news is there are natural ways to get your hormones back in balance.   You can begin to integrate these healthier, safer options and they will have a positive impact on your health and hormones:

  • Utilize gut health testing. The gut must be balanced before you can fully balance hormones.
  • Eliminate processed foods
  • Identify and eliminate toxic chemicals in the home and personal care
  • Avoid conventionally processed meat and dairy– high levels of estrogen – eat grass-fed instead or consider a more plant-based diet
  • Avoid Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and birth control pills
  • Consider a natural progesterone cream
  • Supplement your nutrition with a whole-food concentrate
  • Add essential fatty acids (EFAs) to your diet. EFA’s are crucial to hormone balance, fertility, and brain health.
  • Eat more organic fruits, vegetables, and greens especially cruciferous vegetables as they contain nutrients that use up bad or excess estrogen

You can also contact us to schedule an appointment for a personal consultation to discuss your hormonal imbalance issues and consider hormone testing.

 

 

 

How to Prevent Hormone Imbalances

Are you hormones out of balance? Do you know what hormone imbalance looks and feels like? Symptoms range from mood issues, PMS, infertility and more, but these symptoms are just a few that women “deal with” and consider just part of being a woman. However, I am excited to share the fact that many of the negative symptoms relating to a woman’s reproductive health can be minimized or even avoided!

Symptoms of Imbalance

Menopause

Did you know, two-thirds of women suffer from menopausal symptoms?

As women age, hormone levels become imbalanced as the body produces less of them. Estrogen and progesterone, the two primary hormones, work together to perform their many and complex functions. Between the ages of 45-50, most women will cease to have a menstrual period, and this marks the beginning of the official menopause phase.

Symptoms of menopause can include hot flashes, night sweats, moodiness, and more. During this time is usually when women seek the advice of their physician or natural health practitioner for help to battle the “changes” of the phase.

Hot Flashes

Hot flashes occur when blood vessels near the skin’s surface expand to cool the body. They are the most frequent symptom of menopause and pre-menopause as two-thirds of all women suffer from them. Hot flash symptoms may include a red face, sweating, increased heartbeat, or chills. If they occur at night, they are called night sweats. Did you know that stress, caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods, tight clothing, heat, and smoke from tobacco products can trigger hot flashes?

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

About 85% of women experience the misery of PMS symptoms (around 10% can be severe), and these symptoms, just like menopause symptoms, can be reduced greatly. Symptoms occur during or before the menstrual cycle which can include bloating, weight gain, aggression, cloudy thinking, head or backaches, cravings, anxiety, mood swings, and more. PMS is correlated to the body being out of balance, specifically the hormones progesterone and estrogen.

Balancing hormones with whole food nutrition

How would you like to experience freedom from the miserable symptoms of Menopause and PMS? To put the body back in balance you must choose whole, clean, unprocessed food, especially fruits, vegetables, and green leafies. What do I mean by whole, clean food?  Whole, clean food is the stuff straight from God and nature without additives, preservatives, pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This means vine-ripened (picked at peak nutrient levels versus being picked green) or certified organic fruits and vegetables. According to the USDA, half of your daily intake of food should be from fruits, vegetables, and greens, which is approximately 7-13 servings!  Are you getting a variety of these on a daily basis?

In addition to whole, clean fruits and vegetables, we must not forget the importance of nuts and seeds (raw, unsalted) to supply fiber, protein, and essential fatty acids (EFA’s). These essential fatty acids are crucial to hormone regulation.  Nature provides these essentials through a variety of foods:

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cold-pressed
  • Butter or ghee (from grass-fed, antibiotic, hormone-free animals)
  • Borage oil
  • Hemp seeds or oil
  • Nuts and nut butters especially almond and walnut
  • Coconut Oil
  • Flax seeds and oils
  • Seafood: wild (not farm-raised) cold-water fish and oils such as sardines and salmon.

As a necessary, basic component for balanced hormones, the body requires Essential Fatty Acids (g00d fats). Personally, I use a minimum of 2-4 Tablespoons per day of the oils listed above and strive to use different ones each week to ensure I receive a variety as each has unique properties. Additionally, EFA’s are necessary for the production of prostaglandins, which are the precursors to hormones.  Prostaglandins are important for the regulation of many bodily functions:

  • Inflammation, pain, and swelling
  • Blood pressure and heart function
  • Kidney function and balance
  • Allergic response
  • Immune response
  • Nerve transmission
  • Hormones
  • Steroid production and hormone synthesis
  • Blood clotting and red blood cell/platelet aggregation (stickiness)

The good prostaglandins prevent blood cells from sticking together, which leads to improved blood flow and reduced inflammation, therefore, reduced pain.

In summary, eating whole, clean, processed foods and increasing or adding EFA’s are two small foundational steps to balance the body and hormones.  What foods have you found that help balance the body when it comes to hormone health or what foods have you learned to avoid? Tell us in the comments below.