The Sneaky Hormonal Reason Behind Your PMS, WEIGHT, PCOS!

Hormonal imbalances also affect our skin, body weight and can eventually cause issues around fertility as well. What if I told you that whichever hormone issue you are suffering from, it most probably has a single ROOT CAUSE and that is ESTROGEN DOMINANCE.

As a Gynaecologist specializing in treating hormonal issues in females, and recovering from PCOS, autoimmune thyroid and premature menopause, I have come a long way into understanding the ROOT CAUSE of these issues. Would it not surprise you if I told you that our different kinds of hormonal issues might have a single cause and also that the way to overcome these hormonal problems is a better understanding of the same?

A poorly understood condition called ‘estrogen dominance’ is the most typical root cause of most hormonal dysfunctions. Your hormonal balance goes out of sync due to factors such as uncontrollable environmental toxins, too much stress or an inadequate intake of micronutrients. Once thrown out of gear, this hormonal system gets dominated by the hormone called ‘estrogen’, which is the root cause of your hormonal health issues. 

In my practice, I see the same symptoms being reported by female patients coming from varied histories and different age groups with “official” diagnoses.  They all are suffering the same hormonal issues day in and day out. Crazy periods, weight gain, fibroids, PCOS or endometriosis, Ovarian cysts, PMS and hormonal acne are some of the leading issues that are prevalent. 

Are you suffering from any of these issues? Even if it is yes, there is no need to worry. Because your problem is estrogen dominance which is fairly common.

Understanding estrogen dominance

Estrogen is produced by ovaries and is known as the female sex hormone. It regulates your menstrual cycle and has a major role to play in blood clotting, the formation of the bones, pregnancy, etc. When the levels of estrogen shoot way above their normal value, it results in a condition called ‘estrogen dominance’, where it dominates the hormone called progesterone.

So what are the likely reasons for estrogen dominance?

Well, simple causes of it can be chemicals in your environment, pesticides in the food, deprivation of peaceful sleep cycles, stress or using of the birth control pill (which is a synthetic estrogen). Additionally, you may also feel scared to know that there are certain unavoidable endocrine disruptors like the nail polish or furniture which result in the production of excessive quantities of estrogen in our bodies.

Reasons why excess estrogen is bad for the health

Any imbalance in hormones causes discomfort and disease in the body. A chain reaction that has ill effects on your health and happiness is very likely to start due to a hormonal imbalance. Estrogen dominance causes tiredness or fatigue, irritability and many major health issues like cancer and infertility. The other diseases likely to be caused due to a persistent estrogen overload are hypertension, diabetes, breast cancer or other female cancers. 

Symptoms of estrogen dominance

The usual signs and symptoms of estrogen dominance can be listed as follows: 

• Early-onset of puberty – that is before 12 years of age
• Heavy or irregular periods
• Endometriosis
• Infertility
• PMS – Premenstrual symptoms (from moodiness to bloating)
• Fibroids
• Weight gain
• Ovarian cysts
• PCOS
• Thyroid weakness

The reasons behind estrogen dominance

As seen earlier, estrogen dominance can be caused due to inadequate micronutrient intake, a disrupted microbiome, and unnatural levels of toxins. The female body that cannot take such abuse or is unable to eliminate excess estrogen efficiently develops symptoms of estrogen dominance. Therefore it is vital that one should eat nutrient-rich foods that are hormonally-supportive. Otherwise, a toxic build-up of estrogen takes place, causing many diseases or health problems. This also causes a deficit in the progesterone levels, as compared to those of estrogen levels.

Treating estrogen dominance

Understanding the reasons that cause your condition, is the first step towards the treatment of estrogen dominance. This helps you to take immediate action and address the causes linked to it. The intake of a birth control pill is one of the solutions that an obstetrician or a gynaecologist might suggest to you. However, it is just a temporary patch-up for stopping some symptoms. When you stop taking those pills, you will become even more sensitive to excess estrogen, and your problems and symptoms are likely to be worse. 

Overcoming estrogen dominance naturally

The longest-lasting and effective treatment for estrogen dominance is the natural one with INTEGRATIVE APPROACH as it addresses the root cause. It does not just support the elimination pathways to remove that extra estrogen from the system but also corrects the disrupted hormonal ecosystem. 

The Truhealing protocol helps your body in combating all that incoming extra estrogen and strengthens it to deal with some of the unavoidable sources that stimulate estrogen production.  

There are some natural ways to manage estrogen dominance:

1. Nourish your body with nutrient-rich foods:

Eating fermented foods daily like pickles, fermented veggies kimchi and sauerkraut helps in a big way. You also may need to take a trusted probiotic on a daily basis. Eat eggs ( free range)and vegetables like carrots, spinach, asparagus plus coriander that are glutathione-heavy and are liver detoxifiers. This boosts the elimination system’s function. Try my special hormones-based juice once a week. Eat more fibre. Broccoli, flax seeds and pear are a few foods that contain good amounts of fibre and vital vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, vitamin B and glutathione. These help the liver to process the excess estrogen that goes to the large intestine from where it is eliminated. 

Aim to eat a minimum of 25 grams of fibre per day by eating plenty of vegetables and fruits. Fibre will keep your bowels regular and help eliminate waste, including unnecessary estrogen.

2. Support your microbiome

A microbiome is a community of micro-organisms living together in a particular habitat. The microbiome in our body helps in keeping the body healthy. Certain bacterial genes called the estrobolome and a set of good gut bacteria produce an essential enzyme that acts on the excess estrogen and helps its elimination from the body. Keeping the microbial flora of your body in good shape supports good health. Microbiome feeds on fibre rich and naturally fermented foods.

3. Maintain your gut-health

Your gut moves out the estrogen that is processed by the liver for elimination. Maintaining the gut in good health thus helps in managing the estrogen dominance. You should be wary of constipation, as it poses a threat of incomplete estrogen elimination. When there is an imbalance of gut flora (dysbiosis), these organisms can make more beta-glucuronidase. This enzyme can lead to higher levels of estrogen in the body. Take a high quality probiotic to help the gut flora regain its normal health.

4. Lifestyle

The liver is responsible for processing estrogen to eliminate it out of the body. Thus, keeping your liver healthy helps you in reducing the estrogen levels. Doing the following helps your liver to stay in top shape: 

– Consuming quality protein like whole eggs, almonds, chicken breast, oats,  greek yoghurt, broccoli, etc. 

– Eating plenty of garlic and onions.

– Taking a B complex supplement. 

– Eating a minimum of 3 cups of cruciferous vegetables weekly

– Have a supplement with DIM (this nutrient supports the liver in processing estrogen)

6. Manage Stress

Excessive stress is your worst enemy. It plays havoc with your hormones and the entire health of your body. For some women, supplements like ‘Adrenal Support’ can help their body’s hormonal stress response, in addition to lifestyle changes. Do necessary changes to your lifestyle like indulging in de-stressing activities like playing games, practising yoga, stepping out, etc. You should identify and try to reduce all those factors that are causing you stress. 

7. Sound sleep

Last but not the least, take 7 hours of sound sleep. This helps your body in de-stressing and recovering from physical strain. Your hormones manage themselves better when you sleep well. I recommend sleeping in complete darkness. If you are unable to have a sound sleep, seek medical help. It is possible that because of hormonal imbalance your sleep pattern is disturbed.  

Although estrogen dominance can make you feel miserable, it is reversible! By implementing these steps you can improve your estrogen/progesterone balance and begin to heal your entire hormonal system.

We’re all in this together! So pass on this info to any girlfriend you see suffering from PCOS or Ovarian cysts or any kind of hormone imbalance. Thank you for reading this. I know you are a proactive health rockstar, otherwise, you wouldn’t have read this far. Thank you for everything that you are already doing to help heal and transform our world.

To your healthy ovaries and cycles,

Dr.Disha Sridhar