Understanding Excess Oestrogen + How To Fix

Oestrogen dominance is a common term used in the health industry but let us dissect that a little more to understand better. 

Oestrogen is often demonised but you actually need good levels of oestrogen to have a healthy hormonal cycle, healthy bones and good quality sleep! 

Oestrogen dominance should actually be described as high oestrogen compared to progesterone. 

Oestrogen and progesterone surge at different times of the month, but if progesterone is not produced at the right amount, this can cause oestrogen to become the more “dominant” hormone in the body.

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High oestrogen and low progesterone can cause symptoms such as: 

• PMS

• Premenstrual spotting 

• Heavy bleeding 

• Pain before bleeds 

• Acne 

• High testosterone 

• Weight gain around the middle (from high testosterone)

• Sugar cravings + insulin imbalance

• Low mood / depression 

• Poor sleep 

Interestingly, there are actually three different types of oestrogen in the body plus other forms of oestrogen as well: 

• Estrone (E1) 

• Estradiol (E2)

• Estriol (E3)

• Oestrogen metabolites from gut bacteria

• Xenoestrogens or endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC’s) which are environmental toxins that act like oestrogen in the body but can cause toxic overload. 

PSA: The oestrogen in the oral contraceptive pill (ethinylestradiol) is a xenoestrogen

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Causes of oestrogen excess 

1. Hormonal Birth Control 

   The synthetic oestrogen ‘ethinylestradiol’ in the pill is stronger on the gut bacteria and detoxification pathways than our body’s natural oestrogen so therefore can cause damage. Hormonal birth control also shuts off ovulation. Ovulation is the main event of your menstrual cycle and you will not naturally make progesterone if ovulation does not happen.
   See my blog “Understand Birth Control to Understand Your Hormones” for more detail on this.

2. Poor Oestrogen Detoxification 

   The liver and bowel are primarily responsible for removing oestrogen from the body. 

   Step 1+2 happens in the liver which is where other toxins such as refined sugars, bad fats, environmental toxins and alcohol gets processed. Depending on how much of these toxins are present, this can put stress on the liver and can therefore cause a backlog and impair oestrogen clearance - because oestrogen is also metabolised by the liver. Nutrients required here are Magnesium, B-vitamins, selenium and glycine. Deficiencies in any of these nutrients can also impair oestrogen clearance. 

   Step 3 occurs in the bowel, where all of the good bacteria should be. If there are non-beneficial bacteria present in the gut in high amounts, this can cause issues with oestrogen metabolism and can cause recirculation and recycling of oestrogens. This can cause a high level of beta-glucuronidase enzyme which is a great marker to look for in stool testing to assess oestrogen balance.
   

3. Perimenopause

   Perimenopuase can cause a rollercoaster of oestrogen levels and oestrogen can actually increase in the years leading up to menopause. This is what may cause hot flushes, insomnia, breast pain and irritable moods that can go along with perimenopause. 

4. Insulin resistance

   Insulin resistance or sensitivity can be common in Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and can have a direct impact on high oestrogen and low progesterone levels. Improving insulin levels can assist with the balance of oestrogen and progesterone in the body. 

5. Histamine

   Histamine can play into the excess oestrogen cycle. This is because oestrogen can stimulate the production of more histamine and it also downregulates the production of DAO enzyme which is what is used in the body to actually break down histamine and clear it from the body. 
   Therefore: Oestrogen → Histamine → Oestrogen → Histamine 

How to balance oestrogen and progesterone in the body: 

• Support your liver: reduce alcohol and refined sugars 

• Support your liver by increasing consumption of brassica vegetables 

• Maintain healthy blood sugar levels to manage insulin sensitivity - cinnamon and licorice root tea is amazing for this 

• Do not take hormonal birth control - this is essentially putting synthetic oestrogen (xenoestrogens) into your body every single day.

• Avoid cow’s dairy - non negotiable if you want to manage your hormones. Will help to manage histamine as well. 

• Reduce exposure to xenoestrogens such as pesticides, plastics and environmental toxins 

• Vitex agnus-castus is an amazing herb to promote ovulation and therefore can enhance progesterone, but only if your body is first fully nourished

• Take a good quality zinc and activated B6 - both of these help with ovulation

Always consult your health care practitioner before taking herbs and nutrients.

For more information around understanding how hormonal birth control works in your body click here to read my blog on “Understand Birth Control to Understand Your Hormones”