#as someone on testosterone it absolutely does give you mood swings

[modify-and-sever]

are trans men really just "angrier because of the testosterone" or are you just saying and doing things to upset and anger trans men

[bacchant-of-dionysus]

Listen up, anyone considering egg freezing!

As of right now I am curled up with a cup of tea and a heat pack, recovering from surgery. So I thought I’d give you an overview of my experience as a trans man getting my eggs frozen to preserve my fertility before going on testosterone.

Why did I do it?

We never know what the future holds. While I doubt I will detransition, ever want to be pregnant or become infertile, there is a possibility of all three of these things happening. Preserving my eggs means I can still have children, no matter what happens.

I have a beautiful partner who preserved her sperm before starting estrogen three years ago. She only did it at the request of her mother, thinking that being seen as ‘fathering’ her children and watching her partner go through pregnancy instead of her would be too heartbreaking and distressing for her to cope with. She thought she would just adopt. After a couple of years of hormone therapy, she became more comfortable in her body, and is now desiring to have children with a partner - specifically me.

After meeting my girlfriend, I realised it wasn’t that I didn’t want kids; it was that I didn’t want kids alone, and I couldn’t imagine anyone ever loving me enough or loving someone else enough to have children with them. That all changed when I met her. I want to have children with her.

When it comes to adoption, only 1 in every 30 couples looking to adopt gets to adopt a child. This number is even lower for queer couples in my country. It is also now illegal to adopt from many places overseas due to corruption in the adoption industry.

I considered fostering, but after learning about the high rates of Aboriginal children taken from their families and placed in the care of white people, disconnected from culture, country and their people, I was horrified. 2% of the Australian population is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, yet over 40% of kids in foster care are Aboriginal. We are not past the Stolen Generations. Every year we apologise for something we are still actively doing to these kids and their families. I will play no role in that.

There is a part of me that wants biological children. It is present in many people and isn’t something to be ashamed of. Adopted children are absolutely their adoptive parents’ children. But I suppose there’s a part of me that wants my kids to inherit some of the things I love about my partner. I know this sounds selfish, but that is what love does to you sometimes.

Even if I did decide to go down the road to adoption, I don’t believe I am qualified to raise a child with severe trauma. All children who are taken from their families, even for the right reasons, are traumatised. Every child who feels abandoned is traumatised. I am disabled as it is and need help myself. Taking on the responsibility of raising a child who needs specialised support is something I would prefer to avoid if I can. Obviously all pregnancy comes with the chance that your child will have extra needs or accomodations, but I want to give myself the best shot at being a good parent that I can. This means waiting until I am absolutely stable and in a position to raise a child, and giving my child the best shot at being healthy.

What made me consider not doing it?

The dysphoria that the process would bring made me reconsider. I knew I would have to have a period first, then go through a series of hormone shots that simulated early pregnancy. I knew my breasts would get sore and that this may prevent me from binding. I knew that I would become bloated and almost look pregnant. I knew I would have extra estrogen, a hormone I did not want a lot of, running through my body.

The general side effects, disregarding gender dysphoria, were not going to be fun either. Bloating, nausea, soreness, mood swings, increased emotional sensitivity etc are not fun to deal with for anyone.

The likelihood of even finding a surrogate was low. Paid surrogacy is not legal in Australia, so it would have to be what is called ‘altruistic surrogacy’, or someone who chooses to carry the baby without being paid (though their hospital bills are covered by the parents). My best shot at a surrogate at the moment is my own mother, but she is turning sixty this month. Many people I know or who are in my family would be at risk of suffering complications from pregnancy and I absolutely do not want any harm to come to the person who chooses to do this for us.

The scans were an inevitable but horrible reality. These scans, as it turns out, can be done trans abdominally if you push enough and go through doctors until you find someone willing. I did not know this. All my scans were trans vaginal. These scans feel invasive and can be painful, especially if you haven’t experienced penetration before.

A timeline of my experience (with the occasional picture):

Day 1: stopping Slinda.

The first day of my treatment I stopped taking my birth control pill. This had been stopping my periods for over a year.

Day 2-30

I felt horrible. It was like my system was being flooded with poison. I cried. I wanted to kill myself. My dysphoria was terrible. Around day 30 my period finally came, but it was weak and there was never a day of full bleeding. So we started toward the end of my very short cycle.

Day 1 of hormone shots:

I went to the pharmacy with my partner and a kind lady explained everything we needed to know about the injections I was going to take. We were given three types of medication: overleap, orgalutran and a trigger shot. The overleap stimulated the follicles, causing them to swell. The orgalutran prevented the eggs from being released. The trigger shot was to release the eggs. I took my first dose of overleap that evening, then again at 10am the next morning. I took overleap at 10am each morning for around 30 days. I started on a dose of 75mls, as I was young, healthy and fertile, and they didn’t want to risk OHSS (ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome).

Day 7:

By now I was feeling pretty awful. The stabs weren’t too bad, but they stung occasionally. My partner injected them for me. I had started the orgalutran by this point. I had my first scan, which I had to travel an hour and a half for. The doctor doing the scan was male and not particularly sensitive to my situation. I shut down and cried afterwards and wouldn’t have sex for a week following due to severe genital dysphoria.

Day 14:

I had my second scan. This time it was with another male doctor who was much more gentle and kinder than the first one. I felt far more comfortable with him. The eggs still weren’t big enough.

Day 18:

I had my third scan, which was with the same nice man as before. I got the bad news via a phone call: my eggs weren’t responding to the medication, and they thought I should call off the shots and start again next cycle. There was no way in hell I was doing that, so I asked for another option. They said they could increase the dose of Overleap to 150mls. I thought about it for a while, and spoke with my mum, dad and partner for their opinions. In the end, I decided to double the dose and push on. They said in that case I would need to come down to be scanned by my main doctor, who worked in a city four hours from my home town.

Day 21:

we drove four hours to the city. By this time I was extremely bloated. We managed to do some nice things, like go out for dinner with my parents and try out a bagel place. I bought myself a new sweater, a wooden vest, and some fun socks.

Day 23:

My doctor scanned me for the fourth time. The eggs were responding well to the medication, but only two were big enough to retrieve. She thought I should wait another week and come down again, and hopefully they should be able to retrieve at least five eggs. She clearly thought we should start the whole thing over again because ‘I can do better than that’, but I was adamant that if this failed, I wasn’t trying again.

Day 27:

I began to question again whether any of this was worth it. I just wanted to end the process and move on with my life. I didn’t realise how close I was to the finish line. Every moment felt like hell. I was bloated and emotional and sore and I just wanted it to end.

Day 29:

We drove to the city again. This time we didn’t do anything fun. My girlfriend had to pull over halfway there and get picked up by my mum. She was exhausted and hadn’t been sleeping well from the whole process.

Day 30:

I was scanned by the doctor again. This time, it was immediately clear that my ovaries looked different. She counted ten on one side and didn’t bother to count the other side. I was ready for surgery the next day.

Day 31:

I went to the day hospital at 7:45am. My girlfriend wasn’t allowed in the waiting room with me due to Covid, so I was alone. As I was filling out my sheet, I noticed my gender had been marked as female. I asked if they needed my biological sex or my gender. As it turns out, it didn’t matter at all. I wondered why they bothered to ask if it was irrelevant.

In the nurse’s notes, a handwritten sentence was bolted with pink highlighter: ‘REFER TO AS MR [surname].’ I was glad they were trying, especially considering how gendered the surgery itself was.

I got changed into my cap and gown and a pair of grippy orange socks that I got to keep.

I then waited until the anaesthetist came to speak with me. He was slightly odd and a little abrasive, but I ignored this and made sure not to mention that my dad was an anaesthetist too. I felt like that would probably get us off on the wrong foot.

In the operating theatre, there was the same pop music playing as everywhere else in the hospital. The anaesthetist put a needle in he vein of my elbow, which I believe contained propofol. This wasn’t a general anaesthetic, just heavy sedation. They put an oxygen mask on my face. The last thing I remember was one of the doctors attaching a brace like prop for my legs to sit on. I don’t remember actually putting my legs on it.

It felt like no time had passed when I woke up. I assumed I was still in theatre until I was told otherwise. I vaguely remember having a weird sex dream. My dad tells me this is the propofol. My nose itched. The nurse laughed and blamed the fentanyl.

I was unusually chatty and bright, but my stomach hurt. They gave me some endone. This took the edge off.

They gave me a large triple choc cookie, some tea, and a glass of water. The first thing they told me was that hey managed to retrieve 28 eggs. I was ecstatic. I texted my girlfriend, mum and dad immediately.

Later, they told me that of those 28 eggs, 15 were mature enough to freeze and 3 more were almost mature enough and had been frozen too. I had essentially done two egg collections in one, and was at risk of OHSS. My girlfriend picked me up and drove us to the accomodation.

Day 31-33

Over these past few days I’ve been sore. It’s difficult to move without hurting my belly and lower abdomen. I’m still very bloated. The surgery itself had consisted of guiding a needle through the vaginal wall and retrieving the follicles from the ovaries, which were drained, and the eggs collected. The actual surgery site didn’t really hurt at all and there was minimal bleeding. The real pain is coming from where my swollen ovaries have been messed around, poked and prodded. They are also pressing on my bladder and uterus, so passing urine, gas and bowel movements can be painful. It also hurts to use my abdominal muscles for adjusting my position, laughing, hiccuping, yawning etc. I have to walk with slow, short steps.

Was it worth it?

Yes. Now that it’s over and i never have to do it again, I can safely say I am relieved to have preserved my fertility. Now I can move forward with my life: I’m seeing my hormone doctor on the 10th of may, who will prescribe me a low dose of testosterone gel. I can’t wait.

I would recommend preserving fertility if you can before medical transition. You never know what your future self might want, and self care is all about having compassion for your future self, even if it means sacrificing your comfort in the present.

Whatever you choose to do or whatever reason you are undergoing egg collection, know that you are doing something harrowing and brave.

After I have had my children (which will be a number of years in the future) I plan to donate the remainder of my eggs to those who need them on their own fertility journey. Knowing I’ve helped another couple or single parent build a family is compensation enough for what I’ve been through.

[vanilla--blossom]

***WARNING: SPOLIERS AND A SUPER SUPER LONG COMMENT!***

I loved this episode, it was an emotional roller coaster. Although this post is going to include thoughts on the whole series in general, mainly on Javier’s relationship with Kate and with David and Gabe too. Also just opinions of the characters individually. (It’s going to be a long post, sorry). The ending I got was Javier, Kate, Gabe and Conrad surviving (thank god) and David being bitten so Gabe has to shoot him to prevent him from turning. I chose to save Tripp in episode 4, therefore Ava came along with the group before she died, which was pretty much the only scene I didn’t like in this episode, it was very sudden and I think my game glitched so it cut some dialog or really small scenes so it was over very quickly.

It’s sad because I did like Ava and it was a hard decision on who to choose to be shot (when it came to that scene in ep 4, I didn’t choose either the first time and then ended Javi ended up getting shot lol, I DIDN’T WANT EITHER OF THEM TO BE KILLED AH and I was so shocked when Joan ended up killing the opposite person you wanted to save, such bullshit).

Anyway, on Kate and Javi’s relationship, when I started playing this season I was completely against the intimate/romantic relationship between them, every time some dialogue came up where you could flirt back with Kate, or kiss her or whatever, I didn’t choose those options and when it came to either rejecting her or sharing her feelings, I rejected her. She’s married to David, like you don’t go for your brothers wife? They’re brother and sister in law, bit incest? What about Gabe too? Bit weird for his uncle to start dating his farther’s wife? Plus I knew that David would NOT be happy when he found out, I kept rejecting her so David didn’t have any reason to want to fucking kill Javier and I always saw David’s good side so I wanted to be a good brother to him.

All that changed though when I watched a YouTuber’s Let’s Play of the episode. I don’t know, as soon as I saw them kiss I was just like yes. Instant support. Maybe it was Kate’s awkward confession, and her little excited, “oh my god! Really!?” reaction like she actually couldn’t believed Javi shared her feelings? Ahh it was just too cute. I went back and replayed the season, keeping all other choices the same expect the romance between them. It got me thinking, Javi and Kate have been on the road together for years, they thought David was dead, it was more than hinted that David was an abusive husband as well and Kate was really unhappy with him. They’ve been raising Marianna and Gabe all this time like they were practically their own children and have you seen the way the interact with each other? They have a great dynamic, Javi is so sarcastic, he’s got great banter and Kate can handle it and give it back, they’re always making each other laugh and smile and feel better and clearly they’re just way better suited for each other than Kate is with David. I chose the option for them to kiss after their reunion at the junkyard when I replayed and all Marianna says is “Gross.” Like she’s not at all bothered or angry her step mum is smooching her uncle? Because she can see how much they love and care for each other. Plus it’s a fucking zombie apocalypse, if you love someone, go for it, because you don’t know when your last moment will be with someone, no matter how fucked up the situation is, they were both really really happy in that moment at the junkyard and in the van, plus at the end of the episode too.

This brings me to David and Javi’s relationship. Apart from the Kate thing, I still tried to be a good brother to him, I took his hand after the fight when their dad died, I supported him in his decision to go to the army and promised to watch over Kate and and the kids. I hugged him in the quarantine cell, I stuck by all his plans (not to mention about Marianna & to stay and fight in Richmond, not siding with Kate), I even shot Joan for him. David was a fucking arsehole I admit that, but I did have a little soft spot for him, I always wanted him to redeem himself and for him to show the good person I believed he was inside, I get really attached to the characters, and I think the main way to enjoy the walking dead game is to not focus too much on the lack on character development with a few of the characters or the crappy pacing, even the bad dialogue selections sometimes. I try to put myself in each and everyone of the characters shoes and feel what they are feeling and try and understand.

So when it came to the scene when David found out about Javi and Kate’s relationship and started beating up Javi and was trying to kill him, I chose Javi to say “I love you” 3 times. The final “I love you brother” absolutely broke me. During this fight I was literally crying my eyes out, I could not stop crying, it was so intense and so emotional, it hurt me so much inside because Javi does love his brother and deep down, David loves Javier too. I started crying after the first “I love you”, because of David’s reaction to Javi saying that. He looked so shocked, like he couldn’t believe he heard that from him, which leads me to believe that was the first time Javier ever told David that he loved him. What makes it even more sad is that was the last time he ever said he loved him and also the last thing Javier ever said to David was “I love you brother”.

Other things that made me cry even harder during that scene, when Gabe rushed in to try to get his Dad to stop and David just hits him with the wrench. Like could you imagine your father doing that to you? Especially how much Gabe respected and loved his Dad, Gabe stuck up for David and was on his side throughout the whole season, and then to have everything you thought about your Dad to be proven wrong? After all that, he still chose to go with David because he is his Dad. He is family, he is blood. It’s heartbreaking. Also the little notification that you get if you choose to say I love you three times “you kept your promise to be a good brother”, like holy fuck shit. There I go, I was already broken in half, now I’m broken into quarters. Fuck my life, I was emotionally unstable.

I know a lot of people hate Gabe, just like they hated Duck in season 1 and I just don’t understand why? For both of them. Duck was just a special little boy, he didn’t understand everything was going on, in my opinion I think he had some sort of mental disability, or he was just really dumb who knows. But he was just a little kid, who talked too much and made bad decisions but how was he supposed to know what would happen? Being so young, so naive, he was such an energetic optimistic boy, ignorance is bliss they say right?

Anyway, enough about Duck, back to Gabe. Gabe was 14 years old, he was growing up and going through a really tough time, he has to deal with puberty, hormones, mood swings, testosterone levels are soaring, he wants to grow up. He doesn’t want to a little kid anymore. But the thing is he doesn’t know how. And imagine how hard it would be in a zombie apocalypse to do that. He thinks he’s saying and doing the right thing but he’s not, he wants to prove himself capable, he wants to prove that he’s smart and he can fight and protect himself and protect others, he believes he can. No one else does and so obviously that makes him frustrated that no one will take him seriously. It’s especially hard for him because his role models are Javier and David, two badass, lean mean fighting machines. He wants to be like them and he wants to be like them now but he can’t. Bless Gabe. He was an annoying little shit yeah but he’s a good annoying little shit. It’s all about seeing things from his point of view, imagining if you were him.

Which leads me to Gabe and Clem’s relationship. Disregarding the crush they both have on each other for a second, pretend that doesn’t exist. I love Clem and Gabe’s relationship. Oh my god, how can you not? I’m sorry but how long has Clem gone without a friend her age? Since fucking forever that’s how long. The only kids she’s ever been with is Duck and Sara throughout the entire series. Clem has been through so much shit, she’s been through hell, she’s lost Lee, Kenny, Luke, AJ, all the most important people to her throughout the series, she’s the toughest little girl in the world, she was forced to grow up so much quicker than she had to. Lee taught her to shoot a gun at 8 years old okay. She’s more intelligent and strong and brave and mature than anyone ever has to be at 14 years old, if it weren’t for her appearance you would think Clementine was a fully grown adult. She raised AJ, a toddler, thought of herself as a mother, a real mother to AJ and she’s just still a kid herself.

This is why I fully support her friendship with Gabe, in the van and they were playing euchre together, Clem just got to be a normal teenage girl for a couple of minutes having fun and joking with a teenage boy. Like Kate said it’s just so normal? It’s nice to see, and I can’t remember who said this in the game but “life doesn’t mean much without people you can relate to”, Clem and Gabe relate to each other, they’re in the same boat, Clem understands Gabe and makes him feel better as Gabe does with Clem. I’m sure all of us know how it feels not to be understood and when someone comes a long and shows you that they do understand it’s a relief.

Back to the crushing part between the two, it’s again NORMAL AND FUCKING CUTE! It’s a little harmless crush, of course they’re going to have a crush on each other, it’s the first teen girl Gabe has ever seen since the outbreak, and Clem is really pretty and nice, of course Gabe is going to have a crush on her. It made me smile at the end when Javi was like to Clementine “you know the guy has a crush on you right” and he was all like “oh my gosh you have a crush on him too!!” and then Clem got all embarrassed and flustered and exclaimed “I DO NOT!”, again this is so funny and just adds a bit of lightheartedness and normalcy to the game, yes they’re in the middle of a zombie apocalypse but characters get to be happy once in a while and just pretend that world hasn’t gone to hell. All in all, loved the season, especially loved this episode! Phew what a rant, you have reached the end, props if you read all of it.

[rosemccrayne]

Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss

Estrogen dominance is very common these days,but that DOES NOT make it normal.  Our modern world creates the perfect environment for estrogen to take over.  It may seem impossible, but you can do something about it.  Yes, YOU can!  You just have to know what is causing estrogen dominance in you specifically.  There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to addressing estrogen dominance.  I know because I spent years trying to figure out what was causing estrogen dominance in my own body.  Different doctors told me what to do, but nothing was helping.  That’s because no one was addressing the root cause.

I work with a lot of women dealing with the symptoms of estrogen dominance.  Things like PMS, heavy or irregular periods, bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, brain fog, mood swings, depression, irritability, low libido, histamine intolerance, fibroids, endometriosis, thyroid problems, gall bladder issues, and blood sugar issues.  Any of these sound familiar?

Many things can contribute but here is a list of the top causes I see with my clients…

1. Gut dysbiosis (bacterial imbalance)

Your gut and hormones are absolutely connected.  Glucuronidation is one of the major phase 2 detoxification pathways in the liver that helps us eliminate hormones from the body.  An enzyme called beta glucuronidase can block this detoxification process, which can cause your hormones (including estrogen) to get reabsorbed, reactivated, and put back into circulation.  Beta glucuronidase is produced by imbalanced intestinal bacteria.

So to address the cause, you need to lower this enzyme by balancing your gut bacteria.  Sorry to say it but simply taking a probiotic is usually not enough to re-balance the gut.  Get a good stool test, like the GI MAP, to address bacterial overgrowth.  The nice thing about the GI MAP is that it actually tests for the beta glucuronidase enzyme.  This result below was the first GI MAP I took…it showed over double what the lab considers normal!  In order to address the cause, I worked to re-balance my gut bacteria, which is a process that should be customized to you and your microbiome.

2. Poor liver detoxification (overall, phase 1, or phase 2?)  

If your liver is sluggish, then it will be difficult to clear estrogen from your body, no matter what.  We live in a pretty toxic world, which makes our livers work really hard.  The liver processes hormones to get them ready to be eliminated from the body.  If the liver is not functioning optimally, estrogen levels can be high because your body is not breaking it down and getting rid of it like it should.  It is important to know if there is a specific phase of liver detoxification where estrogen is getting backed up.  This information can help figure out what you need to do to address the cause.

If phase 1 of estrogen metabolism is stuck then a supplement like DIM can help but if that isn’t the problem, then you could be wasting your money on an unnecessary supplement or even cause estrogen to drop too low.

Phase 2 of estrogen detoxification is a process called methylation.  Genetically we might not be good at methylating properly, but we also depend on certain nutrients for this process to work correctly.  We need vitamin folate, B12, B6, and magnesium. If you are deficient, then that could be a contributing factor to your estrogen dominance.  These pathways can’t be tested using blood or saliva, but you can test them with urine, which is why I use DUTCH test by Precision Analytical with my clients.  So much more information!  Save yourself a lot of trouble and get tested instead of guessing.

3. Constipation

I talk about pooping all the time with my clients.  Your bowel movements can tell you a lot about your health.  When you are not having at least one bowel movement per day, when you are not eliminating fully, or when you are going and it looks like little pellets, then you are constipated.  Estrogen that should have been eliminated from the body in your stool is reabsorbed in the gut and re-circulates in the body.  It’s the gut’s responsibility to eliminate hormones.  Get to the root cause of your constipation.  Is it your thyroid, gut pathogens, motility issues, dehydration, low fiber, stress, or something else?  Start by increase your water intake.  You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in pounds in ounces of water per day (coffee and alcohol doesn’t count).  Then make sure you are eating enough fiber by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables.  If that doesn’t help then you may need to investigate further.  Test your thyroid and gut with functional lab testing.  Proper testing is key!

4.  Low progesterone

Estrogen dominance does not always equal high estrogen.  Estrogen can be at a normal level, but if progesterone is too low then you can still have estrogen dominance symptoms.  So why is progesterone low?  Not eating enough healthy fats, too low body weight, chronic stress, HPA axis dysfunction (AKA adrenal fatigue), gluten sensitivity, lack of ovulation, hypothyroidism, or high prolactin– these are just some causes of low progesterone.  It is all about getting to YOUR root cause.  A good practitioner should be able to help you with this investigation.  That is exactly what I do with my clients.

5.  Copper toxicity and Other Heavy Metals

We can become copper toxic in a variety of ways.  Hormonal birth control (pill, patch, ring), copper pipes, copper IUDs, hormone replacement therapy.  It can even be something that was passed to you in-utero from your mother.  Copper stimulates estrogen production and estrogen can increase copper; they are very connected.  When one goes up the other can follow.  In my practice I use hair mineral analysis testing to look for copper issues.  If you have looked at all the other factors and still can’t seem to find out what is causing your high estrogen, then it might be time to consider copper.

Other heavy metals like aluminum, mercury, and lead are also considered metalloestrogens, which means that they have the ability to mimic estrogen in the body.  Some metals are considered essential minerals, but if the concentration of these metals become too high, they can interfere with hormones.  These types of metals are much harder for the body to eliminate on its own.  I like to do a hair mineral analysis test with clients, especially when they are having a hard time addressing why their estrogen is high.

6.  Inflammation

Do you have a lot of inflammation in your body?  Maybe aches, pains, skin problems, joint discomfort, gut issues, heart problems, excess weight, inflamed gums in your mouth?  Do you have a lot of food sensitivities?  Have you been exposed to a lot of toxins?  Inflammation anywhere in your body can be a problem because it can drive up your production of cortisol (your stress hormone that can also be anti-inflammatory).  High cortisol can equal higher DHEA, which then can get made into testosterone and – yes-even estrogen.

These are the top root causes of estrogen dominance that I see in my practice.  It is also very possible to have more than one root cause.  This can be an overwhelming and sometimes complicated beat to tackle.  Working with someone that can help you navigate your root cause(s) and provide you with the best game plan to get your hormones back into balance can be very helpful.   When your hormones are balanced it is easier to maintain a healthy weight, have clear skin, have healthier periods, and slow down the aging process.  If you don’t have the ability to work with a professional, below are a couple things you can  start to do on your own.

What can you start doing today to help your estrogen?

 1.  Use safer beauty products. Toxic chemicals in conventional beauty products can be hormone disruptors.  These chemicals can act like hormones in your body and contribute to higher estrogen levels.  Beautycounter is my favorite safer beauty line!  Consider swapping out your shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, and makeup for non-toxic products.  Read my post Are Your Beauty Products Contributing to Hormone Imbalance for more info.

2.  Eat more veggies.  Things like cruciferous vegetables contain a compound that help to support phase 1 of estrogen detoxification.  Even raw carrots contain a beneficial fiber that helps to eliminate estrogen from your system.  Don’t forget your leafy green veggies that are a good source of folate and support phase 2 of estrogen detoxification.  These are easy things you can incorporate into your daily meals.

3.  Love your liver with castor oil packs. I wrote a whole post about it so go check it out here.

4.  Get enough sleep. Sleep is super critical for overall health and it is whenyour body does a lot of repair work.  Just two consecutive night of not sleeping well can negatively impact your cortisol levels.  And high cortisol can lead to high estrogen.  Get to bed by 10pm and work toward getting at least eight hours per night.

5.  Manage your stress. I can’t emphasis this one enough!  Stress is terrible for your hormones.  Stress negatively impacts your adrenal glands and cortisol levels, which makes it really hard to get your hormones back on track.  Deep breathing, getting out in nature, and a daily self-care ritual are my favorite ways to keep my stress in check.

Resolving estrogen dominance is a multi-factorial process including nutrition, lifestyle, proper detoxification, and healing other bodily systems like the adrenals and gut.

ARE YOU READY TO GET TESTED AND TURN YOUR HEALTH AROUND?  CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO REQUEST A FREE 30 MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL…

Schedule Your FREE 30 Minute Discovery Call

As a Holistic Dietitian and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, I help clients get proper testing, assist in the process of reading those results using clinical correlation (treating the patient and not just the test results), and give them the proper tools (diet, supplements, and lifestyle) to start the healing process.

  The post Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss appeared first on The Organic Dietitian.

[kathrinelewisne]

Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss

Estrogen dominance is very common these days,but that DOES NOT make it normal.  Our modern world creates the perfect environment for estrogen to take over.  It may seem impossible, but you can do something about it.  Yes, YOU can!  You just have to know what is causing estrogen dominance in you specifically.  There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to addressing estrogen dominance.  I know because I spent years trying to figure out what was causing estrogen dominance in my own body.  Different doctors told me what to do, but nothing was helping.  That’s because no one was addressing the root cause.

I work with a lot of women dealing with the symptoms of estrogen dominance.  Things like PMS, heavy or irregular periods, bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, brain fog, mood swings, depression, irritability, low libido, histamine intolerance, fibroids, endometriosis, thyroid problems, gall bladder issues, and blood sugar issues.  Any of these sound familiar?

Many things can contribute but here is a list of the top causes I see with my clients…

1. Gut dysbiosis (bacterial imbalance)

Your gut and hormones are absolutely connected.  Glucuronidation is one of the major phase 2 detoxification pathways in the liver that helps us eliminate hormones from the body.  An enzyme called beta glucuronidase can block this detoxification process, which can cause your hormones (including estrogen) to get reabsorbed, reactivated, and put back into circulation.  Beta glucuronidase is produced by imbalanced intestinal bacteria.

So to address the cause, you need to lower this enzyme by balancing your gut bacteria.  Sorry to say it but simply taking a probiotic is usually not enough to re-balance the gut.  Get a good stool test, like the GI MAP, to address bacterial overgrowth.  The nice thing about the GI MAP is that it actually tests for the beta glucuronidase enzyme.  This result below was the first GI MAP I took…it showed over double what the lab considers normal!  In order to address the cause, I worked to re-balance my gut bacteria, which is a process that should be customized to you and your microbiome.

2. Poor liver detoxification (overall, phase 1, or phase 2?)  

If your liver is sluggish, then it will be difficult to clear estrogen from your body, no matter what.  We live in a pretty toxic world, which makes our livers work really hard.  The liver processes hormones to get them ready to be eliminated from the body.  If the liver is not functioning optimally, estrogen levels can be high because your body is not breaking it down and getting rid of it like it should.  It is important to know if there is a specific phase of liver detoxification where estrogen is getting backed up.  This information can help figure out what you need to do to address the cause.

If phase 1 of estrogen metabolism is stuck then a supplement like DIM can help but if that isn’t the problem, then you could be wasting your money on an unnecessary supplement or even cause estrogen to drop too low.

Phase 2 of estrogen detoxification is a process called methylation.  Genetically we might not be good at methylating properly, but we also depend on certain nutrients for this process to work correctly.  We need vitamin folate, B12, B6, and magnesium. If you are deficient, then that could be a contributing factor to your estrogen dominance.  These pathways can’t be tested using blood or saliva, but you can test them with urine, which is why I use DUTCH test by Precision Analytical with my clients.  So much more information!  Save yourself a lot of trouble and get tested instead of guessing.

3. Constipation

I talk about pooping all the time with my clients.  Your bowel movements can tell you a lot about your health.  When you are not having at least one bowel movement per day, when you are not eliminating fully, or when you are going and it looks like little pellets, then you are constipated.  Estrogen that should have been eliminated from the body in your stool is reabsorbed in the gut and re-circulates in the body.  It’s the gut’s responsibility to eliminate hormones.  Get to the root cause of your constipation.  Is it your thyroid, gut pathogens, motility issues, dehydration, low fiber, stress, or something else?  Start by increase your water intake.  You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in pounds in ounces of water per day (coffee and alcohol doesn’t count).  Then make sure you are eating enough fiber by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables.  If that doesn’t help then you may need to investigate further.  Test your thyroid and gut with functional lab testing.  Proper testing is key!

4.  Low progesterone

Estrogen dominance does not always equal high estrogen.  Estrogen can be at a normal level, but if progesterone is too low then you can still have estrogen dominance symptoms.  So why is progesterone low?  Not eating enough healthy fats, too low body weight, chronic stress, HPA axis dysfunction (AKA adrenal fatigue), gluten sensitivity, lack of ovulation, hypothyroidism, or high prolactin– these are just some causes of low progesterone.  It is all about getting to YOUR root cause.  A good practitioner should be able to help you with this investigation.  That is exactly what I do with my clients.

5.  Copper toxicity and Other Heavy Metals

We can become copper toxic in a variety of ways.  Hormonal birth control (pill, patch, ring), copper pipes, copper IUDs, hormone replacement therapy.  It can even be something that was passed to you in-utero from your mother.  Copper stimulates estrogen production and estrogen can increase copper; they are very connected.  When one goes up the other can follow.  In my practice I use hair mineral analysis testing to look for copper issues.  If you have looked at all the other factors and still can’t seem to find out what is causing your high estrogen, then it might be time to consider copper.

Other heavy metals like aluminum, mercury, and lead are also considered metalloestrogens, which means that they have the ability to mimic estrogen in the body.  Some metals are considered essential minerals, but if the concentration of these metals become too high, they can interfere with hormones.  These types of metals are much harder for the body to eliminate on its own.  I like to do a hair mineral analysis test with clients, especially when they are having a hard time addressing why their estrogen is high.

6.  Inflammation

Do you have a lot of inflammation in your body?  Maybe aches, pains, skin problems, joint discomfort, gut issues, heart problems, excess weight, inflamed gums in your mouth?  Do you have a lot of food sensitivities?  Have you been exposed to a lot of toxins?  Inflammation anywhere in your body can be a problem because it can drive up your production of cortisol (your stress hormone that can also be anti-inflammatory).  High cortisol can equal higher DHEA, which then can get made into testosterone and – yes-even estrogen.

These are the top root causes of estrogen dominance that I see in my practice.  It is also very possible to have more than one root cause.  This can be an overwhelming and sometimes complicated beat to tackle.  Working with someone that can help you navigate your root cause(s) and provide you with the best game plan to get your hormones back into balance can be very helpful.   When your hormones are balanced it is easier to maintain a healthy weight, have clear skin, have healthier periods, and slow down the aging process.  If you don’t have the ability to work with a professional, below are a couple things you can  start to do on your own.

What can you start doing today to help your estrogen?

 1.  Use safer beauty products. Toxic chemicals in conventional beauty products can be hormone disruptors.  These chemicals can act like hormones in your body and contribute to higher estrogen levels.  Beautycounter is my favorite safer beauty line!  Consider swapping out your shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, and makeup for non-toxic products.  Read my post Are Your Beauty Products Contributing to Hormone Imbalance for more info.

2.  Eat more veggies.  Things like cruciferous vegetables contain a compound that help to support phase 1 of estrogen detoxification.  Even raw carrots contain a beneficial fiber that helps to eliminate estrogen from your system.  Don’t forget your leafy green veggies that are a good source of folate and support phase 2 of estrogen detoxification.  These are easy things you can incorporate into your daily meals.

3.  Love your liver with castor oil packs. I wrote a whole post about it so go check it out here.

4.  Get enough sleep. Sleep is super critical for overall health and it is whenyour body does a lot of repair work.  Just two consecutive night of not sleeping well can negatively impact your cortisol levels.  And high cortisol can lead to high estrogen.  Get to bed by 10pm and work toward getting at least eight hours per night.

5.  Manage your stress. I can’t emphasis this one enough!  Stress is terrible for your hormones.  Stress negatively impacts your adrenal glands and cortisol levels, which makes it really hard to get your hormones back on track.  Deep breathing, getting out in nature, and a daily self-care ritual are my favorite ways to keep my stress in check.

Resolving estrogen dominance is a multi-factorial process including nutrition, lifestyle, proper detoxification, and healing other bodily systems like the adrenals and gut.

ARE YOU READY TO GET TESTED AND TURN YOUR HEALTH AROUND?  CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO REQUEST A FREE 30 MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL…

Schedule Your FREE 30 Minute Discovery Call

As a Holistic Dietitian and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, I help clients get proper testing, assist in the process of reading those results using clinical correlation (treating the patient and not just the test results), and give them the proper tools (diet, supplements, and lifestyle) to start the healing process.

  The post Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss appeared first on The Organic Dietitian.

[ivorysandersonmkna]

Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss

Estrogen dominance is very common these days,but that DOES NOT make it normal.  Our modern world creates the perfect environment for estrogen to take over.  It may seem impossible, but you can do something about it.  Yes, YOU can!  You just have to know what is causing estrogen dominance in you specifically.  There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to addressing estrogen dominance.  I know because I spent years trying to figure out what was causing estrogen dominance in my own body.  Different doctors told me what to do, but nothing was helping.  That’s because no one was addressing the root cause.

I work with a lot of women dealing with the symptoms of estrogen dominance.  Things like PMS, heavy or irregular periods, bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, brain fog, mood swings, depression, irritability, low libido, histamine intolerance, fibroids, endometriosis, thyroid problems, gall bladder issues, and blood sugar issues.  Any of these sound familiar?

Many things can contribute but here is a list of the top causes I see with my clients…

1. Gut dysbiosis (bacterial imbalance)

Your gut and hormones are absolutely connected.  Glucuronidation is one of the major phase 2 detoxification pathways in the liver that helps us eliminate hormones from the body.  An enzyme called beta glucuronidase can block this detoxification process, which can cause your hormones (including estrogen) to get reabsorbed, reactivated, and put back into circulation.  Beta glucuronidase is produced by imbalanced intestinal bacteria.

So to address the cause, you need to lower this enzyme by balancing your gut bacteria.  Sorry to say it but simply taking a probiotic is usually not enough to re-balance the gut.  Get a good stool test, like the GI MAP, to address bacterial overgrowth.  The nice thing about the GI MAP is that it actually tests for the beta glucuronidase enzyme.  This result below was the first GI MAP I took…it showed over double what the lab considers normal!  In order to address the cause, I worked to re-balance my gut bacteria, which is a process that should be customized to you and your microbiome.

2. Poor liver detoxification (overall, phase 1, or phase 2?)  

If your liver is sluggish, then it will be difficult to clear estrogen from your body, no matter what.  We live in a pretty toxic world, which makes our livers work really hard.  The liver processes hormones to get them ready to be eliminated from the body.  If the liver is not functioning optimally, estrogen levels can be high because your body is not breaking it down and getting rid of it like it should.  It is important to know if there is a specific phase of liver detoxification where estrogen is getting backed up.  This information can help figure out what you need to do to address the cause.

If phase 1 of estrogen metabolism is stuck then a supplement like DIM can help but if that isn’t the problem, then you could be wasting your money on an unnecessary supplement or even cause estrogen to drop too low.

Phase 2 of estrogen detoxification is a process called methylation.  Genetically we might not be good at methylating properly, but we also depend on certain nutrients for this process to work correctly.  We need vitamin folate, B12, B6, and magnesium. If you are deficient, then that could be a contributing factor to your estrogen dominance.  These pathways can’t be tested using blood or saliva, but you can test them with urine, which is why I use DUTCH test by Precision Analytical with my clients.  So much more information!  Save yourself a lot of trouble and get tested instead of guessing.

3. Constipation

I talk about pooping all the time with my clients.  Your bowel movements can tell you a lot about your health.  When you are not having at least one bowel movement per day, when you are not eliminating fully, or when you are going and it looks like little pellets, then you are constipated.  Estrogen that should have been eliminated from the body in your stool is reabsorbed in the gut and re-circulates in the body.  It’s the gut’s responsibility to eliminate hormones.  Get to the root cause of your constipation.  Is it your thyroid, gut pathogens, motility issues, dehydration, low fiber, stress, or something else?  Start by increase your water intake.  You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in pounds in ounces of water per day (coffee and alcohol doesn’t count).  Then make sure you are eating enough fiber by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables.  If that doesn’t help then you may need to investigate further.  Test your thyroid and gut with functional lab testing.  Proper testing is key!

4.  Low progesterone

Estrogen dominance does not always equal high estrogen.  Estrogen can be at a normal level, but if progesterone is too low then you can still have estrogen dominance symptoms.  So why is progesterone low?  Not eating enough healthy fats, too low body weight, chronic stress, HPA axis dysfunction (AKA adrenal fatigue), gluten sensitivity, lack of ovulation, hypothyroidism, or high prolactin– these are just some causes of low progesterone.  It is all about getting to YOUR root cause.  A good practitioner should be able to help you with this investigation.  That is exactly what I do with my clients.

5.  Copper toxicity and Other Heavy Metals

We can become copper toxic in a variety of ways.  Hormonal birth control (pill, patch, ring), copper pipes, copper IUDs, hormone replacement therapy.  It can even be something that was passed to you in-utero from your mother.  Copper stimulates estrogen production and estrogen can increase copper; they are very connected.  When one goes up the other can follow.  In my practice I use hair mineral analysis testing to look for copper issues.  If you have looked at all the other factors and still can’t seem to find out what is causing your high estrogen, then it might be time to consider copper.

Other heavy metals like aluminum, mercury, and lead are also considered metalloestrogens, which means that they have the ability to mimic estrogen in the body.  Some metals are considered essential minerals, but if the concentration of these metals become too high, they can interfere with hormones.  These types of metals are much harder for the body to eliminate on its own.  I like to do a hair mineral analysis test with clients, especially when they are having a hard time addressing why their estrogen is high.

6.  Inflammation

Do you have a lot of inflammation in your body?  Maybe aches, pains, skin problems, joint discomfort, gut issues, heart problems, excess weight, inflamed gums in your mouth?  Do you have a lot of food sensitivities?  Have you been exposed to a lot of toxins?  Inflammation anywhere in your body can be a problem because it can drive up your production of cortisol (your stress hormone that can also be anti-inflammatory).  High cortisol can equal higher DHEA, which then can get made into testosterone and – yes-even estrogen.

These are the top root causes of estrogen dominance that I see in my practice.  It is also very possible to have more than one root cause.  This can be an overwhelming and sometimes complicated beat to tackle.  Working with someone that can help you navigate your root cause(s) and provide you with the best game plan to get your hormones back into balance can be very helpful.   When your hormones are balanced it is easier to maintain a healthy weight, have clear skin, have healthier periods, and slow down the aging process.  If you don’t have the ability to work with a professional, below are a couple things you can  start to do on your own.

What can you start doing today to help your estrogen?

 1.  Use safer beauty products. Toxic chemicals in conventional beauty products can be hormone disruptors.  These chemicals can act like hormones in your body and contribute to higher estrogen levels.  Beautycounter is my favorite safer beauty line!  Consider swapping out your shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, and makeup for non-toxic products.  Read my post Are Your Beauty Products Contributing to Hormone Imbalance for more info.

2.  Eat more veggies.  Things like cruciferous vegetables contain a compound that help to support phase 1 of estrogen detoxification.  Even raw carrots contain a beneficial fiber that helps to eliminate estrogen from your system.  Don’t forget your leafy green veggies that are a good source of folate and support phase 2 of estrogen detoxification.  These are easy things you can incorporate into your daily meals.

3.  Love your liver with castor oil packs. I wrote a whole post about it so go check it out here.

4.  Get enough sleep. Sleep is super critical for overall health and it is whenyour body does a lot of repair work.  Just two consecutive night of not sleeping well can negatively impact your cortisol levels.  And high cortisol can lead to high estrogen.  Get to bed by 10pm and work toward getting at least eight hours per night.

5.  Manage your stress. I can’t emphasis this one enough!  Stress is terrible for your hormones.  Stress negatively impacts your adrenal glands and cortisol levels, which makes it really hard to get your hormones back on track.  Deep breathing, getting out in nature, and a daily self-care ritual are my favorite ways to keep my stress in check.

Resolving estrogen dominance is a multi-factorial process including nutrition, lifestyle, proper detoxification, and healing other bodily systems like the adrenals and gut.

ARE YOU READY TO GET TESTED AND TURN YOUR HEALTH AROUND?  CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO REQUEST A FREE 30 MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL…

Schedule Your FREE 30 Minute Discovery Call

As a Holistic Dietitian and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, I help clients get proper testing, assist in the process of reading those results using clinical correlation (treating the patient and not just the test results), and give them the proper tools (diet, supplements, and lifestyle) to start the healing process.

  The post Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss appeared first on The Organic Dietitian.

[scottrennne]

Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss

Estrogen dominance is very common these days,but that DOES NOT make it normal.  Our modern world creates the perfect environment for estrogen to take over.  It may seem impossible, but you can do something about it.  Yes, YOU can!  You just have to know what is causing estrogen dominance in you specifically.  There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to addressing estrogen dominance.  I know because I spent years trying to figure out what was causing estrogen dominance in my own body.  Different doctors told me what to do, but nothing was helping.  That’s because no one was addressing the root cause.

I work with a lot of women dealing with the symptoms of estrogen dominance.  Things like PMS, heavy or irregular periods, bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, brain fog, mood swings, depression, irritability, low libido, histamine intolerance, fibroids, endometriosis, thyroid problems, gall bladder issues, and blood sugar issues.  Any of these sound familiar?

Many things can contribute but here is a list of the top causes I see with my clients…

1. Gut dysbiosis (bacterial imbalance)

Your gut and hormones are absolutely connected.  Glucuronidation is one of the major phase 2 detoxification pathways in the liver that helps us eliminate hormones from the body.  An enzyme called beta glucuronidase can block this detoxification process, which can cause your hormones (including estrogen) to get reabsorbed, reactivated, and put back into circulation.  Beta glucuronidase is produced by imbalanced intestinal bacteria.

So to address the cause, you need to lower this enzyme by balancing your gut bacteria.  Sorry to say it but simply taking a probiotic is usually not enough to re-balance the gut.  Get a good stool test, like the GI MAP, to address bacterial overgrowth.  The nice thing about the GI MAP is that it actually tests for the beta glucuronidase enzyme.  This result below was the first GI MAP I took…it showed over double what the lab considers normal!  In order to address the cause, I worked to re-balance my gut bacteria, which is a process that should be customized to you and your microbiome.

2. Poor liver detoxification (overall, phase 1, or phase 2?)  

If your liver is sluggish, then it will be difficult to clear estrogen from your body, no matter what.  We live in a pretty toxic world, which makes our livers work really hard.  The liver processes hormones to get them ready to be eliminated from the body.  If the liver is not functioning optimally, estrogen levels can be high because your body is not breaking it down and getting rid of it like it should.  It is important to know if there is a specific phase of liver detoxification where estrogen is getting backed up.  This information can help figure out what you need to do to address the cause.

If phase 1 of estrogen metabolism is stuck then a supplement like DIM can help but if that isn’t the problem, then you could be wasting your money on an unnecessary supplement or even cause estrogen to drop too low.

Phase 2 of estrogen detoxification is a process called methylation.  Genetically we might not be good at methylating properly, but we also depend on certain nutrients for this process to work correctly.  We need vitamin folate, B12, B6, and magnesium. If you are deficient, then that could be a contributing factor to your estrogen dominance.  These pathways can’t be tested using blood or saliva, but you can test them with urine, which is why I use DUTCH test by Precision Analytical with my clients.  So much more information!  Save yourself a lot of trouble and get tested instead of guessing.

3. Constipation

I talk about pooping all the time with my clients.  Your bowel movements can tell you a lot about your health.  When you are not having at least one bowel movement per day, when you are not eliminating fully, or when you are going and it looks like little pellets, then you are constipated.  Estrogen that should have been eliminated from the body in your stool is reabsorbed in the gut and re-circulates in the body.  It’s the gut’s responsibility to eliminate hormones.  Get to the root cause of your constipation.  Is it your thyroid, gut pathogens, motility issues, dehydration, low fiber, stress, or something else?  Start by increase your water intake.  You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in pounds in ounces of water per day (coffee and alcohol doesn’t count).  Then make sure you are eating enough fiber by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables.  If that doesn’t help then you may need to investigate further.  Test your thyroid and gut with functional lab testing.  Proper testing is key!

4.  Low progesterone

Estrogen dominance does not always equal high estrogen.  Estrogen can be at a normal level, but if progesterone is too low then you can still have estrogen dominance symptoms.  So why is progesterone low?  Not eating enough healthy fats, too low body weight, chronic stress, HPA axis dysfunction (AKA adrenal fatigue), gluten sensitivity, lack of ovulation, hypothyroidism, or high prolactin– these are just some causes of low progesterone.  It is all about getting to YOUR root cause.  A good practitioner should be able to help you with this investigation.  That is exactly what I do with my clients.

5.  Copper toxicity and Other Heavy Metals

We can become copper toxic in a variety of ways.  Hormonal birth control (pill, patch, ring), copper pipes, copper IUDs, hormone replacement therapy.  It can even be something that was passed to you in-utero from your mother.  Copper stimulates estrogen production and estrogen can increase copper; they are very connected.  When one goes up the other can follow.  In my practice I use hair mineral analysis testing to look for copper issues.  If you have looked at all the other factors and still can’t seem to find out what is causing your high estrogen, then it might be time to consider copper.

Other heavy metals like aluminum, mercury, and lead are also considered metalloestrogens, which means that they have the ability to mimic estrogen in the body.  Some metals are considered essential minerals, but if the concentration of these metals become too high, they can interfere with hormones.  These types of metals are much harder for the body to eliminate on its own.  I like to do a hair mineral analysis test with clients, especially when they are having a hard time addressing why their estrogen is high.

6.  Inflammation

Do you have a lot of inflammation in your body?  Maybe aches, pains, skin problems, joint discomfort, gut issues, heart problems, excess weight, inflamed gums in your mouth?  Do you have a lot of food sensitivities?  Have you been exposed to a lot of toxins?  Inflammation anywhere in your body can be a problem because it can drive up your production of cortisol (your stress hormone that can also be anti-inflammatory).  High cortisol can equal higher DHEA, which then can get made into testosterone and – yes-even estrogen.

These are the top root causes of estrogen dominance that I see in my practice.  It is also very possible to have more than one root cause.  This can be an overwhelming and sometimes complicated beat to tackle.  Working with someone that can help you navigate your root cause(s) and provide you with the best game plan to get your hormones back into balance can be very helpful.   When your hormones are balanced it is easier to maintain a healthy weight, have clear skin, have healthier periods, and slow down the aging process.  If you don’t have the ability to work with a professional, below are a couple things you can  start to do on your own.

What can you start doing today to help your estrogen?

 1.  Use safer beauty products. Toxic chemicals in conventional beauty products can be hormone disruptors.  These chemicals can act like hormones in your body and contribute to higher estrogen levels.  Beautycounter is my favorite safer beauty line!  Consider swapping out your shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, and makeup for non-toxic products.  Read my post Are Your Beauty Products Contributing to Hormone Imbalance for more info.

2.  Eat more veggies.  Things like cruciferous vegetables contain a compound that help to support phase 1 of estrogen detoxification.  Even raw carrots contain a beneficial fiber that helps to eliminate estrogen from your system.  Don’t forget your leafy green veggies that are a good source of folate and support phase 2 of estrogen detoxification.  These are easy things you can incorporate into your daily meals.

3.  Love your liver with castor oil packs. I wrote a whole post about it so go check it out here.

4.  Get enough sleep. Sleep is super critical for overall health and it is whenyour body does a lot of repair work.  Just two consecutive night of not sleeping well can negatively impact your cortisol levels.  And high cortisol can lead to high estrogen.  Get to bed by 10pm and work toward getting at least eight hours per night.

5.  Manage your stress. I can’t emphasis this one enough!  Stress is terrible for your hormones.  Stress negatively impacts your adrenal glands and cortisol levels, which makes it really hard to get your hormones back on track.  Deep breathing, getting out in nature, and a daily self-care ritual are my favorite ways to keep my stress in check.

Resolving estrogen dominance is a multi-factorial process including nutrition, lifestyle, proper detoxification, and healing other bodily systems like the adrenals and gut.

ARE YOU READY TO GET TESTED AND TURN YOUR HEALTH AROUND?  CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO REQUEST A FREE 30 MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL…

Schedule Your FREE 30 Minute Discovery Call

As a Holistic Dietitian and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, I help clients get proper testing, assist in the process of reading those results using clinical correlation (treating the patient and not just the test results), and give them the proper tools (diet, supplements, and lifestyle) to start the healing process.

  The post Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss appeared first on The Organic Dietitian.

[felipestewartne]

Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss

Estrogen dominance is very common these days,but that DOES NOT make it normal.  Our modern world creates the perfect environment for estrogen to take over.  It may seem impossible, but you can do something about it.  Yes, YOU can!  You just have to know what is causing estrogen dominance in you specifically.  There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to addressing estrogen dominance.  I know because I spent years trying to figure out what was causing estrogen dominance in my own body.  Different doctors told me what to do, but nothing was helping.  That’s because no one was addressing the root cause.

I work with a lot of women dealing with the symptoms of estrogen dominance.  Things like PMS, heavy or irregular periods, bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, brain fog, mood swings, depression, irritability, low libido, histamine intolerance, fibroids, endometriosis, thyroid problems, gall bladder issues, and blood sugar issues.  Any of these sound familiar?

Many things can contribute but here is a list of the top causes I see with my clients…

1. Gut dysbiosis (bacterial imbalance)

Your gut and hormones are absolutely connected.  Glucuronidation is one of the major phase 2 detoxification pathways in the liver that helps us eliminate hormones from the body.  An enzyme called beta glucuronidase can block this detoxification process, which can cause your hormones (including estrogen) to get reabsorbed, reactivated, and put back into circulation.  Beta glucuronidase is produced by imbalanced intestinal bacteria.

So to address the cause, you need to lower this enzyme by balancing your gut bacteria.  Sorry to say it but simply taking a probiotic is usually not enough to re-balance the gut.  Get a good stool test, like the GI MAP, to address bacterial overgrowth.  The nice thing about the GI MAP is that it actually tests for the beta glucuronidase enzyme.  This result below was the first GI MAP I took…it showed over double what the lab considers normal!  In order to address the cause, I worked to re-balance my gut bacteria, which is a process that should be customized to you and your microbiome.

2. Poor liver detoxification (overall, phase 1, or phase 2?)  

If your liver is sluggish, then it will be difficult to clear estrogen from your body, no matter what.  We live in a pretty toxic world, which makes our livers work really hard.  The liver processes hormones to get them ready to be eliminated from the body.  If the liver is not functioning optimally, estrogen levels can be high because your body is not breaking it down and getting rid of it like it should.  It is important to know if there is a specific phase of liver detoxification where estrogen is getting backed up.  This information can help figure out what you need to do to address the cause.

If phase 1 of estrogen metabolism is stuck then a supplement like DIM can help but if that isn’t the problem, then you could be wasting your money on an unnecessary supplement or even cause estrogen to drop too low.

Phase 2 of estrogen detoxification is a process called methylation.  Genetically we might not be good at methylating properly, but we also depend on certain nutrients for this process to work correctly.  We need vitamin folate, B12, B6, and magnesium. If you are deficient, then that could be a contributing factor to your estrogen dominance.  These pathways can’t be tested using blood or saliva, but you can test them with urine, which is why I use DUTCH test by Precision Analytical with my clients.  So much more information!  Save yourself a lot of trouble and get tested instead of guessing.

3. Constipation

I talk about pooping all the time with my clients.  Your bowel movements can tell you a lot about your health.  When you are not having at least one bowel movement per day, when you are not eliminating fully, or when you are going and it looks like little pellets, then you are constipated.  Estrogen that should have been eliminated from the body in your stool is reabsorbed in the gut and re-circulates in the body.  It’s the gut’s responsibility to eliminate hormones.  Get to the root cause of your constipation.  Is it your thyroid, gut pathogens, motility issues, dehydration, low fiber, stress, or something else?  Start by increase your water intake.  You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in pounds in ounces of water per day (coffee and alcohol doesn’t count).  Then make sure you are eating enough fiber by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables.  If that doesn’t help then you may need to investigate further.  Test your thyroid and gut with functional lab testing.  Proper testing is key!

4.  Low progesterone

Estrogen dominance does not always equal high estrogen.  Estrogen can be at a normal level, but if progesterone is too low then you can still have estrogen dominance symptoms.  So why is progesterone low?  Not eating enough healthy fats, too low body weight, chronic stress, HPA axis dysfunction (AKA adrenal fatigue), gluten sensitivity, lack of ovulation, hypothyroidism, or high prolactin– these are just some causes of low progesterone.  It is all about getting to YOUR root cause.  A good practitioner should be able to help you with this investigation.  That is exactly what I do with my clients.

5.  Copper toxicity and Other Heavy Metals

We can become copper toxic in a variety of ways.  Hormonal birth control (pill, patch, ring), copper pipes, copper IUDs, hormone replacement therapy.  It can even be something that was passed to you in-utero from your mother.  Copper stimulates estrogen production and estrogen can increase copper; they are very connected.  When one goes up the other can follow.  In my practice I use hair mineral analysis testing to look for copper issues.  If you have looked at all the other factors and still can’t seem to find out what is causing your high estrogen, then it might be time to consider copper.

Other heavy metals like aluminum, mercury, and lead are also considered metalloestrogens, which means that they have the ability to mimic estrogen in the body.  Some metals are considered essential minerals, but if the concentration of these metals become too high, they can interfere with hormones.  These types of metals are much harder for the body to eliminate on its own.  I like to do a hair mineral analysis test with clients, especially when they are having a hard time addressing why their estrogen is high.

6.  Inflammation

Do you have a lot of inflammation in your body?  Maybe aches, pains, skin problems, joint discomfort, gut issues, heart problems, excess weight, inflamed gums in your mouth?  Do you have a lot of food sensitivities?  Have you been exposed to a lot of toxins?  Inflammation anywhere in your body can be a problem because it can drive up your production of cortisol (your stress hormone that can also be anti-inflammatory).  High cortisol can equal higher DHEA, which then can get made into testosterone and – yes-even estrogen.

These are the top root causes of estrogen dominance that I see in my practice.  It is also very possible to have more than one root cause.  This can be an overwhelming and sometimes complicated beat to tackle.  Working with someone that can help you navigate your root cause(s) and provide you with the best game plan to get your hormones back into balance can be very helpful.   When your hormones are balanced it is easier to maintain a healthy weight, have clear skin, have healthier periods, and slow down the aging process.  If you don’t have the ability to work with a professional, below are a couple things you can  start to do on your own.

What can you start doing today to help your estrogen?

 1.  Use safer beauty products. Toxic chemicals in conventional beauty products can be hormone disruptors.  These chemicals can act like hormones in your body and contribute to higher estrogen levels.  Beautycounter is my favorite safer beauty line!  Consider swapping out your shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, and makeup for non-toxic products.  Read my post Are Your Beauty Products Contributing to Hormone Imbalance for more info.

2.  Eat more veggies.  Things like cruciferous vegetables contain a compound that help to support phase 1 of estrogen detoxification.  Even raw carrots contain a beneficial fiber that helps to eliminate estrogen from your system.  Don’t forget your leafy green veggies that are a good source of folate and support phase 2 of estrogen detoxification.  These are easy things you can incorporate into your daily meals.

3.  Love your liver with castor oil packs. I wrote a whole post about it so go check it out here.

4.  Get enough sleep. Sleep is super critical for overall health and it is whenyour body does a lot of repair work.  Just two consecutive night of not sleeping well can negatively impact your cortisol levels.  And high cortisol can lead to high estrogen.  Get to bed by 10pm and work toward getting at least eight hours per night.

5.  Manage your stress. I can’t emphasis this one enough!  Stress is terrible for your hormones.  Stress negatively impacts your adrenal glands and cortisol levels, which makes it really hard to get your hormones back on track.  Deep breathing, getting out in nature, and a daily self-care ritual are my favorite ways to keep my stress in check.

Resolving estrogen dominance is a multi-factorial process including nutrition, lifestyle, proper detoxification, and healing other bodily systems like the adrenals and gut.

ARE YOU READY TO GET TESTED AND TURN YOUR HEALTH AROUND?  CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO REQUEST A FREE 30 MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL…

Schedule Your FREE 30 Minute Discovery Call

As a Holistic Dietitian and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, I help clients get proper testing, assist in the process of reading those results using clinical correlation (treating the patient and not just the test results), and give them the proper tools (diet, supplements, and lifestyle) to start the healing process.

  The post Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss appeared first on The Organic Dietitian.

[scottrennne]

Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss

Estrogen dominance is very common these days,but that DOES NOT make it normal.  Our modern world creates the perfect environment for estrogen to take over.  It may seem impossible, but you can do something about it.  Yes, YOU can!  You just have to know what is causing estrogen dominance in you specifically.  There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to addressing estrogen dominance.  I know because I spent years trying to figure out what was causing estrogen dominance in my own body.  Different doctors told me what to do, but nothing was helping.  That’s because no one was addressing the root cause.

I work with a lot of women dealing with the symptoms of estrogen dominance.  Things like PMS, heavy or irregular periods, bloating, breast tenderness, headaches, brain fog, mood swings, depression, irritability, low libido, histamine intolerance, fibroids, endometriosis, thyroid problems, gall bladder issues, and blood sugar issues.  Any of these sound familiar?

Many things can contribute but here is a list of the top causes I see with my clients…

1. Gut dysbiosis (bacterial imbalance)

Your gut and hormones are absolutely connected.  Glucuronidation is one of the major phase 2 detoxification pathways in the liver that helps us eliminate hormones from the body.  An enzyme called beta glucuronidase can block this detoxification process, which can cause your hormones (including estrogen) to get reabsorbed, reactivated, and put back into circulation.  Beta glucuronidase is produced by imbalanced intestinal bacteria.

So to address the cause, you need to lower this enzyme by balancing your gut bacteria.  Sorry to say it but simply taking a probiotic is usually not enough to re-balance the gut.  Get a good stool test, like the GI MAP, to address bacterial overgrowth.  The nice thing about the GI MAP is that it actually tests for the beta glucuronidase enzyme.  This result below was the first GI MAP I took…it showed over double what the lab considers normal!  In order to address the cause, I worked to re-balance my gut bacteria, which is a process that should be customized to you and your microbiome.

2. Poor liver detoxification (overall, phase 1, or phase 2?)  

If your liver is sluggish, then it will be difficult to clear estrogen from your body, no matter what.  We live in a pretty toxic world, which makes our livers work really hard.  The liver processes hormones to get them ready to be eliminated from the body.  If the liver is not functioning optimally, estrogen levels can be high because your body is not breaking it down and getting rid of it like it should.  It is important to know if there is a specific phase of liver detoxification where estrogen is getting backed up.  This information can help figure out what you need to do to address the cause.

If phase 1 of estrogen metabolism is stuck then a supplement like DIM can help but if that isn’t the problem, then you could be wasting your money on an unnecessary supplement or even cause estrogen to drop too low.

Phase 2 of estrogen detoxification is a process called methylation.  Genetically we might not be good at methylating properly, but we also depend on certain nutrients for this process to work correctly.  We need vitamin folate, B12, B6, and magnesium. If you are deficient, then that could be a contributing factor to your estrogen dominance.  These pathways can’t be tested using blood or saliva, but you can test them with urine, which is why I use DUTCH test by Precision Analytical with my clients.  So much more information!  Save yourself a lot of trouble and get tested instead of guessing.

3. Constipation

I talk about pooping all the time with my clients.  Your bowel movements can tell you a lot about your health.  When you are not having at least one bowel movement per day, when you are not eliminating fully, or when you are going and it looks like little pellets, then you are constipated.  Estrogen that should have been eliminated from the body in your stool is reabsorbed in the gut and re-circulates in the body.  It’s the gut’s responsibility to eliminate hormones.  Get to the root cause of your constipation.  Is it your thyroid, gut pathogens, motility issues, dehydration, low fiber, stress, or something else?  Start by increase your water intake.  You should be drinking at least half of your body weight in pounds in ounces of water per day (coffee and alcohol doesn’t count).  Then make sure you are eating enough fiber by increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables.  If that doesn’t help then you may need to investigate further.  Test your thyroid and gut with functional lab testing.  Proper testing is key!

4.  Low progesterone

Estrogen dominance does not always equal high estrogen.  Estrogen can be at a normal level, but if progesterone is too low then you can still have estrogen dominance symptoms.  So why is progesterone low?  Not eating enough healthy fats, too low body weight, chronic stress, HPA axis dysfunction (AKA adrenal fatigue), gluten sensitivity, lack of ovulation, hypothyroidism, or high prolactin– these are just some causes of low progesterone.  It is all about getting to YOUR root cause.  A good practitioner should be able to help you with this investigation.  That is exactly what I do with my clients.

5.  Copper toxicity and Other Heavy Metals

We can become copper toxic in a variety of ways.  Hormonal birth control (pill, patch, ring), copper pipes, copper IUDs, hormone replacement therapy.  It can even be something that was passed to you in-utero from your mother.  Copper stimulates estrogen production and estrogen can increase copper; they are very connected.  When one goes up the other can follow.  In my practice I use hair mineral analysis testing to look for copper issues.  If you have looked at all the other factors and still can’t seem to find out what is causing your high estrogen, then it might be time to consider copper.

Other heavy metals like aluminum, mercury, and lead are also considered metalloestrogens, which means that they have the ability to mimic estrogen in the body.  Some metals are considered essential minerals, but if the concentration of these metals become too high, they can interfere with hormones.  These types of metals are much harder for the body to eliminate on its own.  I like to do a hair mineral analysis test with clients, especially when they are having a hard time addressing why their estrogen is high.

6.  Inflammation

Do you have a lot of inflammation in your body?  Maybe aches, pains, skin problems, joint discomfort, gut issues, heart problems, excess weight, inflamed gums in your mouth?  Do you have a lot of food sensitivities?  Have you been exposed to a lot of toxins?  Inflammation anywhere in your body can be a problem because it can drive up your production of cortisol (your stress hormone that can also be anti-inflammatory).  High cortisol can equal higher DHEA, which then can get made into testosterone and – yes-even estrogen.

These are the top root causes of estrogen dominance that I see in my practice.  It is also very possible to have more than one root cause.  This can be an overwhelming and sometimes complicated beat to tackle.  Working with someone that can help you navigate your root cause(s) and provide you with the best game plan to get your hormones back into balance can be very helpful.   When your hormones are balanced it is easier to maintain a healthy weight, have clear skin, have healthier periods, and slow down the aging process.  If you don’t have the ability to work with a professional, below are a couple things you can  start to do on your own.

What can you start doing today to help your estrogen?

 1.  Use safer beauty products. Toxic chemicals in conventional beauty products can be hormone disruptors.  These chemicals can act like hormones in your body and contribute to higher estrogen levels.  Beautycounter is my favorite safer beauty line!  Consider swapping out your shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, and makeup for non-toxic products.  Read my post Are Your Beauty Products Contributing to Hormone Imbalance for more info.

2.  Eat more veggies.  Things like cruciferous vegetables contain a compound that help to support phase 1 of estrogen detoxification.  Even raw carrots contain a beneficial fiber that helps to eliminate estrogen from your system.  Don’t forget your leafy green veggies that are a good source of folate and support phase 2 of estrogen detoxification.  These are easy things you can incorporate into your daily meals.

3.  Love your liver with castor oil packs. I wrote a whole post about it so go check it out here.

4.  Get enough sleep. Sleep is super critical for overall health and it is whenyour body does a lot of repair work.  Just two consecutive night of not sleeping well can negatively impact your cortisol levels.  And high cortisol can lead to high estrogen.  Get to bed by 10pm and work toward getting at least eight hours per night.

5.  Manage your stress. I can’t emphasis this one enough!  Stress is terrible for your hormones.  Stress negatively impacts your adrenal glands and cortisol levels, which makes it really hard to get your hormones back on track.  Deep breathing, getting out in nature, and a daily self-care ritual are my favorite ways to keep my stress in check.

Resolving estrogen dominance is a multi-factorial process including nutrition, lifestyle, proper detoxification, and healing other bodily systems like the adrenals and gut.

ARE YOU READY TO GET TESTED AND TURN YOUR HEALTH AROUND?  CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO REQUEST A FREE 30 MINUTE DISCOVERY CALL…

Schedule Your FREE 30 Minute Discovery Call

As a Holistic Dietitian and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, I help clients get proper testing, assist in the process of reading those results using clinical correlation (treating the patient and not just the test results), and give them the proper tools (diet, supplements, and lifestyle) to start the healing process.

  The post Estrogen Dominance…6 Root Causes That Are Easy to Miss appeared first on The Organic Dietitian.