I’m not sure what it is about this time of year . . . maybe the post-holiday weight gain, or the fear of pulling out a swimming suit in a few months. But I have had a number of people, both men and women, in the office with excessive estrogen levels.
Estrogen excess and estrogen dominance are two hormone abnormalities I find commonly in both men and women in my practice. These two issues are frequently complicating factors that make feeling good and weight loss difficult. They are, also, often the main reasons people don’t see dramatic improvement in a person’s symptoms of energy, fatigue and mental clarity when they’ve already changed their diet and lifestyle.
IMPORTANT NOTE BEFORE WE GO ON: This information applies to patient who already have normal thyroid function and corrected insulin resistance. If your thyroid is off or if you are still significantly insulin resistant, it will affect estrogen and other male and female hormones, so follow a ketogenic diet and get your thyroid balanced FIRST!
What is Estrogen Dominance?
I’ve addressed estrogen dominance in a previous blog post. You can find it here. Estrogen dominance is a condition where there is an abnormal estrogen/progesterone ratio. The estrogen/progesterone ratio MUST be balanced. Normal estrogen levels with low progesterone (this can commonly occur with the use of a synthetic progestin (HRT) in female patients) is a common scenario that falls into the estrogen dominance pattern.
What is Estrogen Excess?
Estrogen excess is a situation where progesterone levels may be normal but estrogen is elevated (an abnormal ratio can also be present in this condition).
The symptoms of excess estrogen can be:
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Poor Concentration
- Irregular menstrual bleeding in women
- Breast tenderness
- Fibrocystic Breast Changes
- PMS
- Decreased Libido
- Uterine Fibroids
- Endometriosis
- Water Retention/Bloating
- Fat Gain around the hips and thighs
- Breast and Uterine Cancers
Why is too much estrogen a problem?
Estrogen naturally stimulates cells to grow and multiply. Natural estrogens are essential. But, too much estrogen increases thyroid binding globulin, inactivating the thyroid function causing abdominal weight gain. Too much estrogen changes the body’s ability to remodel bone.
Estrogen is essential to stabilize the inner lining of arteries, however, excessive estrogen doubles one’s risk for stroke and increases the risk of coronary atherosclerosis and heart attack. Too much estrogen increases the size of the prostate, increases risk of prostate cancer and increases the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.
Estrogen excess is an elusive condition. Measuring estrogen levels is not frequently done, and most doctors were never trained to look at the three separate forms of estrogen in men and women. I had no idea this was an issue until about five years ago.
What causes excess estrogen?
The eleven most common causes of estrogen excess are:
- Commercially raised meat & dairy products from animals dosed with high levels of bovine growth hormone.
- Insecticide or pesticide residues on fruits and vegetables.
- Tap water with petroleum derivatives
- Paraben containing shampoo, lotion, soap, toothpaste, & cosmetics. Paraben is absorbed through the skin. There is a 100% absorption that misses first pass liver detoxification
- Pthalates – soft plastic containing material or plastic wrapped food heated in the microwave releasing xenostrogens into the food.
- Artificial sweeteners including MSG (propyl-gallate and 4-hexylresorcinol are the two most common). Canned foods that have been lined with a plastic coating called BPA (bisphenol-A). Most processed foods have some additive that you will want to avoid.
- Foods containing soy or soy protein isolate contain unnaturally high amounts of plant estrogens (phytoestrogens).
- Red dye #3 (erythrosine and phenosulfothiasize) found in food
- Dryer Sheets containing high levels of xenoestrogens. Chronic skin exposure leads to permeation of the xenoestrogens into the skin.
- Birth control pills (conventional synthetic estrogen containing hormone replacement)
- Tampons and sanitary napkins containing dioxins, chlorine, fragrance, wax, surfactant, and rayon play a role in significant xenoestrogen absorption.
Other diseases can cause estrogen ratio’s to be elevated. These include liver disease, zinc deficiency, excessive alcohol intake, obesity, calcium deficiency, insulin resistance, diabetes, and excessive testosterone therapy.
How does a person naturally decrease excess estrogen if it is present?
- Decrease xenoestrogen exposures:
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- Reduce use of plastics where possible
- Do not microwave food in plastic containers
- Avoid the use of plastic wrap to cover or microwave the food
- Use glass or ceramic containers where possible
- Do not leave plastic water containers, especially drinking water, in the sun
- If a plastic water container was heated up significantly (like a water bottle being left in the car in the Arizona sun), throw it away.
- Don’t refill plastic water bottles
- Avoid freezing water in plastic bottles for drinking later
- Avoid butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) as a food preservative
- Limit skin care products containing xenoestrogenic substances
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- Use cruciferous vegetables like broccoli that contain indole-3carbiol (I3c).
- Increase Omega-3 fat intake
- Exercise
- Use rosemary and turmeric (berberine)
- Reduce weight
- Use Vitamin D
- Stop drinking alcohol
- Stop smoking
These hormones, like estrogens, progesterone and testosterone can be easily checked by your doctor through blood or salivary testing. The key is a balance in the ratio between progesterone and estrogens.
The two estrogens that are essential to test are:
- Estrone (E1)
- Estradiol (E2)
These can be ordered through your doctor. Estrogens can take 2-3 months to balance out. It may take some time after making changes to see your levels normalize. Don’t fret.
What if natural methods don’t fix the problem?
When natural methods of lowering estrogen levels are ineffective, then your doctor will recommend treatment. A number of other effective medicinal approaches including:
- Zinc Citrate
- Quercetin
- Grapeseed extract
- DIM
- Berberine
- Resveratrol
- Chrysin
- Progesterone/Pregnenolone
- Myomin
- Vitamin K
- Anastrazole
In my clinical experience, a ketogenic lifestyle is foundational to balancing these hormones consistently and naturally. Carbohydrate restriction by itself corrects many of the diseases of civilization. I addressed this in my book The Keto Cure. For many, there are few more steps necessary to living a long, happy and healthy life.
In my office, in addition to the ketogenic or carnivorous diet, I add on Berberine Plus 500mg twice daily with meals. This has been shown to notably improve the insulin resistance, lower estrogen and improve progesterone naturally.
Years ago, this was hard to find, so I created my own supplement line and these can be found at Ketoliving.com. Go to Ketoliving. com and order your bottle of Berberine Plus right now, before it is too late. I designed my own pharmaceutical grade berberine so that my patients could make sure they are getting real berberine in the doses I want you to have.
The treatment of this issue isn’t difficult. There is much more to come on this subject. I will address each of the progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and sex hormone binding globulin abnormalities in my future blogs. So, keep an eye on my web page DocMuscles.com/blog/.
So, get your hormones checked by someone who understand this problem and knows how to treat it. Second, limit estrogen stimulating sources in your diet and environment. Third, control you diet and order a bottle of Berberine Plus right away.
