Is it Back to School Stress, or Your Hormones? Understanding Estrogen Dominance

Hormones are taking centre stage these days when it comes to women’s health. We are finally beginning to understand the importance of maintaining the fine and delicate balance of the array of hormones that regulate your body… and by extension your life.

Let’s take a closer look at estrogen, progesterone, what can happen when that balance shifts, and how you can naturally support healthy hormone metabolism so you can get back to slaying the back to school dragon.

What Exactly Is Estrogen Dominance?

First, an important note: estrogen dominance is not a formal medical diagnosis. It’s a commonly used term to describe a situation where estrogen’s effects are relatively high compared with progesterone.

You don’t necessarily need to have “too much” estrogen, sometimes the issue is that progesterone has dropped relative to estrogen, creating a hormonal environment where estrogen’s effects express stronger.

Common Signs of “Estrogen Dominance”

The symptoms attributed to estrogen dominance can overlap with perimenopause, PCOS, thyroid dysfunction, insulin resistance, and other conditions, so symptoms alone can't tell us exactly what's happening, and proper testing should be done with your care provider to determine your unique hormonal situation.

That being said, women may notice:

• Heavy or prolonged periods
• Shorter menstrual cycles
• Breast tenderness or swelling
• PMS
• Bloating and fluid retention
• Headaches or migraines around key points in their cycle
• Feeling more emotional, irritable or anxious
• Difficulty losing weight
• Fatigue
• Sleep disruption
• Fibroids or endometriosis symptoms
• Decreased libido

Why Does Estrogen Become More Dominant?

There are several potential pieces to this puzzle:

1. Perimenopause

This is one of the biggest ones. As women approach menopause, ovulation becomes less consistent. Since progesterone rises after ovulation, fewer or irregular ovulatory cycles can mean less progesterone production. Estrogen, meanwhile, can continue to fluctuate considerably. 

 2. Body Composition

Fat tissue can contribute to estrogen production, which is one reason maintaining a healthy body composition can be helpful for overall hormonal health.

Hormones themselves can influence appetite, insulin sensitivity, sleep and body composition, so it can be a bit of a chicken and the egg situation. However, a healthy weight and body comp go a long way for good health overall!

3. Blood Sugar and Insulin Resistance

Blood sugar regulation deserves a place in almost every conversation about hormones.

Chronically elevated insulin can influence ovarian hormone production and is strongly connected with metabolic health. For many women, improving insulin sensitivity can have a meaningful impact on menstrual and hormonal patterns.

4. Stress and Poor Sleep

Chronic stress, insufficient sleep, overtraining and inadequate recovery can all influence the hypothalamic, pituitary, adrenal and reproductive hormone systems. This is because your body’s ‘clock’ or circadian rhythm determines when and how much of a particular hormone is released.

5. Estrogen Metabolism

Once estrogen has done its job, your body needs to metabolize and eliminate it.

The liver plays a major role in hormone metabolism, while the gastrointestinal tract and regular bowel movements are important for elimination. 

6. Environmental Toxins

Every day, we're exposed to hundreds of chemicals through food packaging, plastics, cosmetics, cleaning products, pesticides, dust, water and the air around us. Some of these are known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) because they can mimic, block or otherwise interfere with the body's natural hormones.

Some EDCs can interact with estrogen receptors or influence how hormones are produced, transported or metabolized. Well-known examples include BPA, phthalates, certain pesticides and PFAS ("forever chemicals").

Natural Ways to Support Healthy Estrogen Balance

1. Eat Your Cruciferous Vegetables

Broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, arugula and other cruciferous vegetables contain compounds that support healthy estrogen metabolism.

2. Get Enough Fibre

Fibre helps support regular bowel movements and a healthy gut microbiome, both important considerations when discussing estrogen metabolism.

Regularly eat vegetables, berries, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

3. Support Your Liver

Your liver is one of your body's major processing plants. Help it out by giving it the raw materials it needs by eating plenty of colourful vegetables and antioxidant rich foods while limiting excessive alcohol and highly processed foods.

4. Don't Forget Protein

You can’t survive on coffee! Adequate protein supports healthy muscle mass, metabolic health, satiety and blood sugar regulation. 

5. Move Your Body

Exercise is one of the most powerful tools we have for metabolic and hormonal health.

Strength training is particularly valuable because maintaining muscle supports insulin sensitivity, bone health, metabolism and healthy aging.

6. Prioritize Your Gut

Your gut isn't just about digestion. It's part of the bigger hormonal picture. Enjoy probiotic foods like miso, kimchi, sauerkraut, and kefir, or consider a probiotic supplement. This also goes hand in hand with adequate fiber intake to keep you regular.

7. Give Your Food a Plastic-free Upgrade

Invest in glass or stainless steel containers rather than plastic. Be especially mindful about heating food in plastic, since heat can increase chemical migration. BPA exposure occurs primarily through food and beverages, including food packaging, so it’s also best to keep to fresh, whole foods as much as possible 

8. Clean Up Your Cleaning Supplies

You don't need a different chemical spray for every surface in your home. Look for simpler, natural products and consider basic options such as unscented soap, vinegar, and good old-fashioned elbow grease!

9. Consider Supportive Supplements with Your Care Provider

• DIM (diindolylmethane): A compound derived from cruciferous vegetables that is often used to support estrogen metabolism. It isn't appropriate for everyone, particularly those taking certain medications, or using hormone therapy.
• Magnesium: Helpful for many aspects of women's health, including muscle function, sleep and nervous-system regulation.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: Support cardiovascular and inflammatory health and can be particularly valuable as part of an overall midlife health strategy.
• B vitamins: Several B vitamins participate in methylation and other biochemical pathways involved in hormone metabolism.
• Calcium-D-glucarate: Sometimes used in naturopathic practice to support estrogen elimination.

Remember, your hormones aren't your enemy. Your body isn’t working against you, it’s communicating with you. We just need to learn how to listen.