You've likely heard of the hormone oestrogen, but do you understand the powerful role it plays in a woman's entire body system, impacting her mood, energy, and weight?
Oestrogen, known as The Feminiser, is the hormone that tells female bodies to widen the pelvis and store excess fat reserves in the hips and thighs. It is what gives women their feminine traits. But like all hormones, when oestrogen becomes unbalanced - especially when there is too much oestrogen in comparison to progesterone, problems arise!
A big issue for many women is weight management. But the problem isn’t what we’ve been led to believe. When it comes to weight loss, only about 30% of the puzzle is attributable to the calories we eat. The rest is down to hormones!
What is Oestrogen Dominance?
Oestrogen dominance is a term used to describe when a person can have deficient, normal or excessive oestrogen, but has little or no counterbalancing hormone to mitigate its effect in the body.
We commonly see oestrogen dominance in the BePure Clinics. Many factors such as stress, our food choices, exposure to toxins and the state of our organ function impact our hormones.
Why does Oestrogen Dominance happen?
The problem is largely environmental. In our environment we have oestrogen-mimicking chemicals we are exposed to, and our body is less able to deal with oestrogen. These mimic-estrogens are called xenoestrogens.
They’re found in PCB’s - man-made chemical compounds - such as BPA in plastic water bottles, parabens and phylates in skincare products, makeup and sunscreen.
This is a problem because these xenoestrogens sit on oestrogen receptor sites in the body and create an excess of oestrogen in relation to our other hormones.
Normally our bodies would process this extra oestrogen through our liver. But because of nutrition choices, stress and liver-loaders such as alcohol and caffeine, our liver function is often compromised and we struggle to clear it.
8 signs of Oestrogen Dominance
In Men;
1. “Man boobs” - softer tissue or inflammation around your chest and armpits which give the appearance of breasts.
2. Increased body fat in the upper chest and obliques.
3. Longterm associated risk of prostate cancer. If you have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is likely you are also Oestrogen dominant.
In Women;
4. Early onset of puberty is a sign of hormone imbalance. Puberty is happening earlier due to all the xenoestrogens in our environment. We are also seeing heavy periods in girls aged 13/14.
5. Use of hormonal birth control to assist with heavy menses. Subsequently, this masks the symptoms of the heavy period and women coming off the pill in their late twenties to start a family are presenting with endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
6. Infertility
7. Weight gain, especially around the hips and stomach
8. Increased PMS
Tips for dealing with Oestrogen Dominance
Lifestyle
Avoid all plastic bottles and containers with food and water. Plastics contain petrochemical molecules such as PCB’s and dioxins. This will drastically reduce your exposure to xenoestrogens.
Here’s a few sources of plastic you might not have thought about
- Tinned food – most tins these days are lined with plastic
- Non-stick frying pans – teflon is a plastic.
- Box wine – has a plastic bladder which breaks down from the acidity of wine.
- Plastic kettles… gets you thinking doesn't it?
Food
Eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables. These are vegetables like broccoli sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, collard greens, radish, bok choy, brussel sprouts and watercress. These support the liver and are especially rich in di-indolylmethane (DIM), which help mop up excess oestrogens. Try and eat some of these foods at least once a day, here's a great recipe - Tasty Bacon & Broccoli Salad!
Eat spray free produce, as many pesticides and herbicides are oestrogenic. Again meaning they mimic oestrogen in the body. This is why they are so highly associated with increases in breast cancer, as the breast tissue is highly sensitive to hormone levels. Grow your own where possible.
Reduce or eliminate soy from your diet, as they is also oestrogenic. If you still want to consume soy products, choose fermented soy such as miso, tempeh, tamari sauce, or natto.
Reduce liver-loaders such as caffeine and alcohol to help clear excess oestrogen through your liver.
Nutritional support
Our liver is an incredible detoxifier, however, it does require adequate nutrient levels to do this.
BePure EstroClear is an active daily detoxifier, scientifically formulated to support normal hormone balance. It contains powerful natural detoxifiers such as organic rosemary leaf, ashwagandha, watercress and diindolylmethane (DIM) that support up-regulating detoxification through the second phase of the liver.
It is designed to support women experiencing fatigue, PMS, heavy periods, stubborn weight and water retention. BePure EstroClear is most beneficial when taken alongside BePure One and BePure Three, to nurture your body back to healthy, energised hormonal balance, every day.