The Danger of High Estrogen Levels, Even for Women

Stop and consider for a moment what differentiates a man from a woman. I’m not talking about the  obvious variances in physical attributes, but rather the internal physiological terrain and how it varies  between the two sexes. Hormonally speaking, you might say that a man is more dominant in testosterone,  while a woman’s body favors estrogen: and you’d technically be right. But is it really that simple, and is  there a point at which high estrogen levels can become a problem for women? 

It’s pretty much common knowledge that men generally want to avoid estrogen like the plague – we get  plenty of it as it is, and more often than not need more testosterone. But women who have very high  estrogen levels (known as estrogen dominance), or who may be at risk of developing estrogen-related  health conditions, are oftentimes in the exact same boat as men. For a woman suffering from estrogen  dominance, even a little extra estrogen from, say, an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) in her favorite  shampoo, could be enough to completely send her health over the edge. 

You might be thinking to yourself: but isn’t estrogen good for women? It is, but only in proper balance  with testosterone. If you think of the human body as a see-saw, testosterone and estrogen hormones  represent the weight and counterweight that keep the platform from plunging one way or the other into  the ground. There are going to be ups and downs, sure – back and forth, ebb and flow – this is completely  normal and in line with normal human physiology. But there’s a general balance that keeps the body  anchored to the pivot point, so to speak, and this balance is missing in women with estrogen dominance. 

Common Causes of Estrogen Dominance 

So what causes dangerously high levels of estrogen in women? There are many potential factors, not the  least of which include EDCs, as I mentioned earlier. These chemical toxins hide in everything from water  and air to food and even furniture. Escaping them in our heavily industrialized world is definitely a  challenge – especially when you can’t necessarily see, smell, or taste them. They’re basically invisible  poisons that quietly wreak havoc on the body, and this is true for both women and men. 

Industrial pollutants of nearly all kinds almost always have estrogen-mimicking properties which add to a  woman’s estrogen load. These include plastics chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA), flame-retardant  chemicals, pesticides and herbicides, and parabens. Many foods also contain phytoestrogenic compounds  like isoflavones that, while they serve a purpose, can overwhelm the body’s hormone stores. Such foods  include soy and other legumes, alcohol (especially beer that contains hops), refined sugars, simple  carbohydrates (especially those derived from processed grains), and conventional meat and dairy products  that contain growth hormones and antibiotics. 

Stress is another factor linked to estrogen dominance, and one that many people, both men and women,  tend to overlook. It’s a common misconception that our bodies are only limited in their potential by our  reluctance to push them to the max. While there’s something to be said for training hard – and I should  know, being a former bodybuilder – there’s even more to be said about making time for rest and  relaxation, something that too many people in today’s busy world fail to incorporate into their daily  routines. 

When a woman’s body is constantly wound up in go, go, go mode, her adrenal glands can get overworked  to the point that they no longer produce enough progesterone in relation to estrogen. Usually this is  because her adrenals are instead having to produce cortisol (a “fight or flight” hormone) to offset all the 

stress she’s enduring. This throws off her progesterone-estrogen balance, typically swaying it in favor of  estrogen. 

Do You Have Adrenal Fatigue and Don’t Even Know It? 

We call this condition adrenal fatigue, or adrenal burnout. Because symptoms start out small and  progress over time, many women don’t even know that their stressful lifestyles are harming them in this  manner. This is one of the biggest reasons why stress is arguably the most toxic “substance” in our  modern lives. 

In the same vein, not getting enough rest can also contribute to estrogen dominance. Irregular sleeping  patterns and lack of sleep directly inhibit a woman’s body from recharging its hormone stores. Inadequate  sleep also negatively affects production of nighttime hormones like melatonin, a sleep hormone that  actually helps to protect a woman’s body against estrogen dominance. 

Symptoms of High Estrogen Levels 

So how do you know if you suffer from estrogen dominance? Generally speaking, it’s kind of hard to  miss. A healthy woman with balanced hormones will typically feel energetic, happy, and have a healthy  sex drive. A woman with estrogen dominance, on the other hand, will feel the exact opposite: tired,  moody, and sexually dormant. 

This is obviously a blanket categorization that will vary from woman to woman, and from day to day for  each woman. But the essence of what it means to be estrogen dominant is that a woman no longer feels  like herself (and the same is true for women who don’t have enough estrogen, by the way. Remember, it’s  all about balance.) 

A woman may have increased troubles digesting her food, for instance, or notice that she’s suddenly  having a harder time sleeping (or perhaps staying awake), or maybe she no longer feels like exercising or  even associating with her friends like she used to. 

Interestingly enough, the symptoms of overly high estrogen levels in women tend to be many of the same  signs that men experience when their bodies have too much estrogen as well. Things like loss of drive,  both sexually and in daily life; difficulty concentrating; irritability; and chronic fatigue are just a few of  the many personality changes that come to mind when a person’s hormones are out of whack. 

And then, there are the bodily changes. Estrogen dominance tends to manifest physically as increased  body fat – especially around a woman’s middle section – along with a corresponding loss of muscle mass.  As it turns out, that extra flab that seems to pop up out of nowhere is often a direct cause, as well as a  symptom, of estrogen dominance. Irregular periods, headaches, hair loss, and colder-than-normal  extremities are further indicators that a woman’s hormones are imbalanced. 

Perhaps the most concerning symptoms of estrogen dominance are breast abnormalities. Women who  develop sensitivity, swelling, or mysterious lumps in their breasts should not only take notice of a  potential hormone imbalance, but also seek help in addressing it. If left unchecked, such symptoms have  the potential to progress into full-blown breast cancer of the estrogen-positive type – a diagnosis that no  woman wants to receive.

7 Helpful Tips to Avoid Estrogen Dominance 

So what’s a woman to do? Firstly, don’t fret. I’m not trying to scare, worry, or add any more stress to  your life. I simply want to inform you about this important subject of high estrogen level so that you can  take the proper steps to hopefully avoid ever becoming estrogen dominant. 

I’ve outlined some helpful tips for you below to get you started in limiting your estrogenic load. Tips  which I hope will lead you to take other steps in supporting your body’s innate ability to balance your  hormones for health and longevity: 

#1. Clean green – Take an inventory of everything you use around the house to tidy up and make sure  that all of it is free of synthetic chemicals, fragrances, and other toxins. Many of these are easily  identifiable because you often can’t pronounce them. Think all-purpose cleaning sprays, hand soaps,  laundry detergents, shampoos and conditioners, body washes, air fresheners – really anything that you  apply to surfaces or to your body. 

#2. Keep calm and carry on – If there’s one thing I can’t stress enough, it’s that you shouldn’t: stress, I  mean. Chronic stress puts the body into emergency overdrive, zapping the hormones you need for life and  health and replacing them with the hormones you need for survival (remember: fight-or-flight is the  enemy of balanced hormones). Take time to rest, relax, and remember that anxiety and worry will never  change anything except your metabolic state –and not for the better. 

#3. Look out for your liver – It’s important to recognize stress as an endocrine-disrupting toxin, and that  your liver is the primary organ responsible for eradicating the damage it causes (as well as the damage  caused by other EDCs). But it can’t do this if you drink lots of alcohol or otherwise fail to keep your liver  in tip-top shape. Detoxifying your liver from time to time and consuming a diet that helps support its  optimal function will go a long way in helping you to balance your hormones and avoid estrogen  dominance. 

#4. Eat right – This means consuming plenty of fiber, especially the insoluble kind that binds to excess  estrogen in the digestive tract so it can be expelled from the body. Consuming only organic or certified  pesticide- and herbicide-free produce is further advisable, as is sticking with grass-fed, pastured meats  and dairy products, and avoiding excess carbs and sugar. 

#5. Skip the soy – There’s a lot of confusion about this one because soy was marketed for so long as a  “health food.” But the truth is that soy, especially in its unfermented state, is a highly estrogenic food that  can severely disrupt one’s hormone balance. This is amplified when the soy being consumed is  genetically-modified – which is the case for most soy on the market today – as this transgenic food is  typically doused in xenoestrogenic chemicals like Roundup (glyphosate) prior to harvest. Traditional  fermented soy products made with non-GMO soy are generally considered okay in small quantities. 

#6. Movement. Keeping your body moving will help to boost human growth hormone (HGH) while  neutralizing and expelling excess estrogen and other toxins from the body. Especially when combined  with a healthy diet, exercise can help to shed excess fat, which is where estrogen tends to lodge itself and  wreak havoc. 

#7. Keep your belly bugs happy – Part of eating healthy means taking care of your gut microbiota. I’m  talking about the vibrant probiotic colonies that live inside your small intestine, and that help digest your 

food, absorb nutrients, protect against pathogenic invaders, and regulate hormone production and  expression. Processed food, chemical toxins, and other factors can damage healthy bacteria and  compromise digestion, leading to a buildup of estrogen. This is why I often recommend probiotic foods  and supplements to help support a healthy rebalancing of the gut.