More and more frequently I’m seeing clients with oestrogen imbalance. Our modern world doesn’t help this issue at all, when our bodies have to deal with xenoestrogens from pesticides/herbicides, skin care products and cosmetics and plastics.
I’ve found that blood tests for hormones often don’t give a good picture of what’s going on because it only shows what’s going on in the blood, not what happens in the tissues. The only time testing can be valuable is in those with a family history of oestrogen-related complaints or cancers, and in this case an oestrogen metabolites urine test can be really valuable. Saliva testing can be helpful. However I only use this tool when my usual approach isn’t getting results. Usually, a person’s symptoms tell the story of what’s going on hormone-wise better than testing.
Causes of oestrogen overload or imbalance can be:
- Gut dysbiosis or bowel disease
- Inadequate good fats in the diet
- A high exposure to xenoestrogens
- Genetics that impair oestrogen and toxin clearance
- High stress
- Low progesterone levels
- Poor detoxification
- Inflammation
- Liver dysfunction
- Overweight
- Poor diet- Lack of fruit and veg, too much processed foods, alcohol and caffeine.
So how would you know you have an issue with oestrogen clearance or overload? Common symptoms include;
- Bloating/Fluid retention
- Breast tenderness
- Low sex drive
- Worse PMS-especially irritability and low mood
- Heavy, clotty, painful or irregular periods
- Mood swings
- Headaches/Migraines around period time
- Weight gain especially in tummy, hips, thighs, bottom
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Memory loss
- Cold hand and feet
It can also be related to the following conditions;
- Fibrocystic lumps in breasts
- Breast cancer
- Fibroids
- Ovarian Cysts
- Endometriosis
- Uterine cancer
- Underactive Thyroid
Oestrogen imbalance is such a common issues these days and causes many unpleasant symptoms, yet can be improved on by attending to gut and liver health as well as hormone balancing.
If you think this may be affecting your health, book in an appointment today.