How do you know, if your estrogen is out of balance?

Here are the nine most common symptoms of estrogen dominance:

1. Abnormal menstrual periods
2. PMS symptoms, such as bloating and breast swelling or tenderness
3. Mood swings, often presenting as depression or anxiety
4. Loss of sex drive
5. Sluggish metabolism and/or weight gain (especially in the abdomen and hip area)
6. Fatigue
7. Hair loss
8. Thyroid imbalances
9. Sleep disturbances

Before we talk about natural solutions to balance hormones, we have to look at the causes of hormone imbalance.

Hormonal imbalances are multi-factorial disorders. They can be caused by a combination of factors including medical history, genetics, diet, stress levels and exposure to toxins. Some of the major contributors to hormone imbalances include:

- BEING OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE

- GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY

- HIGH AMOUNTS OF STRESS

- LACK OF SLEEP & REST

- TOXICITY (exposure to pesticides, harmful chemicals, toxins, cigarettes and excessive alcohol)

- GUT ISSUES: Poor diet and all of the above factors, play a significant role in hormone regulation as they can contribute to leaky gut which makes you more susceptible to hormones problems. When leaky gut is present, there are large cracks or holes in the intestinal lining of your gut wall, allowing partially digested food, toxins, and bugs to penetrate the tissues beneath it. This may trigger inflammation and changes in the gut flora (normal bacteria) leading to problems within the digestive tract and beyond.

Which of the above factors do you have to work on to balance your hormones more?

So, let’s look at how you can balance your hormones naturally?

Here are my top 8 steps you can start with:

1.     Heal Your Gut: Sex and stress hormone disorders can be directly linked to gut health. Cortisol your stress hormone can impact your gut health profoundly by altering the balance of your microbes and damaging the gut lining. High levels of cortisol also suppress the immune system making it vulnerable to pathogens and infections. Digestive health can also impact your oestrogen levels through the oestrogen-gut-microbiome axis. If you have dysbiosis (= microbial imbalance in your digestive tract) and lower microbial diversity, your gut bugs will not produce enough of the enzyme called ß-glucuronidase, breaking down oestrogen in its active form. This results in less circulating active (useful) oestrogen and more bound (ready for excretion) oestrogen. If your elimination pathways such as liver and gut are not working efficiently, that bound oestrogen will re-circulate, resulting in an imbalance of oestrogen in our body. Oestrogen excess can affect heart and bone health all the way to contributing to obesity. To effectively eliminate excess oestrogen, it is important to support gut and liver health.

2.     Top 3 Natural Supplements assisting with hormone health include:

a.     Vitamin D (get your levels checked)

b.     Bone Broth

c.     Probiotics

3.     Sleep: Getting 8 hours of good quality sleep is essential for balanced hormones. A lack of sleep or disturbing your natural circadian rhythm through shift work contributes to hormone imbalances because your hormones work on a schedule. To maximise hormone function, ideally try to get to bed by 10pm and stick with a regular sleep-wake-cycle as much as possible.

4.     Relax & Rest: Chronic stress is one of the biggest contributors to high cortisol levels and can lead to changes in the serum levels of many hormones. The quickest way to rebalance your nervous system and put your body in a relaxed state is meditation and deep breathing. Give both a try. Ensure you make enough time for self-care, rest and relaxation on your weekend.

5.     Swap Refined Carbs for Healthy Fats. Eating a variety of healthy, anti-inflammatory fats such as ghee, coconut oil, duck fat, macadamia oil, avocado oil, olive oil and grass-fed butter are key to keeping your hormones balanced. It is also important to stay clear from oils high in omega-6 fats such as sunflower, safflower, canola, corn, cottonseed, peanut and soybean) and increase your intake of omega-3 rich food sources including chia and flaxseeds, walnuts, wild fish and grass-fed animal products). An omega-6 source that is worthwhile including into your diet is hemp seeds as they contain gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) which supports healthy progesterone levels.

6.     Use Adaptogen Herbs, a unique class of healing herbs that promote hormone balance, boost immunity and combat stress such as ashwagandha, medicinal mushrooms, rhodiola and holy basil (tulsi). I personally enjoy using those herbs in the form of tea or I include them in my jellies.

7.     Address Emotional Imbalances. Your emotions have a direct impact on your physical health according to Chinese Medicine. Fear for example is a very common emotion that is associated with contributing to hormone imbalances as it affects cortisol levels, imbalancing kidney, adrenals and reproductive organs. This may contribute to conditions such as PCOS or infertility. Emotions such as anger, impatience, frustration or un-forgives weakens the liver, contributing to an oestrogen imbalance. On the other side, emotions such as worry or anxiety can weaken your pancreas and spleen affecting several hormones. So, it is very important to balance your mental, emotional and physical when wanting to balance hormones naturally. Self-inquiry and self-awareness are paramount when it comes to addressing the layers of hormone imbalances. This can be achieved through reducing stress, taking time for self, calming one’s nervous system through meditation and breathing exercises. Modalities that are effective in improving the mental, emotional and physical layers of hormone imbalance are Neuro-Training Kinesiology and Acupuncture.

8.     Be aware of the birth control pill and medications. The birth control pill alters hormone levels as this hormone therapy raises oestrogen levels. In regards to medications it is always important to look out for their side effects. Ask your doctor, if they can potentially disrupt your hormones.