Estrogen dominance - Balance Clinic

What is estrogen dominance?

Estrogen dominance refers to a condition where a woman has an imbalance of estrogen levels in her body, either from too much estrogen or issues metabolizing and eliminating excess estrogen. This often happens when estrogen levels are high relative to progesterone levels.

Some key signs and symptoms of estrogen dominance include:

• Irregular, heavy, or painful periods
• PMS symptoms like bloating, breast tenderness, and mood swings
• Weight gain, especially around the hips and thighs
• Fibrocystic breasts
• Cold hands and feet
• Foggy thinking and memory lapses
• Low libido
• Headaches and migraines
• Mood disturbances like anxiety or depression

There are a few potential causes of estrogen dominance:

• Environmental exposures to chemicals that mimic estrogen (xenohormones)
• Chronic stress raising cortisol levels
• Poor gut health and impaired liver function to properly metabolize estrogen
• Lack of ovulation and progesterone production
• Obesity, as fat cells produce estrogen

To treat estrogen dominance, it’s essential to identify the underlying cause(s) through comprehensive lab testing of hormones, metabolites, liver and gut markers.

Getting tested and making diet and lifestyle changes to promote healthy estrogen metabolism can help alleviate uncomfortable symptoms and reduce future health risks linked to prolonged estrogen dominance like autoimmune disease, adrenal fatigue, and certain cancers.