Balancing Female Hormones

Understanding Hormones

When it comes to female reproductive health, many women know the basics – estrogen and progesterone somehow work together to create a 28 day menstrual cycle every month until menopause. In reality, these hormones are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to female hormonal health.

Hormones are produced by endocrine glands. Your ovaries – which produce the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone – are just one of eight endocrine glands key to hormonal health. Hormones are also produced by your adrenals, hypothalamus, pancreas, parathyroid, pineal gland, pituitary and thyroid. In fact, your adrenal glands also produce sex hormones, including testosterone.

These hormones are your body’s messengers. They regulate: reproduction, growth and development, metabolism and energy, nutrient and electrolyte balance in the blood, water balance in the body, and your stress response. The goal of your endocrine system is to maintain balance, which means female hormonal health is more than reproductive health, it is whole body health.

Estrogen and Progesterone

Estrogen – which is actually a catchall phrase for several types of estrogen – directs female sex characteristics, promotes cell proliferation, slows bone loss, stimulates and protects brain cells, raises HDL levels, increases body fat and creates progesterone receptors. Progesterone relaxes muscles, maintains the lining of the uterus, stimulates bone growth, burns fat for energy, increases libido and, most importantly, balances estrogen’s effects on the body. Progesterone is very important for hormonal health because in order for estrogen to work correctly it has to be in the right ratio to progesterone. Without adequate progesterone your body will be in estrogen dominance or estrogen saturation, which simply means there is too much estrogen in the body. Low progesterone can lead to estrogen dominance. Additionally, xenohormones – man made substances that have hormone-like properties – can have an estrogen-like effect on the body, contributing to estrogen dominance. Excess estrogen and xenohormones can lead to several conditions:

• Heavy bleeding, clotting and cramping

• Water retention and bloating

• Breast tenderness, lumpiness and cystic breasts

• Weight gain

• Postmenstrual headaches and migraines

• Depression, irritability, anxiety and anger

• Decreased sexual response

• Zinc deficiency

• Thyroid hormone dysfunction

• Blood sugar dysregulation

• Increased risk of autoimmune diseases

• Increased reproductive-site cancers (breast, uterine, ovarian)

• Decreased fertility

For hormonal health, you need to balance estrogen and progesterone. To balance these hormones other organs and systems are important, specifically your liver, adrenals, thyroid, and lymphatic system.

Your Liver and Hormone Balance

The liver is a very important organ. It metabolizes proteins and carbohydrates, stores nutrients, synthesizes cholesterol, neutralizes toxins, processes hormones and much more. A healthy liver can excrete excess estrogen and keep hormones in balance. However, a stressed or overworked liver leads to elevated estrogen and hormonal imbalance.

There are several nutrition, lifestyle and environmental factors that can negatively affect the health of your liver:

• Processed foods

• Artificial ingredients

• Trans fats

• High sugar diet

• Alcohol

• Non-organic meats and produce

• Pesticides and herbicides

• Plastics

• Industrial pollutants

• Heavy metal exposure

• Preservatives in skin care products

• Harsh cleaning products

• Chronic infections

Your Adrenals and Hormone Balance

The adrenal glands are your body’s “stress” gland. They help your body deal with both acute and chronic stress. What you may not know is that they are also your backup for producing sex hormones – estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Your adrenals are especially important for balancing hormones during peri- and post-menopause. Therefore hormonal health is very dependent on adrenal health.

When the body is under stress, your adrenal glands produce cortisol. In times of excessive stress, your body will convert progesterone to cortisol. As a result, chronic stress will deplete progesterone and can lead to estrogen dominance.

Adrenal gland stressors include:

• Sugar, refined flours, trans fats and junk food

• Alcohol, caffeine, stimulants and smoking

• Antacids, birth control and medications

• Excessive exercise

• Sleep disturbances

• Stress from work, finances, and relationships

• Chronic and acute infections

• Feelings of lack of control over outcomes

Low progesterone from adrenal stress can also cause hot flashes. This is because low progesterone in the presence of fluctuating estrogen confuses your temperature regulatory system. During the menopause transition, extreme estrogen flux will mistakenly signal your body to increase core body temperature, creating the typical “hot flash” symptoms. However, healthy adrenal function will balance hormones and reduce or even eliminate hot flashes.

Your Thyroid and Hormone Balance

The thyroid gland is your metabolism firehouse and every cell in your body depends on thyroid hormone. If your thyroid is not functioning optimally you may have weight gain, constipation, dry skin, fatigue, fogginess, depression, and hair loss. Both your thyroid and your ovaries need iodine for optimal hormone production. So if your thyroid is not properly nourished, your ovaries won’t be either. This can lead to hormonal imbalance and estrogen dominance. Excess estrogen then interrupts thyroid hormone production, adding to the problem.

Your Lymphatic System

An often forgotten system of the body, your lymphatic system is equally important to your endocrine system when it comes to hormone balance. This system carries fuel throughout the body, assists the immune system and clears waste from your body. This waste includes hormonal metabolites that need to be processed and excreted from the body. A stagnant lymphatic system can reduce clearing of excess estrogen and lead to estrogen dominance. Your lymphatic system depends on the action of your muscles to pump lymph through and to your liver, kidneys and colon for waste removal. So lack of exercise is the primary cause of a stagnant lymphatic system.

Using Food to Balance Hormones

Stress management and exercise are two lifestyle choices that will be critical to hormone balance and overall health. Additionally, the following dietary suggestions will support your endocrine and lymphatic systems and get your hormones back into balance.

• Avoid GMO and conventionally grown foods.

• Drink plenty of pure, filtered water.

• Consume a variety of organic fruits and vegetables, organic and grass-fed meats, wild caught fish, raw nuts and seeds and high quality fats.

• Consider supplementation of the following:

  • B vitamins are cofactors of estrogen metabolism and can be depleted by stress.

  • Magnesium is critical for adrenal health and elimination pathways.

  • Zinc can be depleted when the body is estrogen dominant.

  • Essential Fatty Acids are important for hormone production and endocrine system support.

  • Protein is necessary for every aspect of normal body functions and deficiencies can lead to hormonal imbalance.

RESOURCES:
Dr. Bob’s Drugless Guide to Balancing Female Hormones, Dr. Bob DeMaria
The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Murray, ND & Pizzorno, ND