You have probably heard someone mention Oestrogen Dominance, or talk about excessive Oestrogen. But what exactly does it mean, and what are the consequences of such a hormone imbalance?
To understand Oestrogen dominance it is first necessary to understand a little about the hormones Oestrogen and Progesterone, and the role that they play within our bodies. At a very basic level, they are opposite sides of a seesaw (hence the image above!). The more Oestrogen in your body, the less Progesterone and vice versa. This is necessary as the balance between these two hormones controls the menstrual cycle. At different stages of your menstrual cycle your body has different levels of each of these hormones, and that leads to the four stages: menstrual, follicular, ovulation and luteal.
When Oestrogen and Progesterone are doing their job they work well together. Each is controlled by the brain which tells your body to produce more or less of each depending on its needs.
Oestrogen Dominance occurs when the body has too much Oestrogen, and too little Progesterone. Even if your body has very little Oestrogen, you can still suffer from Oestrogen dominance as long as there is even less Progesterone.
Too much Oestrogen, and too little Progesterone causes discomfort in many women, and can even lead to some severe health consequences over time.
If you have ever suffered from PMS (which I am sure you probably have) then you have directly felt the effects of excess Oestrogen in your body! This is natural. But when your Oestrogen levels are significantly out of balance with progesterone levels for an extended period of time you may start to experience PMS like symptoms regularly.
The Symptoms
Mood Swings
Anxiety & Stress
Emotional Outbursts
Irritability
Weepiness
Fatigue
Decreased Sex Drive
Weight gain around the abdomen, hips and thighs
Water retention/bloating
But what causes excess levels of Oestrogen, and lower levels of progesterone in our bodies?
Well, it is thought that major changes in lifestyle in the past 100 years are the cause. Basically the levels of Oestrogen around us have increased due to technological advances and industrialisation.
The Causes
The contraceptive pill
Plastics – BPA (Found in food and drink containers, household items and even shop receipts!)
Food additives (Not exactly Oestrogen, but Oestrogen mimicking chemicals are sometimes used in food manufacture)
These unnatural environmental sources of Oestrogen are known to wreak havoc with the body’s delicate balance, and cause excess levels of Oestrogen that lead to the symptoms mentioned previously.
So what can you do? Apart from avoiding the aforementioned sources, which is impractical and near impossible, you can give your body a helping hand in regulating levels of Oestrogen and Progesterone.
30 PLUS NuWoman is a natural supplement developed by a naturopath for women suffering from the symptoms of hormonal imbalance, as mentioned before. It does not contain any hormones, but rather assist the body in creating its own necessary hormones to balance things as talked about previously.
If you are suffering from hormone imbalance, or PMS has got you feeling down then give 30 PLUS NuWoman a go!
Now without further ado, I give you a mildly relevant cat picture!