3 Tips to Balance Estrogen Levels Naturally
If you’re approaching perimenopause or menopause, you may be all too familiar with the havoc estrogen imbalance can wreak on your physical and emotional health. Hot flashes interrupting your day, trouble sleeping, weight gain, tanking energy levels, and even low mood or brain fog.
When estrogen levels rise or fall, it impacts so many aspects of a woman’s health beyond just her hormones. But you don’t have to feel powerless! In fact, there are many effective natural ways to balance those estrogen levels for restored energy and vitality.
In this article, join me as we explore three holistic tips to get your estrogen back into balance, naturally. From healing foods to supplements to lifestyle tweaks, you’ll be armed with knowledge to start reclaiming your health.
Understanding Estrogen’s Role
Before we dive into solutions, let’s quickly review what estrogen does in a woman’s body to appreciate why balanced levels matter so much. Estrogen is considered a “sex hormone”, but don’t let the name fool you - it impacts mood, memory, heart health, bone density, insulin sensitivity, and more.
Estrogen promotes healthy cholesterol levels and wider blood vessels to optimize circulation and protect cardiac health. It also influences neurotransmitters like serotonin boosting mood and helps build bone density preventing breaks or fractures down the road.
When levels drop around perimenopause, women often gain weight while paradoxically feeling less motivated to exercise. A vicious cycle promoting heart disease risk. It’s no wonder rebalancing estrogen alleviates many frustrating menopausal symptoms. Now let’s explore lifestyle medicine techniques to right the ship!
Tip #1: Fill Your Plate with Estrogen Boosting Foods
Diet is one of the most powerful yet overlooked ways we balance our own hormones. For estrogen specifically, focus on foods containing phytoestrogenic compounds and minerals that promote estrogen metabolism.
Top foods to eat regularly include:
Cruciferous veggies: Broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and kale contain special compounds activating estrogen metabolism.
Flax seeds: Flax is rich in lignans converted to estrogen supporters once ingested. Grind fresh for max benefit!
Bean family: Lentils, chickpeas and beans contain soluble fiber evoking estrogen receptors.
Fruits like papaya, plums and peaches are also rich in phytoestrogens.
Herbs and spices like sage, thyme, parsley and cinnamon promote healthy estrogen levels.
High quality protein from wild caught fish, grass-fed meat, eggs, bone broth and fermented soy products aids cell receptor estrogen activity.
Whole soy foods like tempeh, miso and organic tofu contain phytoestrogens– but stay clear of soy protein isolates often found in processed fare!
See how nature provides support when strategically tapped via the diet? Now let’s tackle another pillar...
Tip #2: Carefully Chosen Supplements Can Catalyze Results
In some cases, dietary measures simply aren’t enough to overcome genetic predispositions for estrogen issues, environmental toxin exposure or complex, long standing imbalances. This is where targeted supplementation can step in providing concentrated doses of repairing ingredients.
These are my top picks for relieving estrogen overload:
Diindolmethane (DIM): Supports healthy estrogen metabolism promoting proper removal so levels don’t build up out of control. Derived from cruciferous vegetables for natural plant power!
Calcium d-glucarate: This nutrient compels estrogen excretion from cells enhancing the liver’s ability to process and eliminate excess. Support detox!
Milk thistle: This gentle liver loving herb enhances the organ’s ability to filter toxins and excess hormones contributing to balance.
Be sure to check with your functional health practitioner before adding new supplements if you’re being actively treated for a hormone related condition. They’ll guide you choosing options suited to your unique imbalances and health status.
The Importance of DUTCH Testing
Understanding your hormone levels is crucial for effective management. The DUTCH test is the method for figuring out the root cause of your hormone imbalance. This comprehensive test provides insights into hormone metabolism, cortisol levels, and more, guiding the creation of a personalized hormone-balancing plan.
Tip #3: Adopt an Estrogen Balancing Lifestyle
Last but certainly not least, a holistic repairing lifestyle goes hand in hand with improved diet and supplements providing a foundation for lasting balance. Here are quick honorable mentions since entire books could be written about properly supporting hormones through lifestyle tweaks!
Move daily to keep inflammation down, detoxification up and body composition optimal since increased visceral fat worsens estrogen overload through enzyme conversion.
Manage stress through relaxing rituals since cortisol derails hormone repairing efforts.
Prioritize high quality sleep allowing natural nighttime detox.
The Takeaway
I hope this quick guide gave you a helpful starting point exploring natural solutions for estrogen imbalance relief! Repairing hormone issues doesn’t need to be complicated even though it can feel that way. Start with foundational diet and lifestyle shifts before considering targeted, root cause-based supplements if needed.
And the first step towards sustained results is uncovering the unique root triggers throwing your hormones off balance in the first place. Emotional and physical stressors, gut health disruption, environmental toxin exposures, mindset blocks, and nutrition issues can all contribute in addition to physiological changes.
Want one-on-one support finding your unique path back to hormone bliss and vibrant health? Then take advantage of my Discovery Session offer for new clients!
Together we’ll...
Uncover the underlying lifestyle, dietary, and environmental contributors unique to your hormone imbalance.
Discuss current and past symptoms plus relevant health history.
Identify initial action steps and longer-term solutions for lifelong balance.
Answer any burning questions you have about holistic hormone repairing!