Excess estrogen and weight gain-The role of Estrogen

excess estrogen can be a problem in your desire to lose weight

Progesterone and estrogen have opposing functions in your system. When it comes to weight gain estrogen causes your body to make and store fat while progesterone encourages your body to use fat for energy. While estrogen impairs blood sugar control and interferes with thyroid function, progesterone helps normalize blood sugar and facilitate thyroid activity. A nice balance between the two helps assure a healthy body and one of progesterone’s main functions is to balance estrogen levels.

A number of things help get you out of balance. First, not only does estrogen encourage fat production, but your fat cells manufacture estrogen. This means the more fat you have the more estrogen your body produces, and the more estrogen your body produces the more you will be prone to weight gain.

All of us are exposed to environmental toxins which imitates estrogen and fool our bodies into thinking we have even more of this hormone in our system than we do. Some sources of xenohormones include livestock fed estrogenic compounds to make them nice and fat before they end up at your grocery store. You may also get estrogenic drugs from your water supply due to all the women taking synthetic hormones in birth control pills and menopause drugs.

Lack of progesterone can also be hard on thyroid health and we know there is a strong connection between having a healthy thyroid and weight loss. According to experts women taking medication for low thyroid may find that they need less or no thyroid medications after using natural progesterone. If this is the case if you take thyroid medication, then you need to work closely with your doctor to adjust your medication as needed when you use natural progesterone.

Natural progesterone creams are available over the counter or by prescription from compounding pharmacies which can make up a cream designed just for you. You may need to find a physician familiar with natural remedies to assist you in this process. Conventional physicians may suggest a medication containing progestin or synthetic progesterone. However these are not the same as natural progesterone and have serious potential side effects.

Estrogen balance is essential for achieving and maintaining fat loss. In men and premenopausal women, too much estrogen a condition called estrogen dominance causes toxic fat gain, water retention, bloating, and a host of other health and wellness issues. In women, with stress and age there is a natural decline in testosterone and progesterone levels, leaving a relative excess of estrogen.

Excess estrogen and weight gain-What causes estrogen dominance?
There are only two ways to accumulate excess estrogen in the body: we either produce too much of it on our own, or acquire it from our environment or diet. Unfortunately, accumulating estrogen is not hard. We are constantly exposed to estrogen-like compounds in foods that contain toxic pesticides, herbicides, and growth hormones. Many of these toxins are known to cause weight gain, which serves to fuel the production of more estrogen from our own fat cells. More weight gain then leads to insulin resistance which increases the risk of estrogen dominance.

Pharmaceutical hormones such as those used in hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) or the birth control pill can also increase estrogen, whether we take them actively or absorb them when they make their way into our drinking water. We are living in a virtual sea of harmful estrogens, and researchers are only beginning to identify the extent of this exposure on health in humans and even other species.

Excess estrogen and weight gain -Signs and symptoms of estrogen dominance
A premenopausal woman with estrogen dominance is likely to have PMS, too much body fat around the hips and difficulty in losing weight. Perhaps you have a history of gallstones, varicose veins, uterine fibroids, cervical dysplasia, endometriosis, or ovarian cysts. In both sexes, estrogen dominance is thought to be responsible for many types of cancers. This particular hormone imbalance could be one of the leading causes of breast, uterine, and prostate cancer.

Excess estrogen and weight gain-How to correct estrogen dominance
we can be reduced the dominance of estrogen by among other means using these foods or specific habits:

Since the liver breaks down estrogen, alcohol consumption, drug use, a fatty liver, liver disease, and any other factor that impairs healthy liver function can spur an estrogen build-up. If you occasionally consume alcohol, always take a 1mg folic acid and a B-complex vitamin to reduce its negative effects.
Bacterial imbalance in the gut, and other problems that compromise digestion, interfere with the proper elimination of estrogen from the body via the digestive tract. Be sure to include a probiotic daily with 15 billion units. Store it in the fridge and take one or two capsules twice daily on an empty stomach.
Insoluble fiber also binds to excess estrogen in the digestive tract, which is then excreted by the body. A fiber supplement can also affect the composition of intestinal bacteria and reduce the build-up and re-absorption of free-floating estrogen. Good sources include wheat bran, corn bran, rice bran, the skins of fruits and vegetables (apples, pears, berries, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and carrots), nuts (especially almonds), seeds (particularly sunflower seeds), soybeans, dried beans, and whole-grain foods.
Choose organic dairy and meat products to reduce your exposure to hormone additives.
Consume weak phytoestrogenic foods such as pomegranate, flaxseeds, pears, apples, berries, organic non-GMO fermented soy, wheat germ, oats, and barley.
The body requires sufficient intake of zinc, magnesium, vitamin B6 and other essential nutrients, not only to support the breakdown and elimination of estrogen, but also to aid the function of enzymes responsible for the conversion of testosterone to estrogen. Be sure to add a high quality multivitamin supplement daily.
Avoid exposure to xenoestrogens from plastics, cosmetics, and the birth control pill.
Avoid unfermented soy products like tofu and soy milk.
As the body responds to high levels of stress, it “steals” progesterone to manufacture the stress hormone cortisol, often leaving a relative excess of estrogen. Stress management is essential.
Infrared sauna treatments are an excellent way to rid your body of estrogen.
Maintaining poor sleep habits cause a reduction in the hormone melatonin, which helps protect against estrogen dominance. Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep per night in a cool, dark room.

In all these efforts of trying to lose, for real optimal weight loss, a visit at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s will be the best choice you can make in your desire to lose weight. Doctor Akoury cares and she focuses on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. What else can be better?