How to reduce high estrogen levels in your menstrual cycle
If you think you might have high estrogen because of PMS, cramps, headaches or breast tenderness then stick around because I am going to share 4-ways to help you reduce excess estrogen!
My name is Omega, I am an exercise scientist and menstrual cycle educator and I use to have terrible PMS until I got my estrogen under control. Here are the ways I reduced my excess estrogen and ways you can do the same:
#1 - Reduce Environmental Estrogen:
Environmental estrogens can be in physical products, skin care and food. A short list of environmental toxins include:
-Phthalates found commonly in toys and perscriptions
-Bisphenols found in hard plastics,toys and non-organic food
-Parabens found in cosmetics and skin care
-Benzophenone also found in cosmetics and skincare
-Ethylhexyl 4-methoxycinnamate found in sunscreens
DDT is a bisphenol found in pesticides, which are used on fruits and veggies. And since DDT is not legal in the U.S., most of these estrogen altering compounds can be found on fruits and veggies sold outside the US.
This 2002 study by Frigo et. al. showed us that DDT causes up regulation of estrogen production in cells. This is reason to stay away from conventional fruits and veggies grown outside of the US.
Since we’re on the topic of pesticides, it’s important to note that there are hundreds of different types of pesticides and as this 2006 study by Bretveld et. al. points out, more research needs to be done on individual pesticides to understand how they impact female hormones.
This study also referenced other studies that did associate pesticide exposure with menstrual cycle problems, such as long or short cycles, missed periods or mid cycle bleeding. And although, it’s hard to say when looking at these studies, many of these menstrual cycle irregularities are commonly associated with estrogen imbalance.
#2 - Support Progesterone
The second tip I have for you is to support progesterone. Now, progesterone is estrogen's counterpart so ways that we can support progesterone include balancing your blood sugar. That would be by eating fiber, fat and protein every two to four hours, reducing inflammation by removing foods that you are sensitive to that might be wheat, gluten, or dairy for most of us limiting or giving up alcohol, reducing stress. We can do this by meditating, practicing yoga, setting up boundaries, or asking for help!
#3 - Support the Liver-Colon relationship
The liver is largely responsible for the detoxification of all the toxins we have in excess, and estrogen in no different. In the second half of the cycle, your body becomes an estrogen clearing machine, taking estrogen from the liver and sending it to the bowel where it is excreted out of the bowel.
To support the relationship between the liver and colon, eat fiber! The RDA for fiber is 10-15 grams, so eating on the upper end of that can help support this process.
Foods like phytoestrogens helps balance estrogens and reduce excessive amounts (flax, broccoli, kale, cauliflower). To harmonize your hormones you can start seed cycling simply by eating 1 TB of raw ground flax and pumpkin seed in your bleed and follicular phase and switch to 1TB of sesame and sunflower seeds in your ovulatory and luteal phase. I made a post about seed cycling on my instagram page that you can check out right here.
#4 - Do you like your caffeine too much?
I know a lot of you like your caffeine, but there's good reason to avoid it. This 2012 research study by Schliep showed that estrogen is higher in all races. When subjects consumed caffeine in the form of green tea and soda, and this 2015 study by Sisti at all showed that there is a correlation between caffeine from coffee and estrogen metabolites in urine showing us that when we consume caffeine, we actually have more estrogen buildup in our body. Not good. Getting off caffeine is hard for some and easier for others. And I was addicted to caffeine since I was in the bottle.
If you are a personal trainer that wants to go from a place of not fully understanding the menstrual cycle to being a confident menstrual cycle coach so that you can provide hormonal health resource to people in your community. I would love to show you how to do that. You can book a call with me using this link. And if you're curious how I got off caffeine, you can watch this video on YouTube.