WOMEN’S HEALTH:
FEMALE HORMONE BALANCE
Ruby Ann Bermudez-Magpantay, MD | March 2, 2017
If I have just described your usual day, then chances are your lack of results is not due to lack of effort…it’s likely your hormones.
You are not alone: about 85% of women have hormone imbalances.
Ideally, you have a rhythm between these two hormones, which should function like a “check and balance”. Estrogen dominance is when you have too much estrogen compared with progesterone. Having a little too much estrogen in the body causes a number of symptoms, including mood outbursts, depression, and weight-loss resistance, where losing weight is very challenging, if not impossible.
To lower your estrogen levels and help you lose weight, I recommend eating a pound of vegetables per day, divided between meals. The fiber from the vegetables will help excrete estrogen so it doesn’t keep circulating in your body like bad karma. Aim for 35-45 grams of fiber per day for women, but slowly increase in 5-gram increments each day to get to the goal without gas or bloating.
Normally you have 100 to 500 times more progesterone than estrogen in your body. If you are out of ratio, you may have symptoms of the dreaded estrogen dominance, including weight-loss resistance, depression, fatigue, breast tenderness, and painful or heavy periods. This familiar feeling is also called PMS, when you “snap” more easily than you used to, particularly the week to 10 days before menstruation. Progesterone that’s either too high or too low can cause a range of problems. When progesterone is too low, you’re more likely to develop endometriosis, breast cysts and problems with uterine bleeding, and possibly even cancer. When you have too much estrogen, you have a greater risk of infertility and endometrial cancer, a malignancy arising in the lining of your uterus, and breast cancer. Proportionate balance is of utmost importance.
When your hormones are in perfect balance, neither too high nor too low, you look and feel your best. But when they are imbalanced, you feel miserable, with a range of symptoms that include fatigue, sugar cravings, weight-loss resistance, bloating, belly fat, trouble sleeping, anxiety or irritability, and constant stress.
You won’t really know if your hormones are to blame for your symptoms until you get some basic blood work done. Record your symptoms and check in with your Aegle physician.
For inquiries & suggestions: info@aeglewellnesscenter.com