Natural Remedies for Estrogen Dominance and Hormone Imbalance

Estrogen dominance among women has been more and more prevalent in the past few decades due to the increased exposure to xenohormones and environmental toxins, and our liver is just not able to keep up with the tasks. Estrogen dominance can lead to PMS symptoms, PCOS, certain cancers, and weight gain.

H. Leon Bradlow, Ph.D., a well-known breast cancer researcher, discovered women with breast and uterine cancer made very little of the good metabolite of estrogen such as 2-hydroxy estrogens, and too much of the bad variety including 16-hydroxy estrogens, which can result in mutations, abnormal growth, and an increased risk of breast cancer. Overproduction of 16-hydroxy estrogen is also linked to obesity and exposure to various environmental estrogens such as plastics, pesticides, and petroleum-based skin and hair products.

What are the solutions for estrogen dominance? Eliminating toxins from your personal products, your home, and your environment is the first step, the second step is to opt for a clean and healthy diet and boost your liver detoxification capacity. Some natural remedies can help reduce estrogen dominance symptoms. Let’s dive into it.

DIM is a phytonutrient found in cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, mustard, and turnip. When you eat cruciferous vegetables, your stomach acids break down indole-3-carbinol into Di-indolylmethane (DIM), which helps promote healthier estrogen metabolism. DIM is beneficial in creating a healthy balance of estrogen and testosterone. This is because DIM converts the more potent form of estrogen - estradiol into the weaker form -estriol. Estradiol is considered the more “potent” form of estrogen. The key difference between estriol and estradiol is their function. Estriol is dominant during pregnancy and helps support both the mother and fetus, while estradiol is dominant in nonpregnant women and helps regulate the menstrual cycle. Low estradiol levels can cause irregular menstruation cycles, while higher than normal estradiol levels may cause acne, weight gain, low libido, mood swings, insomnia, fatigue, and irregular cycles. Your body contains estrogen receptors, when estriol occupies an estrogen receptor, it prevents the signal of estradiol.

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