What can you do now!
1. Track your 5th vital sign (your cycle) to know if you are ovulating
Knowing when you ovulate is #1 when you are trying to figure out what's up with your cycle. First, it will tell you if you are making progesterone and if you are having a proper length luteal phase. Note, if you are on birth control, you do not ovulate. The importance of ovulation.
2. Eat more whole foods- Eating more whole foods that contain fiber, prebiotic and sulfur can help feed your gut microbiome and will help the liver break down toxins and excess estrogen. Broccoli, cabbage, onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, artichokes, chia pudding, cauliflower, green leafy vegetables, all of these are amazing for the health of our liver and gut.
3. Work on your gut health- Let me say this to start- if you do not have a healthy amount of stomach acid, you will not be able to break down and absorb the nutrients from supplements or whole food. O.K, I said it. Just as a side note- Have anemia? It may be from low stomach acid and malabsorption.
Ever heard of estrobolome? Estrobolome is the estrogen part of your guts microbiome that is broken down by an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase. So you see, your gut has a specific bacteria and enzyme that is responsible for getting rid of excess estrogen that was packaged up for you in the liver.
Once the liver has broken down estrogen and daily toxic substances, those estrogen metabolites and toxins get packaged up and sent to the gut, then get broken down further by estrobolome and then you poop em out. If you don’t poop daily, your estrogen will back up too. Your gut has everything to do with removing excess estrogen. Nerdy enough for you yet?
Supplements for gut health in relation to estrogen- Cultured coconut probiotics, BioGai probiotic drops ( I get this at Costco), calcium D-glucarate (if you have high beta-glucuronidase), digestive enzymes, raw apple cider vinegar, bone broth. Oh, and, reduce stress, more on that later...
4. Take care of your liver health- Our liver is known to be most active between 11pm-2am, that is when it does most of its detoxing and that is why sleep is soooo fundamental to hormone health. But, the liver isn’t just working between those hours, it’s always doing something and that is why we must do our job to remove and eliminate as many lifestyle burdens as we can to alleviate the livers to do list. We can do this by reducing alcohol consumption (I know, i’m sorry but it’s your liver, not me saying this), reducing refined carbs, conventional meat, conventional dairy, non-organic eggs and removing daily toxic home products that tax our liver health.
Our liver is what metabolizes and breaks down estrogen along with 500 other jobs it needs to do. So if our liver is not healthy or is overburdened with breaking down 2 glasses of wine a day, environmental toxins, processed foods, fructose or mold for example, our liver will not be able to eliminate that excess estrogen that your body is making.
Nutrients for the liver- glutathione, Methyl folate, B6+B12, sulforaphane, vitamin C, milk thistle, quercetin, NAC
Supplements that help with or remove excess estrogen- DIM, bio-identical progesterone, sulforaphane, vitex, calcium D-glucarate.
*Please ask your doctor and get tested before you start taking supplements to remove estrogen.
5. Stress Reduction- I just can’t seem to take on what I used to anymore, I was a proud and confident multitasker back in the day. I could do 5 things at one time and finish the day by saying- great job Christina, you have accomplished so much today! This does not serve me any longer and I must surrender and accept that what I do in a day does not define me as a person or my accomplishments. We are told to do, do, do. rest is for the weak, I completely disagree, this methodology slowly kills us, don’t eat the candy.
Did you know that chronic stress raises cortisol and cortisol destroys the mucus layer of our gut and our tight junctions within our gut?
Did you know that stress increases insulin levels that can lead to weight gain, blood sugar imbalance and an increase in triglycerides?
Did you know that high cortisol increases estrogen levels and steals progesterone?
Did you know that stress isn’t just created from a crazy busy lifestyle? It can be created from chronic inflammation, lack of quality sleep, chronic infection, mold toxicity and heavy metal toxicity. I think that sums it up, stress can cause many imbalances and we MUST make this a priority.
Supplements and lifestyle choices for stress reduction and adrenal support- Ashwagandha, rhodiola, lavender, ginseng, quality sleep, being kind to oneself, reducing your workload, just say NO, deep breathing, not going hard at the gym, acupuncture, walking in the forest.
