Estrogen Dominance – what’s that?

Estrogen is a hormone that can be found in men and women alike, although women have it in higher amounts than men. This is because of the hormone’s essential role in reproduction cycles and menstruation. The name “estrogen dominance” already implies that there is kind of too much estrogen in your body. But that’s only one part of the truth.

An estrogen dominance can occur at the same time as an estrogen deficiency – due to the sensitive balance between estrogen and progesterone. An estrogen dominance does not necesseraly mean an excess of estrogen. It describes an imbalance between estrogen and its counterpart progesterone. The body reacts as though too much estrogen is present. This can even be the case with an estrogen deficiency, as the relative ratio between the two is decisive.

5 main causes for Estrogen Dominance

Estrogen Dominance affects women and men of all ages (although women are more often affected than men) and can have many causes. The different causes often occur in combination and reinforce each other.

1. Environmental Factors: we are constantly being exposed to estrogens in our environment. Xenoestrogens in the form of chemicals and food additives as well as phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) imitate estrogen and can alter hormonal activity.

2. Chronic stress: when our body is exposed to stress, our adrenal glands produce and release more and more of the hormone cortisol into our bloodstream. An increased need for cortisol decreases progesterone as part of progesterone is converted to cortisol to support the exhausted adrenal glands.

3. Medication: birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy can cause estrogen dominance. These medications keep estrogen levels consistently high so that hormone fluctuations are not felt and symptoms appear to subside.                                                                                       

4. Nutritional deficiencies: deficiencies in magnesium, zinc, copper and B vitamins can cause estrogen dominance. Since everything in the body is connected, deficiencies at the cellular level can have an influence on the hormone system.

5. Heavy metal accumulation: Hormonal disorders are often only the symptoms of a disturbed metabolism. Heavy metal accumulation (with estrogen dominance this is often copper surplus) can lead to a deficient energy production. This automatically leads to a shift in the ratio of estrogen to progesterone.

Take the test!

With the Verisana Estrogen Dominance Test you can quickly and easily check yout estrogen and progesterone levels. You collect the samples at home, send them back to us and we will provide you with your level of each hormone and whether your level falls within the reference ranges for your age. In addition to that, the results include graphs showing whether your are in the “green” (=normal/healthy) or “red” (=too high/low) area, making it easy to understand the results.

In addition to that, the results include graphs showing whether your are in the “green” (=normal/healthy) or “red” (=too high/low) area, making it easy to understand the results. You can then discuss the results with your doctor or health practitioner, who can give you further guidance and treatment recommendations.

Bring order to your hormone chaos!

As a healthy balance between estrogen and progesterone is so important for female (and male) well-being, it is crucial to determine not only the absolute values of each hormone, but also the ratio of estrogen to progesterone, when dealing with estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance/progesterone deficiency is most reliably measured in saliva. 

In most cases, it also makes sense to perform a complete status, since an estrogen dominance is usually not the only hormone problem. In order to examine the whole system and to carry out a profound therapy, however, a comprehensive hormone test is essential. 

>> Female Hormone Health Check  (Male Hormone Health Check)

>> Comprehensive Hormone Check

Under medical supervision, an imbalance can be treated with herbal medicine or bio-identical progesterone creams, or capsules. If the estrogen dominance is the result of a nutrient deficiency, a change in diet or the intake of dietary supplements may be part of the treatment. Although we do not offer therapy service ourselves, we will gladly assist you in finding a suitable therapist in your area.