The topic of estrogen has been coming up quite a bit with my clients lately, so I decided it was time for some schooling for all of you on the topic. This read is so important for both men and women, and I am going to be pretty blunt, so buckle up!
You all have probably noticed that there is a growing population of men noticing increased breast tissue. I imagine most just believe they need to hit the gym harder, but what’s really behind this “growing” situation? It’s hormones! When we eat too much sugar or flour, we overproduce insulin, a hormone that in excess will block our production of sex hormones like testosterone, making a man look more like a woman. But there’s a bigger reason that’s even more concerning: it’s estrogen.
Estrogen in a Balanced Body
In a balanced, healthy body, one makes just the right amount of hormones for their wellness. In women, estrogen is more prevalent. Men produce a little estrogen too, but make mostly testosterone. The problem is that the female hormone estrogen is increasingly prevalent in our food and our environment. And it’s changing the balance of hormones in men, giving them larger breasts, smaller muscles, larger bellies, lower sex drive, and prostate problems.
Effects of Estrogen on Women and Children
In women, higher estrogen makes for more troublesome PMS, increased depression, higher body fat, and a higher risk of breast cancer. In children, excessive hormones encourage premature sexual development. In everyone, excessive estrogen increases the risk of cancer, heart attack, and stroke.
External Estrogen and Its Sources
This external influx of estrogen from our environment, the products we use and foods makes your body reduce or stop producing hormones internally. In women, this is problematic because the body will not only stop making estrogen but will also stop making progesterone.
Progesterone and Estrogen Imbalance
I often see clients who test low in progesterone, what I think of as the “calming” hormone, and these women typically struggle with depression, anxiety, low energy, and fatigue. In the ten years or so prior to menopause, this is a particularly key issue because women’s progesterone production drops off dramatically several years before estrogen production begins to drop. Thus, many women begin to suffer with progesterone/estrogen imbalance – or estrogen dominance – in those critical years before menopause. Relatively high estrogen is exacerbated by our overall increased body fat (which might be high even in someone of normal weight) because fat cells produce estrogen all on their own. Not fair. I know!
Major Sources of External Estrogen
So besides body fat, where are we getting all this estrogen? I could talk for days, but let me give you the top 4 places I see being the most impactful! But before you skip down to the list, I want you to understand that we are also absorbing large amounts of “estrogen mimickers” from our environment. These are chemicals that look enough like real estrogen to fool our bodies into making hormonal changes (medically this is called an endocrine disruptor). They are in our skincare, make-up, hair and personal hygiene products, detergents, dryer sheets, candles, cleaners and more!
Here are some of the most common culprits, and what you can do about them:
Food
Today’s modern “factory farmers” use hormones and other drugs and chemicals to accelerate weight gain in animals. This practice includes chickens, cows, pigs, and even fish farmers. Hormones also keep dairy cows lactating on a constant basis, including while they are pregnant. When we consume these foods, we absorb the hormones. You can avoid this source by always choosing “hormone-free” animal products, ideally also organic and free-range to avoid exposure to other chemicals in animal feed and drugs. Some of my clients benefit from a month-long trial of avoiding all dairy foods which, by definition, are hormone-laden.
Bisphenol-A (or BPA)
Bisphenol-A (or BPA) is a potent estrogen mimicker found in some plastic food wraps, plastic cups and containers labeled #7 in the little recycling triangle, It is also in most food can linings (yes, even organic brands!, and coating cash register receipts paper! This is where choosing stainless steel or glass water bottles, filtering our home water. Look for canned foods brands certified as BPA-free on the label (Eden Organics for beans, and Waterloo for cans of seltzer). If you use other canned foods, make sure you rinse the contents thoroughly before use, and work on choosing foods in glass or paper cartons instead, or (even better) choose whole, fresh foods.
Triclosan
Triclosan is found in antibacterial soaps, tooth-paste, mouthwash, deodorants, and first-aid creams. Make sure you encourage your client to read labels to find out what they are putting into their body. Soap and water remain our best weapons against the spread of infection. Our skin is our largest organ and a powerful absorption site that sends ingredients straight to our blood stream. My best advice, don’t put anything on your skin that you wouldn’t want to eat! The Environmental Working Group has an incredible app that you can search the products you use, and see the safety score of them!
Pesticides and Gardening Chemicals
Work on practicing natural, organic gardening. Even if you don’t sit on the grass, the chemicals are carried indoors on kids, pets, shoe soles, and even the wind. I also encourage you to eat as much organic food as they can find and afford (or those certified as pesticide-free). Some produce retains more chemicals than others. The Environmental Working Group also publishes an shoppers guide to pesticides in produce. This list is updated annually, and shows you the top foods that you should buy organic, as well the foods with the lowest pesticide absorption, so you know which you can get away with not eating organic as well!
I’d love to share the products that I have personally switched to and trust, buy because I am sure you have other things to do today, I will save all of it for our next newsletter! If there is anything else around this topic you want to learn about be sure to share it with us. I hope you have found this valuable.
