Are You Estrogen Dominant?

Are You Estrogen Dominant?

Estrogen dominance is a term John Lee, M.D.₁ created to refer to an all too common and potentially dangerous type of hormonal imbalance. In short, it is too much estrogen relative to the amount of progesterone. Estrogen dominance is not just a female problem. Take a minute to score yourself with the following checklist:

_____sore, swollen breasts, breast tenderness (for women or men)
_____swollen fingers and ankles,

_____ feeling impatient or bossy,
_____fatigue
_____aging process accelerating
_____allergies, including asthma, hives, rashes, sinus congestion
_____autoimmune disorders (including lupus erythematosis, thyroiditis)
_____blood sugar disturbances, especially low blood sugar
_____breast cancer
_____cold hands and feet (a symptom of t1hyroid dysfunction)
_____decreased sex drive
_____depression with anxiety or agitation
_____dry eyes
_____fat gain, especially around the abdomen, hips, and thighs
_____fibrocystic breasts(women or men)
_____gallbladder disease
_____hair loss
_____headaches
_____hypoglycemia
_____inability to focus
_____increased blood clotting (increasing risk of strokes)
_____infertility
_____irritability
_____insomnia
_____memory loss
_____mood swings
_____sluggish metabolism
_____water retention, bloating
_____history of xenoestrogen exposure when you were an embryo (from your mother eating foods containing DDT or taking DES (diethylstilbestrol), a drug used to prevent miscarriage)

For women, do you or did you:

_____take birth control pills
_____take conventional ERT (estrogen replacement therapy)
_____take HRT (hormone replacement therapy)
_____undergo a tubal ligation
_____develop fibrocystic breasts
_____have irregular periods or no periods
_____uterine fibroids
_____uterine cancer
_____pass clots during your period
_____out of control bleeding
_____cervical dysplasia
_____endometriosis
_____endometrial polyps
_____early onset of menstruation
_____PMS (premenstrual syndrome)
_____menstrual pain
_____suffer miscarriage
_____premenopausal bone loss

What Your Score Means:

Regardless of your gender, the higher your score, the more likely you have estrogen dominance. Before jumping to a conclusion, please note that it is the cluster of symptoms, the combination of them, and not the existence of any one of them, that indicate a problem. What can you do if you do score high? First, don’t panic or over react by trying to battle it out with drugs or progesterone supplements. This will only aggravate the imbalance. A holistic approach yields the best results. Next month we will discuss specific things you can do and eat to restore hormone balance. In the meantime you can start by eating organic whenever possible and avoiding pesticides.

₁ John Lee, M.D. and Virginia Hopkins. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You AboutMenopause, Warner Books, New York, 2004, p. 42-43.

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Cathy Lidster, Health Educator/Nutrition/Allergy Practitioner, offers free seminars monthly (see ad for schedule). She can be reached at Centennial Building Wellness Centre, 250-819-9041, or cathylidster@gmail.com