Are you suffering from fat/weight gain around the middle, autoimmune disorders, breast tenderness, fibrocystic breasts, muscle and joint pain, depression, early onset menstruation, fatigue, hair loss, headaches, hypoglycemia, irregular menstrual periods, insomnia, mood swings, or memory loss, PMS, water retention and bloating? Most every symptom listed here could have several causes that I can think of offhand. Thyroid dysfunction being at the top of the list for many. For the purpose of this article we are going to focus on one possible cause that doesn’t get a lot of attention: Estrogen Dominance.
Estrogen Dominance has many symptoms that mimic other hormone deficiencies and dysfunctions, and it is safe to say are caused by many of the same factors, environmental toxins, poor food and or lifestyle choices, all of which contribute to liver impairment. The Liver oversees filtering, detoxifying and processing of the nutrients we consume. Estrogen is one of those metabolites. Anything impairing liver function will cause an increase in estrogen levels. As liver function slows estrogen levels rise, whether it is liver disease or external toxins, drugs or dietary substances they are all part of the problem.
Much of the meat (especially chicken) and dairy that we consume are full of hormones, antibiotics and other harmful substances. Increasingly we see young males with “man-boobs” or young girls entering puberty at early ages. Diets rich in sugar, refined starches, and processed foods can all increase estrogen levels in all age groups.
We recommend that Whole Food Intervention be your first line of defense in beginning to unravel which came first the thyroid disorder or the estrogen dysfunction. As I mentioned many of the symptoms listed above can be attributable to a variety of conditions. Rather than spend large amounts of money on laboratory testing which often times requires additional testing to finally get to the root cause, it is simpler and much more cost effective to start with a dietary overhaul. I guarantee you will notice changes it how you feel and function within a relatively short amount of time. Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, radish, rutabaga, and turnip are all foods designed to nourish the liver and keep it functioning
well. The highest concentrations of helpful nutrients are found in garden cress (different from watercress) and mustard greens. They are the foods that bet protect the liver.
We recommend that you include a good Iodine supplement along with Selenium to ensure utilization of Iodine, Magnesium 800mg daily, Vitamin D-3 with K-2 is also important for overall health.
Try these things first and if you continue to experience bothersome symptoms or want more in-depth information on this topic or hormone/thyroid testing in general please contact us at Harper Chiropractic Clinic. We want to provide you with the tools to build or remodel your healthy lifestyle!
