I am having estrogen dominance wake up and I’m not sure what a phytoestrogen is.

Hi Catherine,

I am having estrogen wake up and and not sure what a phytoestrogen is. I read your section on this but it seems that it is food ie. soy and flax. is this correct? I have been on the cream again 7 days after taking time off for cycle prior to that I was on it for 14 days. Still feel like I am not getting benifits.

Thank you,

Gina

Dear Gina,

When we reintroduce progesterone back into our body thereby sensitising and stimulating the estrogen receptor sites, there are immediate, intermediate and long term benefits. This can include a period of discomfort which we term ‘estrogen dominance wake-up crisis’.

So what is estrogen dominance wake-up crisis? Well, it tends to be the ‘opposite’ reaction to that which you would have expected when you first start applying progesterone cream.

Instead of getting relief from symptoms like breast tenderness, heavy bleeding, lethargy, panic attacks, headaches, agitation or depression, fluid retention, insomnia, increased joint and muscle pain, weight gain, etc., you instead find that your situation is going from bad to worse! And you’re frightened.

When a woman is estrogen dominant her estrogen receptor sites will, in time, down-regulate in the absence of progesterone. Introducing progesterone will heighten these receptors (temporarily), thus estrogen dominance symptoms can appear to worsen before you notice a turn-around.

As your body settles down and progesterone begins to ?oppose? estrogen’s action in the body, you start to feel better, particularly if you’re considerably progesterone deficient.

It?s this ?discomfort? experienced by some women that gets tagged as ’side-effects’. Technicially, your body is adjusting to the reintroduction of the hormone progesterone as distinct from responding adversely.

In the case of severe wake-up in the body where the symptoms of estrogen dominance are exaggerated and debilitating, it is recommended women double their dose for the first 6-8 weeks in conjunction with a premium phytoestrogen formulation to help ride out this phase.

Suggested ways to lower your body’s estrogen burden

• exercise
• stress reduction
• avoid sugars & refinded carbohydrates
• maintain high-fiber diet (supplement with psyllium or rice bran)
• lower intake of red meat
• dietary supplements
• extracts of cruciferous vegetables

Phytoestrogens have application in progesterone therapy because they actually help reduce the impact of estrogen dominance when progesterone is reintroduced into the body. The reason is simple. Phytoestrogens help tone down the symptoms of estrogen wake-up.

Phytoestrogens refer to plant compounds with estrogen-like activity. They are usually considerably weaker than our own estrogens and compete for the same receptors throughout our body. They block the impact of more potent estrogens produced by the body or the environment, and subsequently reduce the impact of estrogen dominance.

Foods high in beneficial plant hormones can include alfalfa, apples, aniseed, brewers yeast, barley, beet root, cabbage, carrots, chick peas, clover, corn, cow peas, cucumbers, fennel, linseed, garlic, green beans, green squash, hops, oats, olives, olive oil, papaya, parsley, peas, plums, potatoes, red beans, pumpkin, legumes, peas, lentils, red clover, rhubarb, rice, rye, sesame seeds, soya bean, sprouts, split peas, sunflower seeds, nuts, squash, wheat yams, green beans, cherries.

Some herbs containing beneficial plant hormones are black cohosh, dong quai, hops, sage, red clover, fennel, liquorice root, wild yam, bladderwrack, horstail herb, sarsaparilla.

In studying the literature on soy, Dr Zava found there are about five types of plant chemicals in the soybean that can be toxic to humans if they are not removed by special processing. Therefore, if you are not allegic to soyfoods, eat them primarly as fermented soy products, which includes miso and tempeh, because many of the antinutrients have been reduced in this form.

While attention surrounding flaxseed has been its source of essential fatty acids, recent studies and research have revealed that the substance called “lignans” within flaxseed has very important and useful medicinal qualities too. The health benefits of lignans may equal or surpass those of flaxseed oil.

A major reason why lignans provide certain health benefits is because they are considered to be phytoestrogens. Studies have shown that individuals who consume more lignan-containing foods have lower incidence of breast and colon cancers due to this phytoestrogen effect.

A recent human clinical trial studied the effects of flaxseed on estrogen metabolism in postmenopausal women. The women who ate ground flaxseed had lower amounts of sex hormones associated with breast cancer. Authors of the study suggested that lignans played a role, although it was not directly proven that lignans were the only compounds producing the beneficial effects.

Excretion of estrogen is accomplished by the liver. And the liver breaks estrogens into two main forms: a “good” form, called 2-hydroxyestrogen, and a “bad” form, called 16a-hydroxyestrogen.

Evidence suggests supplementing our diets with extracts of cruciferous vegetables allow for metabolism and clearance of estrogens down safer pathways that will help prevent symptoms and potential damage to DNA of cells.

Diindolylmethane, or DIM for short, is a plant indole — a plant compound with health-promoting properties. DIM and other plant indoles are found in all cruciferous vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables include cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. These plants have cultivated for centuries and were initially used for medicines.

Regular use of supplementary DIM can shift the production of estrogen metabolites away from dangerous 16-hydroxy in favor of beneficial 2-hydroxy metabolites, ridding the body of excess estrogen via urine.

DIM is a conservative, well-studied, safe, and clearly effective natural substance. Human studies, often at ten times the typical supplement dose of DIM which benefits estrogen metabolism, have reported no side effects.

Alternatively, small quantities of fresh broccoli sprouts contain as much cancer protection as larger amounts of the mature vegetable sold in food markets, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

You might also consider whole-food supplements that build your immune system, fight cancer, and detoxify the heavy metals and other pesticides in your body. I’m referring here to organic green barley powder, alfalfa powder, chlorella, spirulina, biodynamic rice, kelp, and lactobacillis culture as a bio-available food source which, when combined, deliver organic and active nutrients to every aspect of the bodily system.

More information on how you can reduce your estrogen load naturally can be sourced via my ebook ‘A Woman’s Guide to Using Natural Progesterone‘. This publication asks and answers all of your questions about hormone replacement therapy and explains how a safer approach using bioidentical HRT may suit you.