When you eat excess amount of sugar, the body copes with it by turning it into fat cells, which then produce estrogen. The more sugar you eat, the more fat cells you create, and the more estrogen you produce.
What foods cause high estrogen? Foods that reportedly increase estrogen include flax seeds, soybean products, chocolate, fruit, nuts, chickpeas, and legumes. Before we delve into why these foods are said to increase estrogen, we need to look at two important definitions; phytoestrogens and lignans.
For women who experience severe PMS, high dietary sugar consumption has been linked to worse cramps, mood, irritability, and depression. Interestingly, the physiology of chronic disease brought on by sugar consumption also increases estrogen and testosterone hormones which disrupt your body's natural hormone cycle.
Body fat: Fat tissue (adipose tissue) secretes estrogen. Having a high percentage of body fat can lead to high estrogen levels. Stress: Your body produces the hormone cortisol in response to stress. Producing high amounts of cortisol in response to stress can deplete your body's ability to produce progesterone.
Glucagon and insulin are both important hormones that play essential roles in regulating your blood glucose (sugar). Both hormones come from your pancreas — alpha cells in your pancreas make and release glucagon, and beta cells in your pancreas make and release insulin.
The Trouble with Sugar
For women especially, a diet full of excessive sugar – which includes all refined carbohydrates, not just the sweet stuff – can lead to significant hormonal imbalance. One of the most notable effects of too much sugar is insulin resistance, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Glucagon works along with the hormone insulin to control blood sugar levels and keep them within set levels. Glucagon is released to stop blood sugar levels dropping too low (hypoglycaemia), while insulin is released to stop blood sugar levels rising too high (hyperglycaemia).
Summary. High estrogen levels can cause symptoms such as irregular or heavy periods, weight gain, fatigue, and fibroids in females. In males, they can cause breast tissue growth, erectile dysfunction, and infertility.
Estrogen levels rise and fall twice during the menstrual cycle. Estrogen levels rise during the mid-follicular phase and then drop precipitously after ovulation. This is followed by a secondary rise in estrogen levels during the mid-luteal phase with a decrease at the end of the menstrual cycle.
Eaten in moderation, sugar is probably fine. But in excess, it promotes cavities, causes pimples or acne, weight gain, even heart disease. And, yes, sugary foods can make menopause worse. Put simply, sugar and menopause don't mix well.
“Drinking caffeine can increase estrogen levels in women, sometimes leading to an estrogen dominant state,” says Odelia Lewis, MD, a medical contributor to ABC News Medical Unit. “Estrogen dominance is associated with premenstrual syndrome, heavy periods, fibrocystic breasts, and even certain breast cancers.
Tomatoes, kiwi, citrus fruits, cantaloupe, peaches, artichokes, bananas, asparagus, corn and cauliflower all boast great levels of vitamin C and they possess the phytoestrogen power you might be looking for to boost your estrogen.
Exercise regularly. Research suggests that exercise can help to reduce high estrogen levels. Premenopausal women who engage in aerobic exercise for five hours a week or more saw their estrogen levels drop by nearly 19%. Cardio exercise helps the body break estrogen down and flush away any excess.
Products like eggs or milk contain high estrogen levels because they are produced in parts of the animal's body that regulate its hormones. Eating high estrogen foods can help people who suffer from various conditions related to low estrogen levels.
Green tea: Green tea contains catechins, which may help metabolize estrogen and lower excess levels in the body.
Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream, enhances your brain's use of glucose and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues.
While fasting blood glucose could still be in the normal range, it is taking increasing amounts of insulin to keep it there. As insulin resistance develops, and insulin becomes increasingly ineffective to bring blood sugars down, blood sugars will eventually rise too high.
Each of the hormones has distinct functions. Glucagon increases blood glucose levels, whereas insulin decreases them. Somatostatin inhibits both, glucagon and insulin release,6 whereas PP regulates the exocrine and endocrine secretion activity of the pancreas.