Elevated estrogen levels in women have been linked to conditions such as polyps, fibroids, PCOS, endometriosis pain, and ovarian tumors [1]. Other conditions associated with high estrogen levels include dementia, heart disease, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, insulin resistance, and uterine cancer [4,6].
High estrogen levels can cause symptoms such as irregular or heavy periods, weight gain, fatigue, and fibroids in females.
Body fat: Obesity or excess of body fat can lead to estrogen dominance. These fat tissues store estrogen in the bloodstream, which shoots their levels to cause adverse health issues. Not only this, the fat tissues have the ability to synthesize estrogen from other hormones of the body too.
Estrogen helps protect the heart from disease, potentially by maintaining higher levels of good cholesterol, called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), in your blood. Lower estrogen levels, especially during menopause, can increase your risk of developing heart disease.
The hormone estrogen is responsible for making skin look younger due to the hyaluronic acid it produces. Estrogen not only affects your skin but also your muscle mass, metabolism, and energy levels. Women have more estrogen than men do; men have more testosterone than women do.
When estrogen is balanced, the right amount of fat helps carry out female reproductive functions. However, when there's too little or too much estrogen, weight gain often results. Overweight women typically have high amounts of estrogen, as do women in the first half of pregnancy.
Diets high in red and processed meats may increase estrogen in the body. If your diet's currently high in these foods, consider subbing in other protein sources like beans or fish. Maintain moderate body fat levels. Because fat tissue produces estrogen, losing excess body fat could help reduce estrogen levels.
When the ovaries start to produce and release (secrete) estrogen, fat in the connective tissue starts to collect. This causes the breasts to enlarge. The duct system also starts to grow. Often these breast changes happen at the same that pubic hair and armpit hair appear.
Fatigue and Sleep Issues
Estrogen is intimately linked to serotonin, and serotonin makes melatonin. Melatonin is the primary sleep hormone. This means, if you've been sleeping less and feeling fatigued, you could have low estrogen.
How can I check my hormone levels at home? Blood tests – At-home estrogen blood tests are quick and easy. You just need to prick your finger and collect a small blood sample in a vial. After that, you can send your sample to a lab for testing.
These findings suggest that red wine contains a higher content and/or biologically more active phytoestrogens than does bourbon. The effects of bourbon and red wine congeners on (A) uterus weight and (B) luteinizing hormone (LH) levels of rats whose ovaries had been removed.
Research shows that it can increase estrogen levels. While caffeine is known to give you a quick energy boost, it can also disrupt your hormones, particularly estrogen levels. Estrogen, on the other hand, is a vital hormone for the female body, responsible for everything from reproductive health to bone strength.
Such diets include Western-type diets, which are characterized by the consumption of red meat, processed foods, dairy, sugary stuff, and refined grains (1, 47). Not only do these diets increase the levels of estrogen, but they have also been linked to increased risk of obesity and breast cancer (4, 8, 11, 14, 24, 29).
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.
Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone all affect sexual desire and arousal. Having higher levels of estrogen in the body promotes vaginal lubrication and increases sexual desire. Increases in progesterone can reduce sexual desire. There is some debate around how testosterone levels affect female sex drive.
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. The estrogen in your body is left unchecked by progesterone.
“High-estradiol women were considered significantly more physically attractive by themselves and others,” Durante and colleagues wrote. The high-estrogen women also reported more sexual behavior -- especially outside of a relationship, although it was not linked to one-night stands.
Many women notice an increase in belly fat as they get older even if they don't gain weight. This is likely due to a lower level of estrogen because estrogen seems to have an effect on where fat is located in the body. Genes can contribute to an individual's chances of being overweight or obese too.
“Women also become more estrogen-dominant as we move into perimenopause and beyond. Estrogen dominance promotes insulin resistance, which causes the belly fat build-up,” she says.
Recent studies show that menopausal women on hormone therapy tend to have less body fat, especially visceral belly fat. Because estrogen affects how your body distributes fat, low estrogen levels can contribute to gaining fat in your belly area.
Overall, you may gain or lose weight once you begin hormone therapy, depending on your diet, lifestyle, genetics and muscle mass. Your eyes and face will begin to develop a more feminine appearance as the fat under the skin increases and shifts.