Some of the vitamins linked to better estrogen balance include vitamin D, the B complex, and vitamin C. Minerals such as calcium and boron may help protect against the effects of low estrogen, while some herbal supplements, including dong quai and black cohosh, are also known for their hormone-balancing effects.
B Vitamins
Vitamins B2 and B6, in particular, are associated with healthy estrogen levels. In a recent study, for example, researchers tracked levels of B vitamins to the risk of breast cancer in menopausal women.
Hormone replacement therapy (HT) is a common treatment for low estrogen, especially during menopause and postmenopause. With HT, you take synthetic forms of estrogen and/or the hormone progesterone to boost your levels.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study involving postmenopausal, overweight, and obese women who took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D daily for a year found that those whose vitamin D blood levels increased the most had the greatest reductions in blood estrogens, which are a known risk factor for breast cancer.
Magnesium is critical in the making of hormones
Magnesium is needed for the production of hormones such as progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone.
If you're younger than age 45, you need enough estrogen to provide protection against the long-term health effects of estrogen deficiency. If you have lasting menopausal symptoms that significantly impair your quality of life, your doctor may recommend longer term treatment. Seek regular follow-up care.
In the United States, you can only purchase estrogen with a valid prescription. There are OTC options to relieve menopausal symptoms in the form of supplements, vaginal tablets, and creams. The FDA does not regulate supplements. They may also not be as efficient as prescribed medication.
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.
Traditional natural hormone replacement therapies
phytoestrogens, which are dietary estrogens found in legumes, seeds, and whole grains. folate (vitamin B-9 or folic acid) St. John's wort.
Magnesium Glycinate: great for calming, helping with sleep and hormone balance.
Black cohosh, red clover, chaste-tree berry, dong quai, evening primrose, ginkgo, ginseng and licorice are among the most popular herbs for women experiencing problems with menopause. Some of these herbs have powerful hormone-like effects, and women should not assume herbs are harmless.
And the continued low estrogen levels lead to more serious health concerns. The rate of bone loss speeds up, increasing your risk of low bone density, osteopenia and osteoporosis. You also have a higher chance of having a heart attack, stroke or other heart-related issues.
Phytoestrogens are present in many human foodstuffs including fruits (plum, pear, apple grape berries, …), vegetables (beans, sprouts, cabbage, spinach, soybeans, grains, hops, garlic, onion,…), wine, tea, and they have been identified in a number of botanical dietary supplements.
Estrogen can reduce menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. If you have a uterus, you'll likely need to take progesterone along with the estrogen. Estrogen without progesterone increases the risk of uterine cancer.
Zinc can rebalance these hormone levels through its antiandrogenic activity which will raise estrogen and progesterone back to baseline.
Vitamins and minerals that play a role in hormonal balance and managing estrogen deficiency symptoms include B complex, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, and boron. Herbs and dietary supplements, including dong quai, black cohosh, astragalus, and DHEA, may have a more direct effect on low estrogen levels.
The hormonal peaks have been found to occur in the morning for progesterone, in the afternoon for FSH and LH, and during the night for oestradiol. These findings are unlikely to alter the time of day we order female reproductive hormone measurements.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D is actually a hormone that communicates with your other hormones, making it especially essential to help balance hormones. So, ensure you're getting enough vitamin D2 and D3 to ease and prevent hormonal fluctuations.
Oral estrogens.
Vitamin C may increase the levels of ethinyl estradiol in your body.
The combination of D3 and K2 is a powerful one that's ideal for balancing hormones. These two vitamins have a certain synergy that lends itself well to better absorption of the vitamins, not to mention better support for bone and immunity health.