Hormonal imbalances can trigger monthly pain and bloating, impede our sleep and wreck havoc on our energy and moods. When looking to balance our hormones, the key players are Estrogen and Progesterone. As you may know, Estrogen serves as a stimulating hormone and plays many important roles in the body, ideally as part of a delicate balance with the calming hormone Progesterone. Read on to learn which Essential Oils for estrogen dominance can be used to correct the imbalance.
What is Estrogen Dominance?
The term Estrogen Dominance describes a hormonal imbalance between the levels of estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen Dominance and can throw off other functions in the body and contribute to:
- Salt and fluid retention
- Impaired thyroid function
- Weight Gain or Sluggish metabolism
- Infertility
- Poor sleep/insomnia
- Increased risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancer
- Allergies/Food Intolerances and Gut Permeability
- Insulin resistance
- Autoimmune disorders
- An acceleration of the aging process
What Causes Estrogen Dominance?
Estrogen dominance can result from a deficiency in progesterone which is common in anyone who suffers from prolonged stress. This is because progesterone and the stress hormone cortisol share the same precursor ingredient, pregnenolone. The body priorities the stress response necessarily for survival over all other bodily functions and will literally steal the pregnenolone that was earmarked to make progesterone to make the cortisol necessary for survival, depleting the progesterone reserves and tipping the hormonal balance in favor of estrogen dominance. It is important to address ongoing stress in the effort to support estrogen dominance.
Impaired detoxification can also contribute to excess estrogen in the system. It requires a lot of effort and energy to eliminate estrogen from the body with the liver playing a key role. If the liver is fatigued or overburdened with other toxins, Estrogen can recirculate in the bloodstream. Estrogen is a long-acting hormone and will repeatedly deliver its chemical messages to the cells until it is successfully removed. If things are working properly, estrogen is also excreted in the feces. Some estrogen is packaged into bile, where it is excreted into the small intestines during digestion. There, the estrogen is eliminated as part of solid waste. If there is constipation or slow transit time, the estrogen can be reabsorbed by the body and sent into recirculation.
Essential Oils for Estrogen Dominance
Estrogen Balance™ is designed to support the liver with the gentle mobilization of estrogen. Estrogen Balance™ works best when applied over the liver (on the right side of the body under the breast) in combination with castor oil before bed. It is important to use it combination with a binding agent such as chia seeds, psyllium, or a supplement like BIND.
Adrenal®: The adrenal glands help determine and regulate the body’s stress response by secreting the stress hormones cortisol, which like progesterone, requires the precursor ingredient pregnenolone. Since the body priorities the stress response over all other bodily functions, it is important to down regulate the need for cortisol in order to increase the supply of progesterone and balance your hormones. Applying Adrenal® blend over the adrenal glands (back of the body, one fist up from the 12th rib), can help to increase the body’s ability to adapt to stress and reduce the demand for cortisol production at the expense of progesterone.
Hypothalamus™– The hypothalamus is a pearl size region of the brain located just above the brainstem that serves as the control center for the entire endocrine system, including all your hormones and your adrenals. The hypothalamus determines how much cortisol is in the blood, so balancing the hypothalamus can help manage cortisol spikes. The Hypothalamus™ blend supports the brain to send and receive the messages from the body necessary to facilitate appropriate hormonal responses.
Gallbladder™ – Excess estrogen can make the bile from the gallbladder too thick and less able to efficiently detoxify excess hormones. Gallbladder™ helps mobilize the toxins out of the body. Apply over the gallbladder (on the right side of the body under the breast.
Liver™ – Your liver also helps to regulate the balance of hormones in your body, by both producing the cholesterol, the precursor necessary for the creation of hormones, and breaking down and removing excess hormones from your body. Your liver helps to transform and eliminate excess of hormones, including sex hormones, thyroid hormones, cortisone and other adrenal hormones from the body. Your liver functions in your body in much the same way a pool filter functions in a pool. Just as a pool filter cleans a pool by catching the dead leaves, dirt and insects, the liver detoxifies your body from harmful toxins and excess hormones.
If the liver cannot do this properly, excess hormones can build up in your system and lead to hormonal imbalances like estrogen dominance. Here’s what this looks like. Once estrogen has done its job in the body, it is sent to the liver so it can be broken down and removed through the colon. Unfortunately, if your liver is congested or overwhelmed, then it is unable to function optimally and thus cannot remove estrogen at its normal rate. Estrogen is not metabolized properly and can be reabsorbed back into the body, contributing to symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, weight gain, irritability, low libido and depression.
Excessive hormonal build up in your body further taxes and overwhelms your liver, contributing to a viscous cycle of hormone imbalance. What’s more, if too many excess “used” hormones float around in your bloodstream, your hypothalamus might fail to signal the pituitary gland to send out fresh hormones. Supporting your liver with essential oils can help to improve its vitality and capacity to support hormonal balance. Apply 2- 3 drops of Liver™ directly over your liver (right side of body, under your breast) upon waking and before bed to help improve liver function and with it, hormonal balance.
Other Contributing Factors To Estrogen Dominance
- Excess body fat (greater than 28%) – (in postmenopausal women, estrogen is made in the fat cells; excess fat cells make excess estrogen.)
- A low-fiber diet with excess refined carbohydrates, sugar and processed food as these are both deficient in nutrients and high quality fats and lead to a depletion of magnesium.
- Increase in coffee consumption. Caffeine is linked with higher estrogen levels. Studies show that women who consume 500 milligrams of caffeine daily, the equivalent of four or five cups of coffee, had nearly 70% more estrogen during the early follicular phase than women who consume no more than 100 mg of caffeine daily, or less than one cup of coffee.
- Impaired immune function
- Environmental agents, like exposure to Xenohormones (non-human hormones, synthetic/non—bio-identical hormones, oral or injected contraceptives, chemicals and plastics with hormonal properties)
- Impaired Detoxification
- Consumption of trans-fats, like margarine, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils as real fats are the building blocks for hormones
- Nutritional deficiencies, especially magnesium, zinc, copper and B complex vitamins as these nutrients are necessary for the neutralization of estrogen in the liver. Too much estrogen also tends to create deficiencies of zinc, magnesium and B vitamins.
- Luteal Insufficiency, or insufficient ovarian progesterone production, i.e. poor Corpus Luteum making too little progesterone)
- Anovulatory cycles (cycles where menstruation occurs, but no ovulation, and therefore no ovarian progesterone is produced)
- The aging process – When the menstrual cycle is normal, estrogen is the dominant hormone for the first two weeks leading up to ovulation. Estrogen is balanced by progesterone during the last two weeks. As a woman enters perimenopause and stops ovulating, estrogen can often go unopposed.
- Thyroid Dysfunction – The body requires adequate thyroid hormones to synthesize progesterone. Also, thyroid hormone is required by the liver to deactivate estrogen.
- Liver diseases. Liver diseases such as cirrhosis from excessive alcohol intake reduce the breakdown of estrogen. Taking drugs that can impair liver function may also contribute to a higher level of estrogen.
Resources
Ready to get started? Click the links below to order today:
- Adrenal® available here
- Estrogen Balance™ available here
- Gallbladder™ available here
- Hypothalamus™ available here
- Liver™ available here
