8 Causes of Estrogen Dominance

To conceive successfully, estrogen is important. But did you know that high level of estrogen might just ruin it all if you are trying to conceive naturally or putting all your bets on IVF. Estrogen levels hold tremendous importance because they are necessary for the proper functioning of the uterus in women, while in men it is important to maintain sperm levels. Healthy embryos fail to implant themselves in the uterus when a woman’s estrogen level is too high.

In men, it may lead to weak erections or erectile dysfunction and infertility. There are many factors that lead to a high level of estrogen, which is also called Estrogen Dominance. Some of them are poor diet, stress, obesity, unsafe drinking water, and exposure to estrogen in the environment. These factors cause an estrogen imbalance in the body and adversely affect fertility both in men and women. 

So if you are planning to conceive through IVF or naturally, it is important to eliminate the following factors for a healthy estrogen balance in the body.

Factors for a Healthy Estrogen Balance in the Body

1. High-Estrogen Foods

It is one of the major sources of estrogen. Soy foods, caffeine, pesticides, insecticides, and animal products loaded with growth hormones interfere with natural hormonal balance in the body.

2. Unhygienic Water

Heavily polluted with hormone-disrupting compounds, including an unknown number of industrial chemicals or disposal of plastics and chemicals in landfills, unhygienic water can wreak havoc on the hormonal balance in the body.

3. Personal Care Products

Personal care products such as cosmetics, lotions, shampoo, soaps, toothpaste, and other body care products contain parabens, phenoxyethanol, and phthalates that have estrogenic activity. The exposure to such products can quickly add up to the estrogen load in the body.

4. Plastic Products

Plastic in all its forms, including water bottles, food wraps, and storage containers, contains hormone-disrupting xenoestrogens that cause major problems for your health.

5. Birth Control

Estrogen is included in a combination of oral birth control pills without the necessary progesterone to maintain a healthy hormone balance. Use of birth pills thickens the cervical mucus. But as far as estrogen dominance is concerned, it is a direct source of synthetic estrogen.

6. Chronic Stress

When one is chronically stressed, the body begins to use the sex hormone progesterone to make cortisol. These falling levels of progesterone lead to estrogen dominance and hence, it becomes difficult to conceive.

7. Body Fat

Fat tissues absorb and store estrogen circulating in your bloodstream. Having high levels of estrogen also prompts the body to make more fat cells, which then produce even more estrogen, creating a vicious cycle where fat tissues and estrogen feed each other.

8. Gut Imbalance

A leaky gut and other gut imbalances can impact estrogen and other hormones by disrupting estrobolome, the gut bacteria that metabolize estrogens. The culprits that create gut imbalances and disrupt hormonal balance include a poor diet, inadequate sleep, chronic stress, antibiotic overuse, and certain medications like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Cheers,

Lovneet