Estrogen is one of the sex hormones both females and males have. It is the hormone that creates many of the female sex characteristics we are familiar with such as breasts, wider hips, and pubic hair. Estrogen plays an essential role in a healthy female cycle, reproduction and pregnancy. It’s needed for bone and heart health, energy and vitality, and it’s the hormone that drops off after menopause, hence the associated discomfort. 

Too much estrogen, or toxic forms of estrogen, can lead to:

• Breast Cancer
• Endometriosis
• Fibrocystic Breasts
• Painful Periods
• Low Libido
• Mood Swings
• Weight Gain
• Fatigue
• Migraines 

We obviously don’t want to experience symptoms like these, but estrogen dominance is a sign that something is not right. There are many factors that play with this hormonal imbalance, such as genetics and epigenetic factors, liver detoxification imbalances, our body’s preference on which hormones turn into estrogen or not, environmental toxicity, dietary choices, and gut health!

Two main situations can lead to high estrogen. The first is if too much estrogen or synthetic estrogens are coming into or are being made in the body. The second is if not enough estrogen is leaving the body and that’s likely due to gut health, as it’s involved with the elimination of the hormone.

To read more about all-things menstrual, check out our Period Matters blog. We've also got free eBooks chalk-full of expert tips on Endometriosis, dysmenorrhea (the medical term for painful periods...eek!), hormonal acne and a whole lot more. Our seed syncing can help you balance your hormones naturally, shop our organic moon seeds or moon bites.

This is an excerpt from a post written by Dr. Leah Gordon, ND, an expert in root-cause medicine, dedicated to uncovering the sources of hormonal, gut, and sex drive imbalances, with a love for supporting women prior to pregnancy. Check her out on Instagram. Abridged content curated and edited by Nayla Al-Mamlouk.