Top Common Signs & Symptoms of High Estrogen
If you are experiencing weight gain, premenstrual symptoms, heavy or irregular periods, headaches, migraines, fatigue, mood swings, and irritability, you may be dealing with high estrogen symptoms.
Elevated estrogen levels and estrogen dominance are common underlying issues behind many women’s health problems. Yet, most people still don’t know about the problems with high estrogen. We want to change this today and discuss common signs and symptoms of high estrogen and what to do to reduce your high estrogen symptoms.
What is Estrogen?
Estrogen is one of the two major female sex hormones, along with progesterone. Though it is a female sex hormone, men have estrogen too, though in smaller amounts (1).
Estrogen plays a role in the female menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause in women and the reproductive health of both sexes. It is necessary for the development of secondary sex characteristics, such as breasts and wider hips in women. Estrogen is critical for thyroid function, overall hormonal health, metabolism, brain function, mental well-being, skin health, bone health, and more.
The Problem with High Estrogen Levels
So, what is the problem with high estrogen?
Estrogen plays a vital role in both men and women, but an imbalance can cause a range of health issues. Symptoms and health complaints related to high estrogen may include weight gain, fatigue, mood swings, menstrual irregularities, and infertility (2, 3, 4, 5). Chronically elevated estrogen may increase the risk of other hormonal imbalances, breast cancer, uterine cancer, blood clots, and other women’s health issues (6, 7, 8).
High estrogen levels can result from various factors, including obesity, liver dysfunction, other hormonal imbalances, genetics, hormonal therapies, exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and other environmental influences.
Improving high estrogen symptoms and supporting hormonal balance typically involves dietary changes, lifestyle strategies, and functional medicine approaches to address underlying health issues. At the end of this article, you will learn about our recommendations for high estrogen symptoms.
Estrogen Dominance vs. High Estrogen Levels
High estrogen levels can also lead to estrogen dominance and hormonal imbalance, characterized by the imbalance of estrogen and progesterone. Progesterone is the other hormone that plays a critical role in your thyroid health, nervous system function, and keeping inflammation levels at bay.
Estrogen and progesterone work together to maintain hormonal health and homeostasis. In a healthy body, estrogen and progesterone need to be in a healthy balance. Any imbalance can lead to issues. If your estrogen levels are too high in comparison to progesterone, it means that you have estrogen dominance (9, 10).
Estrogen dominance may occur if your body is making too much estrogen and too little progesterone, or if you have increased estrogen levels through diet, environmental toxicity, or stress. While estrogen dominance is often characterized by high estrogen levels and high estrogen symptoms, it can also occur with normal estrogen levels.
If your progesterone levels are too low, even normal estrogen levels can seem too high in comparison, throwing off hormonal balance. While high estrogen is characterized by elevated estrogen levels, estrogen dominance is characterized by an imbalance between hormones, not just high estrogen alone.
Common Symptoms of High Estrogen
Let’s look at common high estrogen symptoms.
Physical High Estrogen Symptoms
The physical symptoms of high estrogen may include:
- Weight gain and increased body fat, especially in the abdomen area
- Bloating
- Premenstrual symptoms (PMS)
- Irregular, heavy, or otherwise abnormal uterine bleeding
- Breast tenderness, soreness, or swelling
- Headaches and migraines
- Low libido
- Infertility and miscarriages
Emotional High Estrogen Symptoms
The emotional symptoms of high estrogen may include:
- Mood swings
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Concentration troubles
- Memory problems
- Fatigue
- Insomnia or disturbed sleep
Causes of High Estrogen
Let’s look at the causes of high estrogen and high estrogen symptoms.
Environmental Factors
Environmental factors are among the major causes of high estrogen and related symptoms. Among environmental risk factors, xenoestrogens are the biggest ones. These synthetic chemicals mimic estrogen and can significantly contribute to elevated estrogen levels and related health issues (11, 12).
Xenoestrogens and endocrine disruptors can be found in plastics, pesticides, conventional cleaning products, conventional personal care products, and even some foods. Bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, and parabens in plastics are common xenoestrogens that can increase estrogenic activity and disrupt your body’s natural hormonal balance.
Drinking from plastic bottles, using conventional household products, and consuming non-organic produce can lead to prolonged xenoestrogen exposure. Over time, this accumulation of xenoestrogens in the body may result in hormonal imbalances and health issues related to high estrogen levels.
Lifestyle Factors
Besides environmental xenoestrogens and endocrine disruptors, certain lifestyle factors may also increase estrogen levels. Following a poor diet high in refined sugar, refined oils, and ultra-processed foods can interfere with estrogen metabolism and hormonal balance, leading to elevated estrogen levels and estrogen dominance (13).
Chronic stress can increase cortisol levels, which may further interfere with the regulation of estrogen (14). Leading a sedentary lifestyle can lower your body’s ability to flush out excess estrogen through the liver, kidneys, and digestive system (13). If your body cannot properly detoxify from estrogen, it can lead to estrogen accumulation, leading to all kinds of estrogen-related health concerns.
How Too Much Estrogen Affects Health
High estrogen can affect your health in many ways. It can result in a number of symptoms and health issues.
Hormonal and Reproductive Health Issues
Elevated estrogen levels may increase the risk of sexual and reproductive health issues. High estrogen has been linked to irregular menstrual cycles, breast tenderness, and other hormonal symptoms (15, 16). It may increase the risk of fibroids (17).
It may also increase the risk of estrogen-dependent conditions, including endometriosis, and certain types of cancers, including breast, endometrial, and uterine cancer (18, 19, 20). It may also lead to weight gain, water retention, thyroid dysfunction, and other hormonal issues, further compromising your overall health (21, 22).
Mood Imbalances
When estrogen levels rise too high, it may also impact your mental and brain health. Estrogen influences certain neurotransmitters in your brain, including serotonin and dopamine. Since these neurotransmitters help to regulate your mood, any disruption due to elevated estrogen levels may result in mood imbalances.
This may lead to increased emotional sensitivity, heightened nervousness, mood swings, irritability, anxiety, and depression (23, 24). You may have increased difficulty managing stress, concentrating on tasks, or remembering things (24, 25).
Natural Ways to Balance Estrogen Levels
Now that you know everything about high estrogen, let’s look at the best natural ways to balance your estrogen levels. Here are our top tips for improving hormonal balance and reducing high estrogen symptoms without hormone therapy.
Diet, Exercise, and Lifestyle
Diet, exercise, and lifestyle are all important for estrogen balance.
Improve Your Nutrition
To support hormonal balance and reduce high estrogen symptoms, we recommend improving your diet. Follow an anti-inflammatory, hormone-balancing nutrition plan. Remove inflammatory foods from your diet, including sugar, refined vegetable oils, conventional dairy, deep-fried food, junk foods, and any ultra-processed foods.
Instead, we recommend a healthy diet rich in greens, vegetables, herbs, spices, sprouts, fermented foods, fruits, nuts, seeds, grass-fed meat, pasture-raised poultry and eggs, wild-caught fish and seafood, and wild game. Additionally, cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, and radishes, and fiber-rich foods, are great for estrogen balance (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32).
Estrogen-balancing herbs and teas, including maca, chasteberry, milk thistle, dandelion, nettle, and green tea, may also support estrogen detoxification and hormonal balance (33, 34, 34, 35, 36, 37). You may add these herbs to your diet in the form of seasoning in your dishes, teas, and herbal supplements.
Finally, when it comes to diet, we can’t forget about proper hydration (38). Upon waking, drink 16 to 32 ounces of water. You may add some lemon for taste and digestive support. Drink a glass of water every one to two hours, drinking at least ten 8 oz glasses a day. Choose purified water or spring water over tap water.
Reduce Toxins
Reduce your environmental toxin exposure, especially to synthetic or natural chemical compounds that mimic the effects of estrogen, called xenoestrogens (39, 40, 41). Xenoestrogens can be found in plastics, especially bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates, pesticides, conventional personal hygiene and cleaning products, non-stick cookware, synthetic fabrics, and some pharmaceuticals.
Choose organic, natural, and homemade products instead of chemical-filled conventional options. Use a high-quality air filtration and water purification system to reduce exposure to toxins in your indoor air and tap water.
Improve your Gut and Liver
Since improving your gut microbiome can reduce the risk of estrogen-related diseases, we recommend supporting your gut microbiome health with prebiotic-rich foods, including apples, garlic, onions, leek, Jerusalem artichokes, and dandelion greens, probiotic-rich fermented foods, including sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, and kombucha, and probiotic supplements (42).
We recommend that you support your major detoxifying organs, especially your liver. Garlic, turmeric, green tea, cruciferous vegetables, and Epsom salt baths are all great options to flush out excess estrogen (43, 44, 45, 46, 47).
Move Your Body
Move your body regularly to support estrogen metabolism, hormonal balance, and endocrine function (48, 49). Move your body daily throughout the day by incorporating short walks, stretching, light yoga, impromptu dance sessions, and other easy movement.
Exercise at least five days a week for 20 to 30 minutes by incorporating cardiovascular exercise, strength and resistance training, and low-impact workouts. Strength and resistance training, such as weight lifting, body weight exercise, kettlebell training, and TRX, are particularly important for estrogen balance and reducing estrogen-related issues (50).
Manage Your Stress
Finally, estrogen is also closely linked to your stress response, emotion regulation, and cognition (51). So it’s incredibly important that you also reduce your stress levels. Meditation, breathwork, guided relaxation strategies, mindfulness practices, and gratitude practice may help to relax your mind and body and help you respond to stress better.
Journaling may help to get your thoughts on paper, release negative emotions, or recognize negative thought patterns. Working with a therapist may help to improve trauma, depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues. It may help to learn coping mechanisms to manage everyday stress better.
Functional Medicine
Making dietary and lifestyle changes on your own can be daunting. If you are unsure what underlying health issues you are dealing with, you may not be making the right changes or using the correct supplements.
This is when functional medicine comes into place. Working with a functional medicine doctor can help you figure out the root cause behind your high estrogen levels and symptoms through appropriate testing. Visiting a functional health clinic can provide personalized treatment plans to address hormonal imbalances.
When to Seek Professional Help
If your high estrogen symptoms persist or worsen, it’s important to seek guidance from a healthcare provider. Professional support can become necessary if you are experiencing irregular periods, unexplained weight gain, severe mood swings, or other persistent symptoms.
A functional medicine provider can evaluate your hormone levels, test for underlying health issues, and recommend appropriate treatment options. Functional Medicine Atlanta offers holistic approaches to managing hormonal imbalances.
Take a Natural Alternative to Hormone Replacement Therapy
High estrogen can significantly impact both physical and emotional health, but with the right care and lifestyle changes, balance can be restored. Consulting a naturopathic doctor in Atlanta or a functional medicine specialist for an estrogen test can be an effective way to address underlying causes.
If you are experiencing high estrogen symptoms, other chronic symptoms, or complex health issues, our practitioners can help you find the root cause of your issues, address these underlying imbalances naturally, and regain your health and well-being. We invite you to set up an appointment with our office here.