Body fat: Fat tissue (adipose tissue) secretes estrogen. Having a high percentage of body fat can lead to high estrogen levels. Stress: Your body produces the hormone cortisol in response to stress. Producing high amounts of cortisol in response to stress can deplete your body's ability to produce progesterone.
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.
“Drinking caffeine can increase estrogen levels in women, sometimes leading to an estrogen dominant state,” says Odelia Lewis, MD, a medical contributor to ABC News Medical Unit. “Estrogen dominance is associated with premenstrual syndrome, heavy periods, fibrocystic breasts, and even certain breast cancers.
Research shows that avocados can help reduce the absorption of estrogen and boost testosterone levels. They also improve heart health and aid in satiety. We need enough healthy fats to make hormones, and avocados are a great source of hormone building blocks.
Products like eggs or milk contain high estrogen levels because they are produced in parts of the animal's body that regulate its hormones. Eating high estrogen foods can help people who suffer from various conditions related to low estrogen levels.
The Hypothalamus and the Pituitary
It is released in a rhythmic fashion every 60 to 120 minutes. GnRH stimulates the pituitary gland to produce follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), the hormone responsible for starting follicle (egg) development and causing the level of estrogen, the primary female hormone, to rise.
What causes low estrogen levels? The most common cause of low estrogen is age. It's natural for your estrogen levels to fall as you get older. Low levels unrelated to menopause may be a sign of a condition.
Natural estrogen blockers:
Some examples of natural estrogen blockers include wild nettle root, maca, chrysin, and grape seed extract. These substances contain compounds that act as natural estrogen blockers and may be used to regulate the production of the hormone.
If your estrogen levels are too high or too low, then magnesium can help bring them back to stable levels, which will positively impact testosterone and progesterone.
It's very important to know which estrogen dominance foods to avoid. You should steer clear of red meats, processed food, refined carbs, and foods rich in saturated fats. These categories of foods have a negative impact on the body in general.
Green tea's estrogen reduction activity may result from tea polyphenols inhibiting aromatase, the key enzyme converting androgens to estrone or estradiol21.
Unsweetened yogurt is a probiotic food and one of the foods to balance estrogen. Yogurt is fermented dairy milk by adding live cultures into the milk that will ferment the sugar in the milk called lactose.
Packed within cruciferous veggies are phytochemicals that block the production of estrogen, allowing them to be an effective addition to an anti-estrogen diet. This group of vegetables includes kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and arugula.
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.
Oral estrogens.
Vitamin C may increase the levels of ethinyl estradiol in your body.
Estrogen helps protect the heart from disease, potentially by maintaining higher levels of good cholesterol, called high-density lipoprotein (HDL), in your blood. Lower estrogen levels, especially during menopause, can increase your risk of developing heart disease.