Do You Have Too Much Estrogen? Imbalance Can Cause Weight Gain

by Dr. Natasha Turner May 6th 2010 3:05AM

Categories: Advice, Happiness, Health, Hormone Diet

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Natasha Turner, N.D. is a Toronto-based naturopathic doctor. She is the founder of the Clear Medicine wellness boutique and author of the bestselling book The Hormone Diet. Each week in her column for That's Fit.ca, Dr. Turner advises readers on how to remedy common health issues as well as improve their overall health.


Last week's column on 8 Hormonal Imbalances That Stop You From Losing Weight received a lot of feedback so I've decided to follow it up over the coming weeks with discussions on the cause and natural treatment options for each of the eight conditions. This week's topic: Estrogen Dominance.

Estrogen balance is essential for achieving and maintaining fat loss. In men and premenopausal women, too much estrogen, a condition called estrogen dominance causes toxic fat gain, water retention, bloating and a host of other health and wellness issues. While premenopausal women with too much estrogen tend to have the pear-shape body type with more weight at the hips, both men and menopausal women with this excess exhibit an apple shape with more fat accumulation in the abdominal area. Researchers have now identified excess estrogen to be just as great a risk factor for obesity – in both sexes – as poor eating habits and lack of exercise.

Estrogen dominance can also be an issue for men, as testosterone and progesterone naturally decline with age or stress, and estrogen conversely rises. This hormonal shift impacts not only the physique but also prostate health. Statistics show that shockingly high numbers of men who live to the age of 65 and older will develop prostate cancer, likely due to estrogen exposure.

Causes of Estrogen Dominance after the jump


There are only two ways to accumulate excess estrogen in the body: we either produce too much of it on our own or acquire it from our environment or diet. Unfortunately, accumulating estrogen is not hard. We are constantly exposed to estrogen-like compounds in foods that contain toxic pesticides, herbicides and growth hormones. Many of these toxins are known to cause weight gain, which serves to fuel the production of more estrogen from our own fat cells. More weight gain then leads to insulin resistance which, you guessed it, increases the risk of estrogen dominance.

Pharmaceutical hormones such as those used in hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) or the birth control pill also increase estrogen, whether we take them actively or absorb them when they make their way into our drinking water. We are living in a virtual sea of harmful estrogens, and researchers are only beginning to identify the extent of this exposure on health in humans and even other species.

What Does Estrogen Dominance Look Like?

If you are a premenopausal woman with estrogen dominance, you likely have PMS, too much body fat around the hips and difficulty losing weight. Perhaps you have a history of gallstones, varicose veins, uterine fibroids, cervical dysplasia, endometriosis or ovarian cysts. For all you men out there, low libido, poor motivation, depression, loss of muscle mass and increased belly fat are big red flags. You may even notice breast development. These symptoms are very similar to those that result from low testosterone, since estrogen dominance is most often accompanied with suboptimal testosterone.

In both sexes, estrogen dominance is thought to be responsible for many types of cancers. This particular hormone imbalance is currently estimated to be one of the leading causes of breast, uterine and prostate cancer.

Use these foods or specific habits to decrease harmful estrogen:
  • Maintain healthy liver function and regular bowel movements to encourage the elimination of estrogen. I have formulated Clear Detox – Hormonal Health and Clear Detox Digestive Health to specifically support this process. For better estrogen balance in both men and women, simply take one pack of the hormonal health in the morning and one in the evening. Each bottle lasts one month and these products can be taken for four months or more.
  • Consume weak phytoestrogenic foods such as pomegranate, flaxseeds, pears, apples, berries, organic non-GMO fermented soy, wheat germ, oats and barley.
  • Eat yogurt and high-fibre foods to aid the breakdown and elimination of estrogen.
  • Choose organic dairy and meat products to reduce your exposure to hormone additives.
  • Add plenty of detoxifying foods to your diet, including broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, beets, carrots, apples, ginger, onions and celery.
  • Avoid alcohol, it spurs the production of harmful estrogen. If you do consume alcohol, always take a 1 mg folic acid and a B complex to reduce its negative effects on your hormonal health.
  • Avoid exposure to xenoestrogens from plastics, cosmetics and the birth control pill.
  • Avoid unfermented soy products like tofu and soy milk.
  • Infrared sauna treatments are an excellent way to rid your body of estrogen.
  • Exercise!

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