Lara Briden - The Period Revolutionary
Leading the change to better periods and hormones
Estrogen dominance means high estrogen compared to progesterone. It’s a real condition and, at the same time, not a very helpful term. There are better ways to discuss estrogen and progesterone balance.
High estrogen can contribute to heavy periods, breast pain, fibroids, and premenstrual mood symptoms. It can also suppress thyroid function and increase the risk of breast cancer.
To lower estrogen, you need to understand all the types of estrogen and why they’re high.
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In your forties, you may find you don’t cope as well with stress. It happens because losing progesterone during perimenopause can destabilize the HPA (adrenal) axis or stress response system.
This recalibration of the nervous system is why perimenopause is associated with an increased risk of anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
A menstrual cycle is, by definition, an ovulatory cycle in which ovulation is the main event and progesterone is made.
Any other kind of bleed is either an anovulatory bleed or a pill-bleed — neither of which are real menstrual cycles. Ovulatory cycles are the only way to make progesterone which is important for general health, not just for making a baby.
Phytoestrogens are a special group of phytonutrients that occur naturally in most plant foods. The two major classes are isoflavones in soy, and lignans in seeds, whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.
They’re called phytoestrogens because they interact with estrogen receptors but they’re not estrogen. In fact, they bind so weakly to estrogen receptors that they effectively block estradiol and are therefore better categorized as anti-estrogen.