Estrogen Dominance for Women…and Men

hormones
by Glen Depke, Traditional Naturopath Most think that estrogen dominance is a female issue but this can be a challenge for men too. Let’s first look at estrogen dominance. This would be defined as an elevated level of estrogen hormones in the body, regardless of this accumulation showing up in the blood but also the tissue of the body. Based on viewing thousands of hormone saliva test kits through my career, I can share that very often estrogen levels will be fine, or even low, according to blood testing, yet you can take that same person, showing estrogen dominance with a saliva test because of the build up of estrogen hormones in the tissue of the body. That’s an issue! If there is a build up of estrogen in the tissue, this is a risk factor for breast cancer in women and prostrate and/or breast cancer for men. Yes, breast cancer for men too! I have seen many women in the past that have been put on estrogen creams, only to find this leading to a potentially dangerous build up of estrogen in the tissue. That’s a serious consideration for all the women out there on bio-identical estrogen creams. I have seen countless women that are using estrogen creams, and interestingly enough, are still showing low levels of estrogen hormones based on blood testing, yet they have elevated levels of estrogen in the tissue. As example, one woman that was postmenopausal and put on estrogen creams by another practitioner. Yet when we testing this via saliva, her level was above 30, and it should have been between 1 – 3. And her blood showed low normal. Yikes! Unfortunately, I see this all the time… There is often another challenge with men that are taking testosterone. Most often if a man visits their doctor complaining of a low sex drive, poor motivation and fatigue, that doctor will recommend to test testosterone levels. This makes logical sense because many men complaining of these symptoms would actually be struggling with low testosterone. The result will typically show low levels of testosterone and this gentleman will be put on testosterone creams. 23721729-f984-4295-a8ae-eb3ecb9ed782         The challenge though is that many times this testosterone is converted into estrogen due to an overproduction of an enzyme called aromatase. So in the end, this added testosterone often is not increasing testosterone, but actually increasing estrogen. Yikes again! I have seen many men converting testosterone into estrogen even if they are not using a testosterone cream. And as mentioned earlier, this is a risk factor for prostate and breast cancer for men. Some signs that men can pay attention to is increase development of fatty tissue near their chest and perhaps unusual mood swings. I also want to note that women can also overproduce aromatase, thus leading to the conversion from testosterone into estrogen also, leaving you with this estrogen dominance. Many people will ask why the aromatase would be overproduced and that answer is simple. This is due to the fact that this production is tied into elevated insulin levels. High insulin is driven but eating too much sugar or processed foods and also by stress levels. And heck, who isn’t stressed out these days, right? There are a couple of key points to make with this today.
  1. If you are wondering about hormone levels in the tissue of the body and not just your blood, saliva testing is what you are looking for.
  2. When there are deeper issues with hormones such as testosterone and estrogen, this is typically a deeper adrenal fatigue issue that has to be addressed. This is why we always test adrenal function with our clients.
  3. If you are looking to assist your body in lowering aromatase, thus helping your body in halting the conversion of testosterone to estrogen, I have never seen anything better than Myomin. This is a fantastic product that I have seen help many women, and men, in assisting with hormone balance via an aromatase inhibitor.
So the next time you are looking at estrogen, don’t only look at blood. You may be missing some essential and potentially life altering information. For men, if you are low in testosterone, check your adrenal function first and if you are using a testosterone cream, take a look with saliva testing. Trust me, you don’t want to start living into elevated estrogen.23721729-f984-4295-a8ae-eb3ecb9ed782         If you have any comments or questions regarding this article please post this on our Facebook page or on our Twitter page for us to address personally. Contact Depke Wellness directly here. “The products on this page have not been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”

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