Signs of estrogen dominance include:

PMS

Painful periods

Acne

Bloating

Irritability

Fatigue

Headaches

Low libido

Hair loss

Depression

Anxiety

Sore breast tissue and fibrocystic breasts

Endometriosis

Infertility

 

 

If these symptoms are part of your struggle, it may be helpful to  look upstream at root causes and one important yet often overlooked connection is tied directly to your GI health.

 

What is the estrobolome and how is it connected to the microbiome?

 Your microbiome is directly connected to your estrobolome via the microbial community that lives inside you. The population of microbes that occupy your GI system also colonize your bladder and reproductive organs. 

 

Estrogen is produced in the ovaries, adrenal glads and fat cells and circulate in the bloodstream before they are broken down in the liver. This is known as phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification of estrogen. 

It is through this process that estrogen get packaged up to be eliminated through stool.

This is where the estrobolome gets involved. AKA phase 3 of detoxification.  

 

Heres the kicker. Your estrobolome contains organisms that either aids in the removal of estrogen or interferes with estrogen removal which then recirculates estrogen and leads to a host of estrogen related imbalances. 

This process involves an enzyme called betaglucuronidase which is produced by the microbes that live in your gut. High betaglucuronidase levels are directly connected with an unbalanced microbiome and will aid in the reabsorption of estrogen rather than help your body to release it via the stool. This is no beuno!

 

This process often is connected to estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance effects both women and men and is the result of unhealthy levels of estrogen circulating in the tissues.  When estrogen becomes dominant, there is a lower amount of progesterone in circulation. This leads to many hormone imbalances.  

 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28778332/

 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28778332/

 

9 Ways to Support your Estrobolome

We are over six weeks into the COVID 19 quarantine. I have been home with my three kids, managing my business online in a time warp that feels endless. During this time, our normal patterns of life have been severely disrupted. Our sleep wake cycles have been dramatically altered. We are staying up late and getting up even later. The transition to online school has caused screentime to increase by 80% easily even though we live in nature and are free to spend time outside. Eating and snacking habits are also off. We eat later in the day and snacking is more frequent.

Feedback from clients indicates that they are experiencing similar circumstances. Common complaints include insomnia, excessive sugar and carb intake, and a increase in the use of alcohol and other mood altering substances.  Mood issues such as anxiety, loneliness and depression are a common theme. As a result weight gain and lethargy are becoming more of a concern than before.

As the COVID 19 crisis unfurls, I have been paying close attention to the research and words of advice from  a few well respected functional medicine doctors in the field. 

 

Recently I watched Dr Ben Lynch, an author and well known methylation and nutrigenomics specialist, loose his cool in a video he put out on social media pertaining to why so many older people are dying of COVID 19. Dr Ben Lynch emphatically stated that one of the main reasons why both people with fragile immune systems and older people seem to be getting sicker is tied to the inability to regulate pro-inflammatory chemicals or cytokines. This is especially evident with the COVID 19 pandemic and its effects on the lungs.