Estrogen dominance is a phrase coined by Dr. John Lee in his book about natural progesterone, which describes how a deficit amount of progesterone, in association with estrogen levels, can result in a myriad of medical problems for women.
The Balancing Act
According to Dr. Lee, if a woman doesn't have any progesterone, or has very little, she will experience problems even if her estrogen level is normal. An excess of estrogen is not the cause of estrogen dominance. It's the lack of progesterone, which is needed to balance the effects of estrogen that creates an unbalance and causes problems to arise.
Estrogen Origins
Women naturally produce estrogen until they go through menopause. Dr. Lee notes that estrogen also comes from the fat and sugar and excess calories that an individual eats and from the estrogen therapy that is sometimes given to women by their physicians. Estrogen dominance can result when the ovaries are not producing the necessary amount of progesterone, according to Yourlifesource.com.
The Need for Ovulation
According to Diagnose-me.com, studies have revealed that some women in their 30s or even younger do not always ovulate during their monthly cycle. When this happens, no progesterone is made and, therefore, isn't present to run inference and subdue the estrogen. As a consequence, a woman can suffer, for an entire month, from the side effects that go along with unfettered estrogen, including rampant PMS.
Anovulatory Cycle
If a woman eats poorly and is stressed out this can result in a vicious cycle of anovulatory cycles, where ovulation never occurs, progesterone is never produced, and the woman is, consequently, on estrogen overload.
Stress and Bad Diet
When progesterone is not produced, some of the stress-combating hormones that a woman would normally produce don't develop. That means she is less able to cope with stress. If a woman's food choices and intake are substandard this may result in failure to ovulate. It's important that young women ovulate regularly to keep their estrogen in check and progesterone in the picture.
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