Many of my patients tell me that, before they began my
regimen of bio-identical
hormone therapies and recommended supplements, January was
always the most depressing month of the year. Once the
holidays were over, they would find themselves feeling
emotionally overdrawn. There would be the stress of cleaning
up after relatives, daring to try to balance the check book
and preparing for a wave of New Year's to-do lists. To make
matters worse, both men and women would complain to me that
holiday treats had caused a few pounds to be added to their
hips but - despite New Year's resolutions - the pounds just
seemed stuck to stay. Sound familiar?
If January has you all "weighted down," more than likely
there is something going on in your body at the cellular level
that is making you feel lethargic and also compounding your
weight gain. If you are 40+, the odds are that you are
suffering from a condition called estrogen dominance. This
condition occurs when the estrogen levels in your body become
out of balance with the body's levels of progesterone and
testosterone.
As you are probably aware, elevated estrogen levels can
occur as a result of aging. What you may not be aware of is
how body fat can feed a cycle of estrogen dominance. If you
are overweight, you are at higher risk of being estrogen
dominant. Let me explain. In addition to the human ovaries,
testes and adrenal glands, the body's fatty tissues also make
and store estrogen. If you are overweight, your body is
converting an adrenal steroid, androstenedione, found in body
fat into more estrogen.
This is how this negative cycle of estrogen dominance and
weight gain occurs:
1. Natural decline of progesterone hormone production
typically begins in the mid-30s resulting in a condition of
estrogen dominance.
2. Your hormonal condition of estrogen
dominance causes your body to gain weight.
3. Weight gain
means more body fat and body fat makes and stores more
estrogen.
4. The estrogen produced from your body fat
compounds your original condition of estrogen dominance.
5. Your hormonal condition of estrogen dominance causes
your body to gain even more weight.
6. Weight gain means
more body fat and body fat makes and stores more
estrogen.
7. The estrogen produced from your body fat
compounds your original condition of estrogen dominance.
Here is more bad news: there are many environmental
estrogens, called xenoestrogens, that you are exposed to every
day. These xenoestrogens are very common in paints, textiles,
paper products, herbicides, plastics and plastic wraps.
Xenoestrogens can even leach into that plastic bottle
containing your healthy spring water. The plot thickens
because if estrogen dominance is left untreated it can
actually put you at greater risk for developing breast,
uterine or prostate cancer. That is the bad news but estrogen
dominance is not a hopeless, inevitable condition.
I recommend three ways that you can treat your condition of
estrogen dominance and also control how much estrogen is
reabsorbed into your bloodstream. Here goes:
1. As I have addressed in previous newsletter as well as on
my website, using bio-identical progesterone cream - such as
Dr.
Randolph's Natural Progesterone Cream - can help you
re-establish hormonal balance.
2. You can also rev up or supercharge your body's estrogen
detoxification process by eating at least two servings per day
of indole-rich cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli,
cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale or collards.
3. The third option is to take Calcium
D- Glucarate which helps the body to excrete excess
estrogen through the bowels. Clinical studies have shown Calcium
D-Glucarate to be so promising that the Natural Institute
of Health is now studying its use as a recommended natural
adjunct to cancer treatment and prevention.
I can assure you that if you do these three things that I
recommend you will:
1. Feel better,
2. Stop estrogen dominance from
sabotaging your weight loss efforts, and
3. Reduce your
risk of cancer.
Happy New Year! I Wish You Well!
C. W. Randolph, Jr.,
M.D.
