How To Increase Estrogen
This article was medically reviewed by Lacy Windham, MD. Dr. Windham is a board certified Obstetrician & Gynecologist in Tennessee. She attended medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis and completed her residency at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2010, where she was awarded the Most Outstanding Resident in Maternal Fetal Medicine, Most Outstanding Resident in Oncology, and Most Outstanding Resident Overall.There are 20 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article has 14 testimonials from our readers, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 2,899,504 times.
Estrogen is a natural hormone found in both men and women. Keeping estrogen at a healthy level is important for both sexes, but women need more estrogen for normal bodily functions, such as conceiving children. During menopause, estrogen levels in women decrease significantly. Learn about how simple changes to your lifestyle and diet may increase your estrogen.
What Foods Are High In Estrogen
The food you eat can impact the way your body produces hormones or even contain hormones. Different vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, animal products, and even herbs have chemicals in them that contain, engage with, or imitate hormones.
Phytoestrogen is a common compound that imitates estrogen in foods. This is because phytoestrogens are essentially the plant version of estrogen. Human bodies will process them the same way as regular estrogen, but it is weaker than synthetic or natural estrogen.
Another source of estrogen in foods is animal estrogen. Products like eggs or milk contain high estrogen levels because they are produced in parts of the animals body that regulate its hormones.
Eating high estrogen foods can help people who suffer from various conditions related to low estrogen levels. Conversely, there are some health scenarios in which eating foods high in estrogen can be harmful. Knowing what foods are high in estrogen helps either situation limit or increase your intake of those foods intentionally.
Never Too Late Or Too Early To Prep For Pregnancy
No matter where youre at in your fertility journey, it is never too late or too early to focus on balancing your cycles and preparing your body for pregnancy. Balancing your hormones and improving your fertility is a long-term, multidimensional journey. Supplements, diet, and lifestyle factors are just a few pieces of the bigger picture: living in a holistic, vital way that supports the creation of life. This article is meant as a starting point to incite a larger conversation. How can you become more aware of your bodys signals? How can you support the monthly shifts in your cycle, and your overall hormonal balance? It might seem like a lot to ponder, but one thing is simple: establishing a healthy, balanced lifestyle today promotes greater health and possibilities for the future.
*Please remember, before adding any vitamins or supplements to your routine or before making any radical changes to your eating habits, to speak to your health care provider first.
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How Do I Know
Your doctor can help you determine your estrogen level by giving you a blood, urine, or saliva test.
But, the usefulness of these tests are debated. An individual woman’s normal hormone level can vary significantly from other women.
You may be experiencing hot flashes only to find that your estrogen and progesterone levels are in the “normal range.”
Just because you may not fall into the “low estrogen level” category on a chart does not mean that your estrogen level may be too low for YOUR body.
But, if you are in the menopausal age range, and you are experiencing the symptoms above, chances are that your estrogen levels are low and you need a boost.
Talk to your doctor, talk to your friends, research your options, and start to feel better!
Why Does Your Estrogen Level Matter
Estrogen is a hormone. Although present in the body in small amounts, hormones have big roles in maintaining your health.
Estrogen is commonly associated with the female body. Men also produce estrogen, but women produce it in higher levels.
The hormone estrogen:
- is responsible for the sexual development of girls when they reach puberty
- controls the growth of the uterine lining during the menstrual cycle and at the beginning of a pregnancy
- causes breast changes in teenagers and women who are pregnant
- is involved in bone and cholesterol metabolism
- regulates food intake, body weight, glucose metabolism, and insulin sensitivity
Girls who havent reached puberty and women approaching menopause are most likely to experience low estrogen. Still, women of all ages can develop low estrogen.
Common symptoms of low estrogen include:
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When Estrogen Is Lower During The Late Luteal Phase And The Start Of The Period You May Notice Some Changes
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Your overall body temperature will increase slightly during this phase.
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One study found that 2 out of 5 women report more sensitive skin, which researchers suspect could be due to low levels of estrogen during this time .
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Premenstrual symptoms also show up during this time before the period starts, when estrogen are low.
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Some people may even get migraine headaches that are related to the drop in estrogen levels .
The Function Of Estrogen
Estrogen is the hormone that is primarily responsible for the sexual development in girls as they reach puberty age. Other functions of estrogen include:
- initiates changes in breast tissue during adolescence and pregnancy
- helps to regulate menstrual cycles
- regulates bodyweight by helping to control metabolism involved in the development and growth of healthy bone tissue
- may play a role in promoting healthy cardiovascular activity, according to the American Heart Association
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A Balanced Diet Is Foundational To High Fertility
When it comes to healing imbalances and optimizing fertility, eating a balanced diet is foundational. Start with a whole foods diet, with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and balanced meals containing protein, healthy fat, and complex carbohydrates. Choose organic foods and cleaning products, as pesticides on food have been associated with infertility in a recent study. Pesticide chemicals are endocrine disruptors, confusing the bodys natural hormone balance. Eliminate processed food, vegetable oils, and added sugars. A study in Human Reproduction found that women who ate junk food four times a week or more had higher infertility rates. Leaving fruit out of the diet was also associated with increased infertility. Caffeine should be avoided, because it can overstimulate the adrenal glands, flare estrogen levels, and deplete B vitamins. Other stimulants, such cigarettes and alcohol, should also be avoided.
What Causes Low Levels Of Estrogen
Low estrogen levels can result from many factors, including:
- Being underweight
- Approaching menopause for women in their late 40s/40s
- Family history of hormonal problems
- Hormonal imbalance
A post shared by Uzzi Reiss, MD, FAARFM, ABAARM on Mar 25, 2020 at 7:06am PDT
Estrogen guides who we are, how we feel, and how we act. It regulates our bodys development, our mental well-being, our emotional fortitude, our cognitive discipline, our sexual drive essential components of our livelihood. As we age, women naturally lose estrogen and men lose testosterone.
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Straight Talk About Soy
The Takeaway: Soy is a unique food that is widely studied for its estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects on the body. Studies may seem to present conflicting conclusions about soy, but this is largely due to the wide variation in how soy is studied. Results of recent population studies suggest that soy has either a beneficial or neutral effect on various health conditions. Soy is a nutrient-dense source of protein that can safely be consumed several times a week, and is likely to provide health benefitsespecially when eaten as an alternative to red and processed meat.
Soy is exalted as a health food by some, with claims of taming hot flashes, warding off osteoporosis, and protecting against hormonal cancers like breast and prostate.
At the same time, soy is shunned by others for fear that it may cause breast cancer, thyroid problems, and dementia.
Whether reading a popular press article or a well-designed clinical study about soy, some debate remains. As a species within the legume family, nutrition scientists often label soy as a food with potential for significant health benefits. However, due to contrary research that suggests possible negative effects of soy in certain situations, there has been a hesitancy to wholeheartedly promote soy.
Thus, there are many factors that make it difficult to construct blanket statements about the health effects of soy.
| Unfermented soy foods |
What Happens When The Estrogen Level Drops
The estrogen levels might drop either due to genetic defects or poor nutrition, the most common risk factor for low estrogen level is age. When there is a decrease in levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in the body, it can increase the risk of various diseases like It can disturb sexual functions and increase the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. These reiterate the fact that estrogen is essential to maintain good health.
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What Causes High Estrogen In Males
Let’s discuss what causes high estrogen levels in males in detail:
Aging: We are all aware of the fact that as the years pass by, one has to go through a lot of hormonal changes. With age, the estrogen levels in a man’s body increase and testosterone levels decrease. This is an inevitable truth and one has to go through this.
Aromatase enzyme: This is an enzyme that converts the androgens into estrogen. This causes a rise in the estrogen level which is again a serious problem. With age, lifestyle, and other factors our body naturally increases the amount of aromatase enzyme which leads to the high amount of unwanted estrogen hormone in the body.
Diet: Our diet has a direct effect on the estrogen production in the body. Consuming a diet high in refined carbohydrates can increase the body fat. The body fat contains the aromatase enzyme. For this reason, as the fat in our body increases, the estrogen level too increases.
Stress: A human body releases cortisol hormone under a stressful situation. In men, this hormone suppresses other central hormones such as testosterone. As the testosterone level depletes, the estrogen level soars. Living a stress-free life may not be possible, but mindful management of stress is certainly possible.
Excessive fat: As mentioned earlier, fat can produce estrogen. Men with increased fat in the waist area are at high risk of estrogen dominance in their body.
Foods That Can Help Raise Estrogen And Testosterone Levels
Studies conducted by the Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University indicated that eating plant-based foods that contain phytoestrogens may help women raise estrogen levels, such as:
- Seeds: flaxseeds and sesame seeds
- Fruit: apricots, oranges, strawberries, peaches, many dried fruits
- Vegetables: yams, carrots, alfalfa sprouts, kale, celery
- Soy products: tofu, miso soup, soy yogurt
- Dark rye bread
- Legumes: lentils, peas, pinto beans
- Olives and olive oil
- Chickpeas
- Culinary herbs: turmeric, thyme, sage
Results from research conducted by the University of Texas at Austin suggested that men can help raise their testosterone levels by eating foods high in monounsaturated fat and zinc. Also, a study published in Biological Trace Element Research concluded foods high in magnesium can help maintain testosterone levels, for instance:
- Oils: olive, canola and peanut
- Avocados
- Olives
- Nuts: almonds and cashews
- Oysters
- Shellfish: lobster and crab
- Chickpeas
- Dark green leafy vegetables
- Bananas
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What Causes High Estrogen Levels In Men
Both men and women have estrogen hormone in them. We often associate men with only the testosterone hormone. But in reality, both estrogen and testosterone are required for the proper functioning and development of their sexual organs. A right balance between these key reproductive hormones is essential for optimal health in men. But sometimes, these hormones become imbalanced, causing a lot of health issues. A rise in estrogen levels can lead to a range of health difficulties from increased body fat to anxiety in men.
Signs You Might Have Low Estrogen
1. You frequently experience brain fog
Brain fog is commonly reported by women in menopause or perimenopause. Brain fog can manifest in several ways, including:
- Trouble concentrating on tasks
- Difficulty remembering things
Estrogen helps to sharpen your cognitive acuity, and low levels of estrogen prevent your focus and memory from operating at full capacity.
2. Your mental health is declining
Poor mental health can result from low estrogen levels. Since estrogen is believed to help with your neurotransmitters, low levels are associated with a risk of psychosis, schizophrenia, and worsened symptoms of bipolar disorder.
Since estrogen helps the body process stress, low estrogen levels can make stressful situations feel overwhelming.
Estrogen is associated with serotonin, which is one of your brains neurotransmitters responsible for boosting our moods. This is why women with low estrogen can suffer from depression. They can also experience strong mood swings, anxiety, irritability, and anger.
3. Youve gained weight
A drop in estrogen corresponds with a desire for comfort foods, i.e. foods high in fat, calories, sugar, and salt. Foods high in these elements can lead to weight gain and water retention. Estrogen also decreases your levels of leptin, which can act as an appetite suppressant.
4. Advanced skin aging
5. Higher frequency of UTIs
6. You arent sleeping well
These irregular sleep patterns could also correspond to the risk of developing sleep apnea.
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Perimenopause And Menopause Estrogen Levels
After menopause, estrogen levels drop dramatically, as there are few follicles in your ovaries. Additionally, these follicles are no longer growing and producing the estradiol spikes that occur during the menstrual cycle . The laboratory estradiol levels of postmenopausal women are generally less than 20 pg/mL .
During perimenopause, people may notice that their body changes in response to these lower levels of estrogen.
Symptoms of low estrogen during perimenopause and menopause
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Vaginal dryness is common. Without enough estrogen, the walls of the vagina are not able to maintain their thickness and are no longer as moist .
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Hot flashes are associated with decreasing levels of estrogen, and can be treated using estrogen therapy . Phytoestrogens, or estrogens from food, may be moderately beneficial, but more research is needed .
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Osteoporosis is a risk for post-menopausal people as estrogen levels decrease .
Foods That Increase Estrogen Level
There are several estrogen-rich foods that may help boost your estrogen level. These foods contain phytoestrogen, which is a plant-based estrogen that mimics estrogen once it is processed by the body.
The following is a list of foods that are known for containing excessive amounts of phytoestrogens. It is important to keep in mind that estrogen rich foods may have unwanted effects in men.
Soybean products: Soy is a rich source of phytoestrogen and comes in a variety of easy to consume forms like soy milk, tofu, or edamame. Soy products are the greatest source of isoflavones, a class of phytoestrogen that can be easily consumed in your diet. Soy is also a great source of protein, making it an ideal meat substitute for vegans and vegetarians.
Flaxseeds: These little seeds contain up to three times the phytoestrogens of soybeans, but your body will not reap their benefits unless they are cracked or ground prior to consumption. Also high in fiber, flaxseeds will make you feel full and may aid in weight loss and in the reduction of cholesterol.
Sesame seeds: Whole seedsor even sesame oilcontain lignans that possess phytoestrogens. The seeds are also loaded with fiber and are a great source of minerals.
Beans: They are relativity high in phytoestrogens, but they dont get much attention. Beans are known for having a high fiber content, which helps to control cholesterol levels. Types of beans include peas, pinto bean, and lima beans
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Proven Ways To Increase Testosterone Levels Naturally
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Testosterone is the main male sex hormone, but females also have small amounts of it.
It is a steroid hormone, produced in mens testicles and womens ovaries .
The adrenal glands also produce small amounts.
During puberty in boys, testosterone is one of the main drivers of physical changes like increased muscle, deeper voice and hair growth.
However, having optimal levels is also important throughout adulthood and even during old age.
In adults, healthy levels are important for general health, disease risk, body composition, sexual function and just about everything else .
Additionally, increasing your testosterone levels can cause rapid gains in muscle mass and vitality in only a matter of weeks (
13 ).
The research is pretty conclusive: both genders should ensure they have healthy levels of testosterone, especially as they age (
Diagnosis And Typical Estrogen Levels
Estrogen levels vary among individuals and according to a persons age and sex. These levels also fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle.
A doctor can check estrogen levels with a blood test. There are three forms of estrogen in the blood:
- estradiol
- estrone
Doctors measure these levels in picograms per milliliter .
Estradiol is the primary form of estrogen, while estriol and estrone are minor forms. Women who are not pregnant have very low levels of estriol.
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How To Increase Estrogen Levels With Supplements
If your hormones are going haywire, it could be due to the low estrogen levels in your body. Lower estrogen levels can affect your health and mood. But fortunately, there are things you can do to increase the level of estrogen. In this article, we discuss how to increase the level of estrogen with the help of supplements and natural ways to boost estrogen in your body. Lets dig in.
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