Estrogen Dominance
and
Weight Loss

"Estrogen Dominance is another hidden means with which your body creates and stores body fat. It is also a source of damage to health."

Estrogen is a fat storing hormone. It is the reason women generally have more body fat than men. They produce more estrogen.

This hormone imbalance is where there is either too much estrogen in the system or there are chemicals in the body that make the body respond as if there was excess estrogen.

Natural Estrogen Dominance

Progesterone is a hormone that works with estrogen. There is a ratio which they need to work together. When there is a reduced amount of progesterone, there is excess estrogen in the system that is unbalanced.

There are two times this naturally occurs in a females life. That is puberty to early adult and the second time is during perimenopause. Learn more about natural estrogen dominance.

Estrogen Dominance From Adrenal Fatigue

One situation is with adrenal fatigue.

A lot of progesterone is created through the adrenals.^1,2,3,4 When the adrenals are weak, it is common for a lot of the adrenal hormones and all the hormones that depend on the adrenal hormones to decrease. Progesterone is one of them.

So lowered adrenal hormone production can cause estrogen dominance.

Estrogen Dominance From Toxic Exposure

The third way is through toxic endocrine disruptors.

The environment of the modern world is drowning in estrogen.

There are toxins in the environment called Xenoestrogens that give signals like estrogen when they circulate in the body. A doctor can test for estrogen levels and find they are normal yet the body is acting like there is more estrogen. The body is reacting to these xenoestrogen endocrine disruptors.

You can go through my Weight Loss With Detox section to learn more about the abundant amount of these environmental xenoestrogens and how they get into a persons body. I list out various chemicals and they estrogenic properties.

I am also listing them here. These are very common endocrine disruptors that are also xenoestrogens that are found all around us.

• Bisphenol A
• Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB’s)
  
• Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE’s)
• DDT

Others are:

• Alkylphenols (intermediate chemicals used in the manufacture of other chemicals)
  
• Atrazine (weedkiller)
  
• 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor1011 (4-MBC) (sunscreen lotions)
  
• Butylated hydroxyanisole12 / BHA (food preservative)
  
• Dieldrin (insecticide)
  
• Endosulfan (insecticide)
  
• Erythrosine / FD&C Red No. 3
  
• Ethinylestradiol (combined oral contraceptive pill) (released into the environment as a xenoestrogen)
  
• Heptachlor (insecticide)
  
• Lindane / hexachlorocyclohexane (insecticide)
  
• Metalloestrogens (a class of inorganic xenoestrogens)
  
• Methoxychlor (insecticide)
  
• Nonylphenol and derivatives (industrial surfactants; emulsifiers for emulsion
  
• Polymerization; laboratory detergents; pesticides)
  
• Pentachlorophenol (general biocide and wood preservative)
  
• Parabens (lotions)
  
• Phenosulfothiazine (a red dye)
  
• Phthalates (plasticizers)
  
• DEHP (plasticizer for PVC)
  
• Propyl gallate (used to protect oils and fats in products from oxidation)
  

Estrogen Dominance From Animal Food Products

Another source of estrogen is from animal meat.

In modernized societies animals grown for meat are grown in mass quantities. They are sold by weight. Meat producers need to make animals heavier than before and faster than before.

Doctors have known about the effects of hormones for five decades. Animals grown for meat production are fed extra hormones and specific diets to increase their weight. Estrogen causes excess fat. So animals are fed and implanted with estrogen.^{5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32}

EPA Study of Environmental Estrogens

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also did a study on the effects of estrogen being placed into the ground from the manure of cattle. Below is an excerpt from a report produced by the EPA.

(A CAFO is an acronym for “Concentrated Animal Feed Operations.”³³)

“CAFO Contributions of Estrogens - Cattle

• Growth Hormones-Estrogens (estradiol, estradiol benzoate)
• Androgens (trenbolone acetate, testosterone propionate)
  
• Progestins (progesterone)
  
• For cattle, the estradiol concentration in the urine averages 13 ng/L
  
• Estimated that at least 90% of feedlot cattle slaughtered in 1995 were administered growth-enhancing hormones
  
• Cattle subjected to growth hormones generate urine with estradiol concentrations five-to sixfold greater

“CAFO Contributions of Estrogens - Poultry

Average estimated hormone concentrations per kg dry weight litter:

• 14 µg estrogens (estradiol, estrone) in male broilers
• 65 µg estrogens (estradiol, estrone) in female broilers
• 133 µg testosterone in male and female broilers
  
• Field study shows sizeable edge-of-field losses of estradiol (20-2530 ng/L) and testosterone (10-1830 ng/L) in runoff from litter-amended grasslands (Finlay-Moore et al, 2000)
  
• No growth hormones added: natural production of estrogens and testosterone
• In 1998, the U.S. poultry industry produced almost eight billion broilers with a total production of almost 12 billion kg litter
  
• Estimated estrogen production: 160,000 –760,000 kg/year”

Body Fat is an Estrogen Producing Gland

Estrogen produces fat around the female body. This is commonly known. What is not so commonly known is that fat itself acts as a gland!³⁴ It has been discovered that fat itself produces estrogen!

Body fat contains an enzyme called aromatase. Aromatase is an enzyme that helps produce estrone locally within fat cells.

This enzyme is involved in the production of estrogen and acts by speeding up the conversion of testosterone to estradiol (an estrogen). Aromatase is located in estrogen-producing cells in the adrenal glands, ovaries, placenta, testicles, adipose (fat) tissue, and brain.³⁵

Esterone (one of the three main estrogens in the body) in turns fools the pituitary gland into thinking that there is a sufficient amount of estrogen on board.

Ovaries are therefore instructed not to produce hormones.

Progesterone output is thus reduced, setting up an environment of estrogen dominance.

So, as you can see, I was not kidding when I said we are drowning in estrogen.

This is a hidden way that some people are not able to lose weight.

Related Articles

• Why Do I Gain Weight On Soy?

Metabolism Makeover

If you have signs of estrogen-dominance, don't worry. The plan and solution to solve it so you can lose weight is in my book, Metabolism Makeover. Solving it should be part of a comprehensive weight loss program that focuses of restoring health first to lose weight. Knowing how to use it will save you time, money and hassle because you don't have anymore guess work. I lay it out for you. It is all in this book. If you are interested check out Metabolism Makeover.

Estrogen Dominance References

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