Hello, my friend! How are you?
Let me know how you are! What burning health questions do you have this month? What are you struggling with? Please reply to this email. I want to know!
This month's content:
- Estrogen Dominance - Is it ruining your life?
- Home detox tips for hormone balance
- Bumps in my own hormone journey (personal)
But first: an admin task:
I am changing up how I do newsletters. Going forward, the purpose of this newsletter will be to bring you health tips, information, special offers, and personal stories I don't share anywhere else. This is intended to enhance the experience for patients working with me + provide plenty of value for non-patients too.
**For clinic updates (price updates, move notifications, etc), I have a separate mailing list. To be added to this list, simply reply to this email requesting to be added.
Is Estrogen Dominance Ruining Your Life?
So first of all, you should know that "estrogen dominance" isn't an official medical term. If you ask your doctor about it, they might respond with something like "that's not a thing."
In fact, estrogen dominance - a situation where you have too much estrogen relative to progesterone - is very common and has many potential causes (I came up with 7 but I'm sure there are more).
Estrogen dominance can cause:
- Irregular menstrual cycles
- Heavy menstrual bleeding and blood clots
- PMS symptoms (or even PMDD - severe PMS)
- Breast tenderness and swelling
- Weight gain (especially around the hips and thighs) or difficulty losing weight
- Mood swings, anxiety, and depression
- Low libido
- Fatigue
- Endometriosis
- Uterine fibroids
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
I see this condition in my practice all the time! Do you experience any of these problems? If so, estrogen dominance should be on your list of suspects!
I've created a webpage in which I describe:
- Why we develop estrogen dominance
- How to test for estrogen dominance
- How estrogen dominance is treated
Check it out here:
Home Detox Tips for Hormone Balance
It's possible for hormones to be hijacked by toxins in your own home! Here are some of the toxins that can interfere with hormones and what to do about it:
Mold
I hate to tell you but mold causes all kinds of trouble for hormones. Breathing in mold, ingesting it, or touching it can cause mold to actually live inside of your body. From within, it creates ongoing toxins that put a lot of strain on your liver and gallbladder, which can lead to a variety of hormone-related problems over time. If you know there is mold in your house, work with the pros to get it out of there. I LOVE helping treat chronic mold issues. If this speaks to you, please connect!
Plastics
Do you cook with plastic utensils, drink out of a plastic water bottle, eat out of plastic takeout containers, or store food in plastic containers? Negative points if you warm up food in plastic containers. Plastics are a source of xenoestrogens - estrogen-like compounds that can bind with estrogen receptors and cause a variety of hormone-related problems, including cancers! If you have plastics in your kitchen, replace them with glass, wood, bamboo, stainless steel, or ceramic as soon as possible, and certainly never put plastics in the microwave.
Pthalates
Phthalates are a group of chemicals, often referred to as plasticizers, used to make plastics, particularly polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or vinyl, more flexible and durable. They are also used in various products, including cosmetics, personal care items, and food packaging. Some pthalates you may see on labels are: DBP (Dibutyl phthalate), DEHP (Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate), DEP (Diethyl phthalate). If you see "fragrance" or "perfume/parfum" on labels, this could also indicate hidden pthalates.
Some of the personal care products that may contain pthalates are nail polishes, hair sprays, aftershave lotions, cleansers, and shampoos.
A few tips for avoiding hormone disruptors:
- Clean your home using organic materials like vinegar, baking soda, or other natural agents. Avoid products containing harsh chemicals and artificial fragrances.
- Ditch plastic in the kitchen (and as food packaging). As often as possible, cook with and eat off of safe materials like stainless steel, glass, wood, bamboo, pottery, and ceramic.
- Avoid plastic water bottles. Instead use glass or stainless steel.
- When choosing cosmetics and personal care products, read labels carefully, look for "phthalate-free" or "paraben-free," and avoid products containing unspecified "fragrance," opting instead for products labeled "no synthetic fragrance" or "scented only with essential oils".
- If you like scents in your home, use pure organic essential oils and a diffuser instead of artificially-scented plug-ins and scented candles.
Some of the bumps in my own hormone journey
I've actually had quite a journey with my own hormones. I was 12 years old when I was diagnosed with a condition called Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH), which basically means my adrenal glands produce hormones in a non-normal way due to my genetic make up. Unfortunately for 12-year old me, this meant having a LOT of facial hair suddenly appear, which, as you can imagine for a 12 year old girl, was quite traumatic. CAH is a lifelong condition, so yes, it's something I still have to deal with.
The management strategy at the time was to put me on a testosterone-blocking medication called spironolactone, which tasted gross, was hard to swallow, and which caused my otherwise-normal period to become irregular. So then birth control pills were added (at age 12). Over the 10 years I took all these hormone-manipulating pills, they did help keep the facial hair under control, but when I decided to go "au naturel" in my 20s, the facial hair all came back. Since then, I've chosen to work with my body instead of using suppressive therapies that caused lots of problems and side effects.
In addition, I've experienced symptoms of estrogen dominance due to a decade of exposure to mold. I've experienced menstrual irregularities, painful and heavy periods, PMS, and uterine fibroids – to name just a few issues. So, you see, I get it. Hormones can kind of ruin your life. But there are so many tools that can help, and I'm grateful to be constantly learning so I can feel my best and be the best doctor possible.
That's all for this month! Wishing you and your hormones a happy April!
Psst!!
One more thing: I'd love to know what you think of this new newsletter format? Did you like it? Not like it? Want more like this? Want something different? Let me know by replying to this email!
Double Psst!!
If you're in BC and looking for a personal health detective, I'd be happy to do my utmost to support you. Simply click below to book an appointment or a discovery call.
www.okanagannaturopath.com
hello@drericavolk.com
Tel: 778.760.3400 Fax: 844.991.3601
1025 Tamarack Drive | Kelowna, BC | V1X 1E3
