A guide to estrogen & progesterone ✹
There are a lot of buzzwords thrown around in the wellness & hormone health space. And honestly? It can get pretty confusing, especially if those terms are never defined.
When it comes to PMS, one of the phrases you've probably heard a lot is estrogen dominance.
Estrogen dominance happens when we have an imbalance between our estrogen and progesterone levels. It's a broader term that can refer to estrogen excess or progesterone deficiency (or both at the same time).
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Okay, what are those exactly? Estrogen and progesterone (along with androgens like testosterone) are our sex hormones.
Estrogen is responsible for giving us breasts & hips, making our skin glow & preparing our uterus for pregnancy. Estrogen also stimulates cell growth, influences our mood, and plays a big role in our brain health. Emotionally, estrogen helps us connect with others. Estrogen is dominate during the first half of our cycle, from menstruation to ovulation.
Progesterone is produced in the ovary after we ovulate, and is responsible for stabilizing our mood, boosting our brain function, promoting deep sleep & maintaining pregnancy. It also influences things like immune function and blood sugar. Progesterone is dominant during the second half of our cycle, from ovulation until menstruation.
Ideally, estrogen and progesterone balance each other out. The trouble comes when we have either too much estrogen (estrogen excess) or too little progesterone (progesterone deficiency).
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Estrogen excess is when you have too much estrogen in your body. It’s typically not caused by your body making too much estrogen. Rather, it’s often caused by one of two things:
Poor estrogen detoxification in the liver &/or gut. We need to be regularly clearing estrogen from our body, otherwise it builds up. Estrogen detoxification is a 2 step process: first it has to be processed by our liver, and then it has to be passed through our intestines and eliminated through the bowels (sorry). If our liver is struggling or we have any sort of gut imbalance going on, we won't be able to properly clear estrogen.
Exposure to exogenous estrogen & endocrine disruptions in food, the environment & personal care products.
Progesterone deficiency is when you have too little progesterone, making estrogen the dominant hormone regardless of whether we have estrogen excess or not. It's typically caused by not ovulating, because we have to ovulate in order to make progesterone. This can be caused by…
Undernourishment or over exercising - we need to be nourished to ovulate
Stress - we need to feel safe in order to have healthy ovulate
Hormonal contraceptives - the pills works by shutting off ovulation
PCOS, low thyroid function, or other hormonal conditions
Our body can also convert progesterone to cortisol (our stress hormone). As cortisol increases, progesterone can decrease. If you're under a lot of stress, even if your body is able to create enough progesterone, you could still end up deficient.
So what does this all have to do with PMS? Estrogen dominance is the root of many of our PMS symptoms.
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This post is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. If you’re experiencing sudden or irregular menstrual concerns, or have any concerns about your reproductive health, it’s best to consult your doctor or a trusted healthcare professional.
