It's a simple fact that humans today generally have unbalanced sex hormones - we have unbalanced (not necessarily too much) oestrogen and testosterone and this causes us problems. This has been going on for thousands of years and is due to the reduction of flavonoids (fruit compounds) in our diets and the reduction of melatonin output by the pineal gland. Flavonoids and melatonin kept the levels of oestrogen and testosterone balanced with other biochemicals millenia ago.
In women now there is too much oestrogen compared to progesterone. This is an increasing problem even for young women and as women go through the years, this imbalance, or 'oestrogen dominance', gets more extreme eventually producing the 'peri-menopausal' and 'menopausal' symptoms.
To further compound things, in modern times we have the arrival of oestrogen mimicers, xenoestrogens, in chemicals in our environment, including plastics.
The unpleasant symptoms of oestrogen dominance/progesterone deficiency can include depression, anxiety, premenstrual syndrome and excessive bleeding, inability to maintain pregnancies, interference with thyroid function and increased risk of reproductive cancers. These is a full list here.
Fortunately there are some simple things we can do to alleviate these symptoms, by addressing the cause.
Firstly use a natural progesterone cream. Yam creams are not effective and here I will recommend the one I use and know to be effective, Wellsprings Serenity cream.
http://www.progesterone.co.uk/progesteronecream.htm
By rubbing a tiny amount onto varying fatty areas of the body for half the days of the cycle, progesterone levels are gradually restored.
Consuming maca in addition to using the cream can really make the difference. Maca is an adaptogen and tends to bring the body back into balance. Heavy periods have become normal for so many women but they can become lighter with the use of maca and/or natural progesterone cream. At first the effect of thre maca can be to make things seem a little worse then in the next month it tends to stabilise and the month after that it can be much much better Persevere, you can get a detox and be a little wiped out initially with maca - just keep going.
In addition to all this it makes sense for us all to supplement melatonin levels, especially as we get older and the levels fall. It is anti-aging and massively anti-oxidant and, to the point, will help bring hormone levels into balance. Some good suppliers are listed here.
To reference the science, there is a paper here documenting how 'Melatonin increases oestrogen receptor binding activity..'.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v305/n5932/abs/305323a0.html
And here Tony Wright explains how oestrogen dominance has led to reproductive problems and cancers and points out the benefits of flavonoids.
http://beyond-belief.org.uk/sites/beyond-belief.org.uk/files/Copy%20of%20Oestrogen%20dependent%20cancer.pdf
And Leslie Kenton writes here about the effects of xenoestrogens.
'watch out for xenoestrogens
Oestrogen dominance in women and the drop in sperm count in men have come about for several reasons, the major one being the widespread use of oestrogen-based oral contraceptives and the exponential spread of chemicals in our environment. Called xenoestrogens - oestrogen mimics - they are taken up by the oestrogen receptor sites in our bodies to throw spanners in the works'.
http://www.lesliekenton.com/circle/aging/youth_factors.htm
These products can all be purchased at reasonable cost in quantities that will last for months.
By the way I do not sell or profit from sales of any products mentioned in this post.
Obviously consuming plenty of fresh raw fruit and salad vegetables is a basic part of the picture for those of us interested in wellbeing and will increase flavonoid levels. Also avoiding problem foods such as refined sugar helps as does getting sufficient magnesium in the diet.
