Are Stress, Weight and Oestrogen Dominance Affecting You?

Bioidentical doctors have long made the link between stress and oestrogen dominance, and they are not alone.

A newspaper survey had shown that people struggled to exercise during lockdown which also contributed to the weight problem.

Women have gained weight since the start of the pandemic – and their oestrogen levels have soared.

How Covid affected weight gain

There have been a number of long-term effects associated with the pandemic, and not the least of those was what is called long Covid.

BMI shows whether someone is a healthy size, based on their height and weight. In January 2020, the average body mass index of 80,000 female customers of the blood-testing firm Thriva was 27.1.

But in a follow up study, the average among 163,000 who gave details was 28.4. For women who are 5ft 3in, that corresponds to adding over half a stone – going from just under 11st to 11st 7lb.

Meanwhile, average oestrogen levels rose by roughly 50 per cent.

Dr Sumera Shahaney, Head of Clinical Operations at Thriva who conducted the survey, said oestrogen can increase when women gain weight.

Why oestrogen, health risk and weight gain are linked

Very high oestrogen levels are linked to a greater risk of blood clots and stroke and varying oestrogen levels can affect mood.

That has certainly been an issue many women experienced during lockdown and weight gain contributes to feelings of anxiety and depression.

Dr Shahaney who conducted the research said:

“What we’re seeing from customers is that over the last 12 months there has been a marked increase in stress and fatigue. We are also seeing a decrease in physical activity.”

What is oestrogen dominance?

The term oestrogen dominance is a term first used by the late Dr John Lee when he studied a number of health issues in his female patients.

He used it to refer to a state where oestrogen is not being balanced by progesterone in a woman’s body as it should naturally be.

This is a particular problem around menopause, although it can occur at much younger ages.

Oestrogen is one of the two primary female hormones, the other being progesterone, and at menopause the ovaries gradually cease production of both hormones.

Unfortunately that is when the body switches production of oestrogen to the fat cells in the abdomen, stomach and thighs – which is why many women see their belly increase at this time.

What is not so well known is that it is not necessarily high levels of oestrogen that can cause this imbalance, it is the relationship between that it critical.

So if your oestrogen levels are low, but your progesterone levels are even lower, you can still be oestrogen dominant. It is the balance between the two hormones that is important.

Stress, weight gain and your hormones

Stress will impact your health in so many ways, whether that’s your physical or emotional and mental well-being.

Unfortunately stress can trigger unhealthy patterns such as overeating or choosing the sort of comfort foods that will pile on the pounds.

Eating during times of stress can help ease emotions whether that is grief, anger, loneliness or anxiety.

We feel we need the distraction of comfort food when things aren’t going right, but because the effect is temporary, you may find yourself eating when you’re not hungry, or without thinking about it.

That can lead to ‘zoning out’ so always be aware of what you’re eating and why you’re eating it.

Essentially it’s about being present and mindful around your food choices. How you are eating is also important too, and a tray in front of the television is convenient, but again means you may not be thinking too much about what’s going in your mouth rather than what’s on the screen.

Stress and your hormones

Are you feeling more stressed and anxious than usual? Menopause symptoms are made worse by stress, and we all have times in our lives when stress is greater.

It makes no difference whether that is due to the symptoms of menopause or something that is happening in our daily lives.

It is common to dismiss stress, but whether it’s raised levels of anxiety or migraines and headaches, anyone who has suffered it and seen the effect it can have knows it is all too real.

Stress puts our body into flight, fight or freeze mode so it goes first to deal with the most urgent symptoms.

Unfortunately, what we consider urgent and severe is not the way that the body responds. So symptoms such as irrational moodiness or hot flushes are just not considered urgent – however much you might think so!

Hormonal symptoms such as flushes and night sweats are made worse by stress. If you are experiencing this, then it can be a good idea to increase your dosage of bioidentical progesterone cream.

If however they are very severe then you may need help from a combination cream such as Wellsprings Twenty to One.

Also stress leads to adrenal fatigue and some hormone disruption. Cortisol is the essential stress hormone and is made from progesterone and both Twenty to One and Serenity have the same levels of that hormone.

Helpful information

If you feel that oestrogen dominance could well be a factor in your weight gain, then the article below gives you some real help in having the right diet to deal with it.

https://anna.blog.wellsprings-health.com/the-diet-to-help-beat-oestrogen-dominance/