Technically the levels are all within their individual normal ranges. However, compared to each other and in the proper body balance and harmony, they are not. These are often harder to give a label to because if they are diagnosed, they do so only after excluding all the other conditions that fall in the real category.

Real, on the other hand, is a quantifiable level that can be demonstrated on laboratory exams. You can see levels are out of range, and because of this, you can give it a label and a quick diagnosis. This often leads to faster treatment, only because you know exactly what you are dealing with.

Types of Estrogen Dominance

There are two types of scenarios in the female body that we can experience in regards to estrogen dominance. However, the symptoms are the same so the only way to differentiate is through labs.

What are the Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance?

Symptoms are the same whether you have a REAL or RELATIVE estrogen dominance. These are what is experienced most often:

• Mood swings, anxiety & irritability
• Headache, foggy brain 
• Bloating and bowel changes – predominantly constipation 
• Weight gain around hips and buttocks 
• Breast tenderness
• Water retention
• Uterine fibroids/ovarian cysts
• Food cravings for sugar and carbohydrates (pasta and bread) 
• Changes in bleeding
• Cold body temperature, fatigue 
• Hair loss, thinning eyebrows and eyelashes 

What are the Causes of Real Estrogen Dominance?

When you have REAL estrogen dominance you are the lucky one. You actually do have very high levels of estrogen (although who am I kidding, that isn’t lucky, it’s downright dangerous). These can be tested by conventional labs or by a functional lab such as the Dutch Hormone Test, which gives the most complete information about what is happening in the body and HOW it is processing hormones. If you’ve got the REAL deal, here are the most common reasons why you are experiencing a dangerously high level of estrogen: 

1. You store your food in plastic – You purchase and eat canned goods or food that’s been stored in plastic, which can contain endocrine-disrupting bisphenol A (BPA)² and other not-yet-notorious chemicals. These supply your body with xenoestrogens that leach from plastic and other sources. These mimic our bodies’ natural estrogen, causing issues. There could be other problems because these are, in essence, pieces of plastic in our bodies and the research at this point isn’t completely clear on the long term side effects, but I have an idea, it’s not good. STRESSFUL on the system. (Side Note: NEVER purchase oils in plastic! Oils are well known to absorb plastics and chemicals from their containers, this is also important when we talk about Castor Oil Packs later on because you do not ever want your Castor Oil to be bottled in plastic. Oils should ALWAYS BE IN GLASS!)

2. Water supply – City water has been said to contain negligible traces of the birth control pill with little to no effect on human health³. That being said, it is still ending up in rivers and streams and affecting the water supply⁴. The remnants of pharmaceuticals end up in the water supply⁵ and we consume them through the food chain as our fish, fowl, and game drink the water in the rivers. STRESSFUL on the system. 

 3. Prescription sourcesof estrogens – If you are taking the birth control pill or hormone replacement therapy, this adds to your estrogenic load. These are all sources of estrogen that accumulate in your body, upsetting the natural balance.  STRESSFUL on the system.

 4. Carrying too much body fat – Fat produces estrogen. Fat utilizes too much of your nutrients and antioxidants, leading to depletion. Starvation in a land of plenty. STRESSFUL on the system.

 5. Unbalanced microbiome – Where increased bad microbes exist, creating an environment that is pro-estrogen dominant⁶, known as the estrobiome. STRESSFUL on the system.

 6. Inflammation – Inflammatory molecules may mimic estrogen in our systems and fuel estrogen dominance. In effect, inflammation enhances the effect of estrogen in our bodies. STRESSFUL on the system.

 The unifying factor – STRESS!

What are the Causes of Relative Estrogen Dominance?

The other side of the coin is where your progesterone is so low, RELATIVE to your level of estrogen, that estrogen acts in your body as though it is super high but it isn’t. It’s just that your progesterone is in the gutter, super low. What are the most common reasons why this happens?

1. Your elevated stress hormone – Cortisol requires the same raw product as does progesterone. If you’ve been dealing with a lot of stress, you will need more raw product to produce cortisol for you to be able to cope and manage. STRESSFUL on the system.

2. Your body compensates – So it will steal from Peter to pay Paul. Preferring to save you from a crisis, your body creates the stress hormone cortisol from the same raw material that it makes progesterone from. This way it can deal with the immediate stressor. STRESSFUL on the system.

3. Progesterone is optional to your body – Progesterone is a hormone of fertility, needed to procreate. Being fertile is the last thing your body cares about when you are under stress. Progesterone also acts as a diuretic, helping to avoid water retention, ensuring good bowel movements and keeping the thyroid balanced. So interesting, no wonder you don’t feel that good when you are stressed! STRESSFUL on the system.

The common denominator again – STRESS!

We are not separate from our organ systems and everything must work like a fine-tuned orchestra. Estrogen dominance demonstrates observable patterns and associations to other conditions, especially thyroid conditions such as hypothyroid and autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. To note, many of the symptoms of estrogen dominance mimic thyroid conditions to a tee. Is this a coincidence? I think not.

High Estrogen Causing Low Thyroid

With REAL or RELATIVE estrogen dominance, it is highly likely that you will simultaneously have a hypothyroid condition. Actually, in my practice, I have noted this to be the case in almost all of my patients, with a few outliers. On labs, a telltale sign is low iron (ferritin) and low B12. There are very few outliers.

This pattern goes hand in hand for the very simple reason that progesterone helps to support healthy thyroid function and estrogen levels. Stress knocks out progesterone. STRESSFUL on the system.

In addition, because your body is overwhelmed with excess relative or real estrogen hormone, it will use up vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to alkalinize and cleanse the excess estrogens out.

These are the same vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that are needed to support thyroid health, namely zinc, selenium, magnesium, and glutathione. One of the antibody thyroid tests, anti-thyroid peroxidase, can be used as a measure of glutathione in the system along with magnesium. Low magnesium, low glutathione.

If you’re using them up in one place, you’re going to become deficient somewhere else. It’s a vicious repeating cycle and one that I’m going to show you how to reset.

Which Came First? Estrogen Dominance or Hypothyroid?

You may be wondering, which came first, the estrogen dominance or hypothyroid? That’s exactly like asking me if the chicken or the egg came first. It’s very hard to say because there is a considerable amount of overlap. One could easily cause the other and we must not forget that there are other systems involved, including the gut, the microbiome and inflammatory processes occurring in the body.

I look at it as a garden. We need to make sure the ingredients going in are good, what needs to come out is coming out, and that we love it and are peaceful and content with the process.

Support Your Body Ecosystem/Terrain to Optimize Healing

So you see the predicament. This means that if we are to work through it, we have to be extremely strategic. It’s not only about fixing one thing but working on the whole. Is there a way to help balance and support the regulatory systems of the body?

Fortunately, there is and it is the most simple and inexpensive treatment out there. It is legendary as goddesses, gurus, and queens used this treatment since before biblical times. It stands out among other treatments because it doesn’t just have one mechanism of action on the body, it has a totally comprehensive and multi-faceted reach on all regulatory systems of the body. What is this treatment? It’s the sacred Castor Oil Pack for Liver of course!

Castor Oil Packs

To reset your estrogen, your game plan shouldn’t be fully to annihilate it. You want it, after all, it keeps you young. It keeps your skin glowing and is responsible for a variety of beneficial processes in the body. However, you want it to be in balance with your progesterone. Therefore your strategies must accomplish 5 very important goals:

1. Maintain a healthy balance of your stress hormone, cortisol, and encourage more feel-good hormones
2. Promote high antioxidants levels and reset your natural cleansing mechanisms
3. Keep your bowels flowing – digestion, absorption and elimination working properly
4. Reduce inflammation and increase alkalinization
5. Support your microbiome and break down unhealthy biofilm

How do Castor Oil Packs Help to Reset Estrogen Dominance?

Castor Oil Packs Reduce Stress.

The problem in our modern world is that all of us are in a constant state of stress. Since cortisol is made out of the same product as progesterone, the more stressed you are, the less progesterone your body will be able to produce. It is a vicious cycle, so it’s incredibly important to do everything you can to reduce stress in your body.

When your body is in a relaxed state, your immune system⁸ is optimized and your digestive process is flawless. When you’re stressed, your gut can become ‘leaky’, meaning the gap junctions are broken and food particles that are too large can enter your bloodstream and cause havoc all over the body^{9 10 11}.

When you use the pack, the soft compression of the pack on the skin helps to promote your feel-good hormone, oxytocin¹². The limbic area (aka the area responsible for emotion) of the brain is stimulated and flooded with another feel-good neurotransmitter, dopamine¹³.

The Castor Oil Pack for Liver harnesses the healing powers of nature that support our body’s natural healing mechanisms. The key to having this treatment be effective is PRACTICE. I have my own take on the old saying, “Practice makes perfect”. But hey no one is perfect! More accurately, “Practice makes PROGRESS”. This is why it’s best to wear your pack for at least 1 hour each day, or ideally overnight.

Castor Oil Packs Help to Reset Your Cleansing Mechanisms.

To balance the dominance of estrogen in the body, cleansing processes must be working well. There is an enzyme known as beta-glucuronidase that deconjugates estrogens, allowing them to recirculate throughout the body. It has been shown to be elevated in estrogen dominance¹⁴.

Castor Oil improves levels of your body’s powerhouse detox molecule, glutathione¹⁵. Glutathione gets rid excess estrogens, toxins, and by-products of plastics like BPA. Remember it’s best to STAY AWAY from carrying food and drink in plastic!

Castor Oil Packs are typically worn over the liver because they exert a powerful anti-inflammatory effect that supports its function – and it’s responsible for over 200 bodily functions! The packs have even been shown to reduce cholesterol levels and improve liver enzymes¹⁶.

Castor Oil Packs Help to Reduce Inflammation.

When you are dealing with estrogen dominance, the last thing you want in your body is inflammation as it just feeds the imbalance even more. Castor Oil Packs have been shown to help to reduce inflammation¹⁷.

Most of the inflammation in our body is present in the intestines and the gut, since they are exposed to the outside world via the food we intake and the different bugs that enter our bodies¹⁸.

When we can calm this core inflammation, we relieve bloating, it helps us get a flat tummy and it supports balancing out our hormones. Now, remember, practice makes progress, and it’s with daily practice that you will feel better.

Castor Oil Packs Help to Relieve Constipation.

If you have estrogen dominance, chances are you are probably backed up. When you can’t eliminate waste, the toxins, excess hormones and bad bacteria that it contains can recirculate the body.

The amazing thing about Castor Oil Packs is that they have been shown to relieve constipation just as effectively as laxatives, but without the harsh urgency to run to the bathroom¹⁹. This is extremely important for estrogen dominance because you must eliminate the excess hormones in order to heal and rebalance.

Castor Oil Packs Improve your Microbiome.

Did you know that as women, we have a specific set of bacteria in our bodies responsible for metabolizing estrogen? It even has a special name – the estrobiome.

When there is an imbalance of bad bacteria, as I call them conbiotics™, they will do everything that can to keep themselves alive and to maintain their home inside your gut. They have the ability to create a protective barrier of sludge known as biofilm, which makes it very difficult for us to kill them and get them out of our body temples.

Amazingly, Queen of the Thrones® Organic Castor Oil has the ability to break down this biofilm, which has proven very difficult to do without the use of pharmaceuticals.^{20 21 22 23}

Stick Steadfast to Your Practice

So if you’re someone with REAL or RELATIVE estrogen dominance, or perhaps you just have a feeling your hormones are out of whack, Castor Oil Packs should be a staple in your daily routine. Ready to add Castor Oil Packs to your daily routine? Get your Queen of the Thrones®️ Castor Oil Pack for Liver.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel, you can and you will get through this and live the life you are destined to live. You just need to commit to health-promoting practices each and every day and show your body some extra love. It has a natural, vital, intelligent force within, and when we give it what it needs, it has an incredible ability to heal!

Are you a practitioner, health coach or wellness influencer? If you’re interested in recommending our easy-to-use tools and practically applying them in your health and wellness professional practice, in clinic, or online with the people you serve, you can join now!