The Secret Detox: Supporting Estrogen Metabolism to Improve Your Menopause Symptoms

Estrogen Metabolism: Key to Thriving During Menopause

In this episode of Joyful Menopause, host Lynda Enright delves into estrogen metabolism and its significant impact on menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings, and weight gain. Lynda emphasizes the importance of diet, lifestyle, environmental factors, genetics, and gut health in managing estrogen effectively. She shares six science-backed strategies, including eating cruciferous vegetables, increasing fiber intake, and exercising regularly. The episode concludes with the success story of Denise, a client who transformed her health through targeted dietary and lifestyle changes.

00:00 Introduction to Menopause and Estrogen Metabolism

01:42 Understanding Estrogen Metabolism

04:27 Factors Affecting Estrogen Metabolism

05:45 Science-Backed Strategies for Better Estrogen Management

09:41 Client Success Story: Denise's Transformation

11:40 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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Transcript

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Menopause isn't just about declining estrogen levels. It's about how your body manages and metabolizes it. And mastering this process could be one of the keys to thriving in midlife. Hello and welcome to Joyful Menopause, where we explore the science and strategies behind thriving in midlife. Today, we're diving into a topic that's crucial for every woman navigating perimenopause and menopause, estrogen metabolism. Did you know that how your body processes estrogen can make or break your experience during menopause? You've maybe heard of estrogen for your reproductive health, but it also influences your mood, energy levels, weight, and even your risk for certain diseases. And here's the thing, when your body doesn't metabolize estrogen effectively, it can lead to symptoms like hot flashes, fatigue, and brain fog, or even increase your risk for long term health risks. But there's good news. You have more control over this process than you might think. The foods you eat, the lifestyle choices you make, and even the way you move your body can all play a key role in helping your body to handle estrogen better. Today, I'm going to help you to understand what is going on in your body and the small but powerful steps you can take toward feeling your best. And at the end, I will tell you a story about my client Denise and what she did to get her body working at its best. So let's get started. Menopause doesn't have to feel like you are living in someone else's body. Your host, Lynda Enright, has spent the last 25 years helping women to thrive in midlife. Here you'll find science based practical advice that you can start using today to get real results for your health. Welcome to Joyful Menopause. Today, we are talking about estrogen metabolism because estrogen is the foundation of your hormonal balance during this stage of life. Let's unpack how it works and more importantly, what you can do to support your body through this transition. Before we dive in, I want to start by pointing out that diet is a critical factor that often gets overlooked. The foods you choose play a key role in balancing your hormones and ensuring they're metabolized effectively. During menopause, your body is already navigating significant hormonal shifts. Supporting it with nutrient dense foods can make a world of difference. Think of your diet as a tool to help your body maintain equilibrium during this time. Let's start with the basics. What is estrogen metabolism? Estrogen metabolism might sound complicated, but let me break it down into simple terms. Your liver is the central hub for processing estrogen. You can think of it like a two step cleaning process your body uses to manage estrogen and keep things running smoothly. So phase one is sort of like sorting through a pile of stuff in your house. In this phase, your liver takes estrogen and breaks it into small pieces. These smaller pieces are called metabolites, but these metabolites, they're not all created equal. So this is what's important. You have three different types. One type called two hydroxy estrone is like the safe pile. It doesn't cause much harm. It's easy for your body to handle. The second type is 16 alpha hydroxy estrone. And it's like a pile of items that, could be risky if left unchecked, and they can promote tissue growth that might lead to problems like cancer. The third type, 4 hydroxyestrone, is more like the danger pile because it can damage your cells if not properly managed. So once this phase one happens, this sorting is done, then the second phase is like packing up the piles of stuff and taking them out of your house for good. So your liver neutralizes the risky and harmful metabolites by adding tags to them, sort of marks them, and these tags make those metabolites water soluble so they can just get safely flushed out through your urine or bile. So if either phase one or phase two isn't working well, it's like leaving those risky or dangerous piles in your house. and they can create imbalances. They can lead to harmful effects and even get recirculated into your body. So by supporting your liver and providing the right tools through foods and nutrients and healthy habits, you help to make sure these processes work efficiently keeping your hormone balance in check. When these phases work well, your body keeps a healthy balance of estrogen and clears harmful forms effectively. But when they don't, it can contribute to hormone imbalances, higher cancer risks and symptoms like mood swings weight gain, and fatigue. Now there are a lot of things that affect how efficiently your body processes estrogen. Number one is your lifestyle choices. Things like a poor diet, excess alcohol, obesity, and lack of exercise can all disrupt this balance. Number two, environmental factors. Exposure to chemicals like pesticides, industrial pollutants, and hormones in animal products can increase estrogen levels. And number three genetics, your unique genetic makeup plays a role in how your liver metabolizes estrogen. And number four, one area that is often overlooked is the health of your gut. Your gut contains bacteria that influences estrogen metabolism, imbalances in your gut microbiome can cause estrogen to re enter circulation, throwing off your hormone balance, which is why in my Joyful Menopause coaching program, we are always working on the health of your gut. Today, we are talking about estrogen metabolism and how its balance can impact the symptoms you might be experiencing in perimenopause and menopause. And what I think is so amazing is that you have a lot of control over how all this works by the choices you make every day in your diet and exercise. In just a bit, I'll tell you about how my client Denise made changes that really transformed her health. You can help your body manage estrogen more effectively during perimenopause and menopause. I have six science backed strategies that will help your body to effectively manage estrogen to help you feel better and prevent disease in the future. Number one. Eat cruciferous vegetables. Foods like broccoli, cauliflower, and kale are rich in compounds that are helpful to detoxify your liver. If you like the science of it, they're the compounds indol 3 carbinol and diindolmethane or DIM. You've maybe heard of DIM. That's something that I hear talked about. So try adding a handful of kale to your morning smoothie or mix kale into your salad. Roast cauliflower as a side dish or use broccoli in a stir fry for an easy, delicious meal. Number two, increase fiber intake fiber helps remove excess estrogen through your digestive system. When you're experiencing constipation, estrogen can end up hanging out in your body longer recirculating, and that's not great for your health. So by adding fiber, you can help to move your bowels and along with it, excess estrogen, you can sprinkle ground flax seeds on your yogurt or oatmeal, or add them to your favorite baking recipes for a nutrient boost. Fiber is really about fruits and vegetables aiming for six to 10 servings a day of fruits and vegetables, mostly vegetables. And you'll be doing a great job to get lots of nourishing fiber. Number three, incorporate antioxidants. There are some specific vitamins A, C, and E along with plant chemicals like carotenoids, isoflavones, lycopene, and polyphenols that can help neutralize harmful estrogen metabolites. So start your day with a cup of green tea or use turmeric to season soups or roasting vegetables. Add blueberries to your breakfast. Use onions and mushrooms in a sheet pan meal or have a side of spinach salad for lots of colorful and powerful antioxidant nutrients. Number four. Prioritize gut health. Probiotics and prebiotics can reduce the reabsorption of estrogen in your gut, including prebiotic rich foods like bananas, onions, or garlic in your meals and enjoy probiotic rich options like good quality yogurt without artificial sweeteners or a lot of added sugar or fermented vegetables such as kimchi or sauerkraut. Number five, support liver detoxification nutrients like B vitamins, magnesium and glutathione support the liver's detox process. This is why in my Joyful Menopause coaching program, we start by testing nutrient levels to see what your levels are to be able to help to support these processes. You could add rosemary to roasted potatoes or meats, or include citrus zest in dressings or baked goods for a flavorful way to support detoxification. Eggs, avocados, legumes, these are all good sources of B vitamins. And number six, lastly, exercise regularly. Physical activity helps balance hormones and maintain a healthy weight, both of which support better estrogen metabolism, a brisk 30 minute walk, a yoga session, or a dance class are all great ways to keep moving without over complicating your routine. You might be wondering why focusing so much on estrogen metabolism is important during this phase of life. As you approach menopause, your estrogen levels fluctuate and eventually they decline, and so how your body handles the estrogen becomes even more critical. Poor metabolism can amplify symptoms like hot flashes, weight gain, and mood swings. More importantly, supporting healthy estrogen metabolism can reduce your risk of long term issues like osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and hormone sensitive cancers. Taking care of your estrogen metabolism is about more than managing symptoms. It's about empowering yourself for a healthier future. Small changes in your diet and lifestyle can make a huge difference. And if you're looking for ways to make it easier to incorporate some of these diet changes to detoxify your liver and support your gut health, go to the comments to download my free guide, 20 ways to nourish with fruits and vegetables and it you'll find easy ways to bump up the nutrition in your diet for your best health. And before we go, I want to tell you a story about my client Denise and how she used this information to really transform her health. When Denise first came to me, she was feeling defeated. Menopause had brought on a host of symptoms that were interfering with her daily life. Abdominal weight gain, constipation, hot flashes, and sleepless nights that left her exhausted. She told me she just didn't feel like herself anymore, and no matter what she tried, nothing seemed to help. Together, we took a closer look at her diet and lifestyle. And I explained to her how inflammation, nutrient imbalances, and gut health can all impact menopause symptoms, and how just a few targeted changes could really make a big difference. Denise committed to improving her diet. We focused on reducing inflammation and optimizing nutrients to support her gut health and liver detox. And one of her biggest goals was to increase her intake of fruits and vegetables because she didn't feel like she was doing great with that. She was eating maybe two or three servings a day and she got to consistently getting at least six servings and usually even more. The results were really amazing. Within just a few weeks, Denise started to notice changes. Her constipation was the first to improve, bringing her finally a sense of relief and more energy. Soon after, she realized her hot flashes weren't as frequent or intense. And as her hot flashes subsided, her sleep improved as well, and she was finally getting the rest that her body desperately needed. Then, to Denise's relief, the scale began to move. For the first time in years, Denise started to feel like herself in her body. She felt her confidence and optimism returning. Denise's story is a powerful reminder that small, intentional changes can lead to life changing results. By prioritizing her health, she was able to take control of her symptoms and feel like herself again. If you're struggling with menopause symptoms, know that there is hope. Simple steps like improving your diet and addressing inflammation can make a world of difference. Denise's journey shows that healing starts with the right approach, and I'm here to help you take that first step. Thanks for joining me today. If you found this episode helpful, subscribe below or share it with a friend and remember your health deserves your attention until next time, take care and be well.