← Fertility Education
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Manali Hirani
Hello and welcome. I'm Manali Hirani, your host and creator of fertility education, shortly named as Fertilityed. I launched this podcast with a mission which is to educate people and share my knowledge about the subject of fertility. And by doing this, I believe that it will empower women to make an informed decision of their sex life and future family planning. And I'm pretty excited to bring you my next episode of podcast just to introduce myself again. I am a certified embryologist, hypnotherapist, natural family planning practitioner and your fertility advisor. And I have had my presence in this field for over 10 years now and I'm using this platform to share my knowledge, experience and empower you on your next step regarding fertility. I will be covering a range of topics through my podcast episode which will educate you further to understand your own body and this broad field. And if you're one of those who are suffering from infertility, I want to tell you that you're not alone in this journey. And as a fertility advisor, I will try my best to educate you so can keep your fertility health up to the mark. So let's learn, empower and inspire. Right then, here we go. Hello and welcome to Fertilityed podcast. I'm your host, Manali Hirani. Today's topic is again about estrogen. Now in my previous topic I talked a lot about estrogen and estrogen domination. Friends, today's topic is a kind of a continuous of the previous one as today we are going to talk about estrogen deficiency. Now, estrogen is one of the most important female reproductive or sex hormones. Of course, the progesterone is the other, but this is also one of the most important one. Now, estrogen is produced by the developing follicles in the woman's ovaries or by corpus luteum or some bit of being. Also produced by adrenal glands, fat tissues which are present throughout our body and some by placenta during the pregnancy. Now, although estrogen is present in both women and men, there is usually a higher level of estrogen in women who are of reproductive age. Estrogen is highly necessary for females to start puberty and develop breast and pubic hair. Therefore, estrogen increases the rate at which women reach reproductive maturity. It also helps to create a thick endometrium and affects the other aspects of menstrual cycle. So now we know that how important hormone estrogen is for a female body. But what about men? Well, it also has an important role in men. In a man, estrogen helps to regulate the maturation of a healthy Sperm. So, but today we are going to talk about estrogen deficiency in women. More specifically, how are we going to treat them naturally? By now, I hope you have had a chance to hear my previous episode which was more about estrogen dominance. And I have covered a lot in detail about that. So if you have heard about this, it will be pretty easy to understand what estrogen deficiency is in this episode. So let's begin. Hypoestrogenism. Now, hypoestrogenism refers to a lower than a normal level levels of estrogen in our body. This is a normal psychological response in postmenopausal women, but it is a concerning finding in a woman who are trying to conceive. Although it is less common than low progesterone, however, we still find such cases. Now, hypoestrogenism requires proper diagnosis and treatment to prevent long term health consequences. Too little estrogen can cause headaches, hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. However, a lack of estrogen can also affect fertility by preventing ovulation and not allowing the lining of the uterus to thicken enough for the fertilized eggs to implant. Estrogen deficiency can be caused by a couple of factors, like having too little luteinizing hormones, which actually regulates the manufacture of estrogens. Or it can be a result of the pituitary gland functioning incorrectly, such as it could be due to excessive exercise or being underweight or having eating disorders. So it's really important to know what's the root cause of the estrogen deficiency. But the symptoms are far worse. You know, the other symptoms I could think of related to low estrogen level could be anxiety or low sex drive depression. And this one is the most important one is the decreased bone mineral density, which can increase the risk of bone fractures. The other ones could be abnormal lipid profiles or irregular menses or no menses at all. Without enough estrogen, premenopausal women are at increased risk of fractures and cardiovascular disease because of the protective effect of estrogen on bone and vascular health. It is also important for optimal brain function, especially when it comes to memory. Okay, so what's considered the normal level of estrogen? Well, let's talk about how low is too low. Now, hypoestrogenism is diagnosed when serum estradiol levels are at lower than 30 to 40 picograms per milliliter. So if you have been diagnosed with hypoestrogenism, this does not mean you necessarily require a hormonal treatment, as estrogen can be increased in a woman's body through medications or by supporting the endocrine system through the use of herbs and supplements. So all you want to do is, if you're suffering from one, is to find a doctor or a functional medicine practitioner who understands the relationship between the diet and hormone and can help correct this imbalance. Today we are going to talk about some natural therapies, so especially the herbal remedies and diet for helping estrogen levels. Please note that no herbs has been shown to actually increase the serum estrogen significantly. However, I'm going to talk about couple of herbs which has been shown to be quite helpful when it comes to estrogen deficiency. So let's begin. What are they starting with? Soy. Now soy has had a bad reputation over past few years, but it's not something you should necessarily avoid. Soy contains phytoestrogens, which are naturally occurring estrogen like compounds found in plants and seeds. Phytoestrogens bind to estrogen receptors in our body and can help raise or lower the estrogen as needed. Several rigorous studies have shown that the soy consumption has a protective effect on breast cancer recurrence and mortality. There are however, serious and valid concerns regarding the use of GMO soy and its effect on our reproductive organs. Soy should be avoided in anyone with thyroid conditions as it can adversely affect the thyroid functioning. I recommend using or recommend consuming organic soy in traditionally fermented forms such as miso or tempa. Now the question comes is how much soy do you need? Well, one cup of soy milk or half cup of tempeh contains approximately 25 milligrams of soy. So consume this amount two to three times a week for health benefits. But if you are sensitive I would say you need to try active isoflavone component when it comes to soy. So consider snow if you are suffering from hypoandrogenism. But you have to be really careful at how do you use it as as it could be really strong for your body. The next one could I could think of is flaxseed. Now flaxseed contains a high amount of lignins which are a great source of phytoestrogen. Consumption of 10 grams which is 2 tablespoon daily has been shown to increase levels of 2 hydroxy estrogen which is the good estrogen in our body. So add organic ground flax into your diet for daily boost and to have a healthy level of estrogen. This superfood tastes great in smoothies, oatmeals and baked food or just sprinkled on the top of your salad and roasted veggies. Trust me, it's a great thing. I use it and I prefer that you should be, if not, even if you're not suffering from hypoestrogenism. It's really, it's really great superfood. So you should be at least adding one tablespoon a day in your, to sprinkle on your meal. It's, it's a great thing as it also has the other benefits. Okay, the next one is black cohosh. Now black cohosh is one of the best herbs for relieving menopausal symptoms, especially hot flashes. So it contains naturally occurring estrogenic compound that decrease both the severity and frequency of hot flashes. Now for women who have been diagnosed with pcos, black cohosh increased the mid cycle estrogens and clinical pregnancy rate when combined with fertility drugs such as Clomid. It's a wonderful thing. Okay, so black cohosh is one of the herbs to be considered if you're planning for a pregnancy or if you're suffering from pcos. The another one I could think of is Rhodiola rosea. Now Rhodiola rosea is often cited as adaptogenic. It's a type of a herb that helps our body to adapt to stresses in our life. So emerging research is finding that rhodiola may also act as a selective estrogen receptor modulator. Now as a serm, which is a selective estrogen receptor modulator, Rhodiola can help balance estrogen levels in our body and may even relieve symptoms of menopause. Now rhodiola is also beneficial in treatment of amenorrhea, which is no peas as it helps to decrease the level of cortisol, which is our stress hormones in our body and helps to get our menses back. So Rhodiola rosea is one that you should be looking into. The other one is maca, one of my favorite. Now maca root is a safe and effective alternative to hormone replacement therapy during menopause. Now there are a couple of reputed certified herb suppliers who sells maca, which are pre gelatinized form of maca that naturally releases estrogen, providing relief of menopausal related symptoms without the need of actually hormone replacement therapy. Now maca can be purchased in both pills and powder form. As a powder, add maca into your morning smoothie or oatmeal or just stir it into a hot drink for that rich and earthy taste. But I would say consider maca anyway if you have any fertility issues, especially if you are, you know, if you're gradually moving towards your perimenopausal or menopausal phase. The next thing I want you to add is cod liver oil. Now, cod liver oil contains high amount of vitamin A, vitamin D and omega 3 fatty acids which are important nutrients for sex hormones. You know, sex hormone productions. Cod liver oil does not contain any estrogenic compounds, but it simply provides us building blocks for making new hormones. It has a really positive effect on bone mineral density which increases calcium levels in the bones and preventing bone loss due to hypoestrogenism. So it is important to choose a brand of cod liver oil that has been third party tested, I would say for purity, freshness and potency, to avoid exposure to harmful toxins and contaminants. So make sure you know what you're choosing, do your own research and get a good cod liver oil supplement. Okay. The other one I could think is hops, the female flower of hops, which is Humilis lupulus. This one gives beer its zesty flavor. But this herb is also as a potent phytoestrogen. Hops contain some compounds which has been shown to be equal or greater than estrogen activity. So you know it promotes the healthy metabolism of estrogen and functioning of estrogen receptors. So make sure you speak to some practitioner before taking this herb. The another one is Tubulus terrestrise. Tubulus terrestrise is a herbal remedy historically used in a naturopathic medicine for its aphrodisiac properties. Now emerging evidence has shown that tubulus has the ability to increase the follicle stimulating hormone and estrogen levels in women. Studies have also shown an increase in the amount and size of follicles in mice injected with the tubules. The natural tonic may be beneficial when it's used during the follicular phase of your cycles as I don't think so. Tubulus is safe for, for your during the pregnancy. So it's really important that before taking any of these herbs, make sure that you speak to any herbalist of all functional medicine practitioner so that you know that what are the correct doses and what should be using at what phase of your life or if your fertility journey. So yes, this was my take on some natural remedies that you can be using to combat hypoestrogenisms which are tubulus, soy maca, flaxseeds, black cohosh or rhodiola rosea, hops or cod liver oil. It needs a cup, it needs some research. So. But once you do your research and once you find out the certified supplier or reputed supplier and a herbalist. It's great you can naturally increase your estrogen level. So I would say is to try out all the natural remedies, all these herbs to naturally increase your estrogen level just in case if that doesn't work. We always have medications, but as you know me by now, I always prefer taking step by steps and taking making sure that I do things as naturally as possible before start taking medications. I'm not saying the medicines are wrong, they of course are good if natural things doesn't work. But if you do your research and if you're dedicated and committed to your lifestyle, to your natural health, I'm sure it will do the job. So now you know that what too much estrogen does or what too less estrogen does and what can you do about it and how important the hormone estrogen is. So I hope you have learned something new today. If you have if has been even a little bit little bit helpful to you. If Please do not forget to rate, subscribe and review this podcast. And if you really like this podcast you can send me your Reviews on Instagram DMs or just email us. We'll be loving to hear them and if you think any of your friends or family could be helpful with this episode, do share with them. So this is all I have for you today. Hope you enjoyed. Take home a fair bit of knowledge and thank you so much for listening. I would highly appreciate if you can please leave your reviews, feedback, suggestions and questions. If you have any. I would love to hear from you. So you can drop us an email on infoertilityed.com you can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube on the name of Fertilityed. I would urge you to share this knowledge among your friends and relatives. Be it girls or boys, it doesn't matter. Just spread the word and awareness and yay. Don't forget to subscribe. See you next time. Until then, stay fertile, stay healthy. Bye bye.