Do You Actually Want To Lower Estrogen Naturally?
In short the answer is no, your estrogen levels aren’t actually the problem. You need estrogen/ estradiol for helping to modulate your sexual health & protect cardiovascular health. What you do want lower, is your inflammation & exposure to xenoestrogens/ chemical estrogen.
These are the causes of lower testosterone & what most attribute to having high estrogen. Once again, you don’t want to focus on ways to lower estrogen naturally, you need to get the inflammation down. So we are going to look at ways you can lower your inflammation, which is actually the outcome you are looking for!
You Can Learn A Bit More About What It Means To Have Too Much Or Too Little Estrogen As A Man, By Checking Out This Article
Why Does This Need Addressing At All?
Over the past few decades, men’s testosterone across all age groups have been dropping at a significantly level. Meaning that average testosterone levels for men are considerably lower in 2020, than they were in 2010, 2000, & 1990. Low testosterone is linked to a multitude of health issues, as you can in the above picture. The main issues include:
- Fatigue
- High body fat
- Low muscle/ muscle loss
- Depression
- Erectile dysfunction
- Loss of libido
- Poor sleep
- Brain fog
- Lack of motivation/ focus
So by optimizing your testosterone production & lowering levels of inflammation, you can help reduce your risk & prevent the above.
Here are 4 Easy Ways to Lower Estrogen Naturally:
Lose Excess Body Fat
Excess body fat and particularly belly fat is probably responsible for most of your excess estrogen & lowered testosterone production. There are three key reasons why excess body fat leads to so much excess estrogen & lower testosterone:
- Body fat & particular belly fat is the most hormonal active organ & produces estrogen
- Excess body/ belly fat leads to the conversion of testosterone to estrogen through a process called aromatsation
- Excess body/ belly fat leads to lower testosterone production
I cover all these points in more detail the below article.
Is Fat Loss The Best All Natural Testosterone Booster?
All three of the above leads to even more body fat which in turn leads to higher estrogen & lower testosterone. Which in turn means even more body fat. That higher body fat then leads to a further decrease in testosterone and increase in estrogen levels & the cycle goes on.
So hopefully you can see why losing excess body fat should be your first priority to lower estrogen naturally & lower your inflammation for healthier levels of testosterone. One thing to clarify is that while aromatisation is the process by which testosterone is converted to estrogen. You don’t want to look at aromatisation inhibitors or blockers. As your body still needs estrogen & AI’s can lower estrogen too much!
Eliminate Exposure To Chemical Estrogen / Endocrine Disruptors
Another major reason testosterone levels have dropped & estrogen levels have increased in the past past few decades is our bodies being exposed to a vast range of toxic chemicals that mimic estrogen & disrupt hormone production. These chemicals mimicking estrogen is obviously one of the issues, the other is disruption of hormone production. This can lead to lower testosterone production, increased estrogen production & all hormone production being out of whack.
This imbalance of hormones can potentially lead to a multitude of illnesses. In some cases it is even linked with some types of cancers, so serious beyond the testosterone & estrogen element! Sadly these chemicals are found everywhere. In fact you’ll probably be shocked by just how many products can & in the case of most brands expose you to these chemicals.
Where Chemical Estrogen/ Endocrine Disruptors Are Found
I’m going to give you a list of some of the most common places these chemicals are found. Please note this isn’t exhaustive & there are other places these chemicals are found.
- Non organic fruit & veg
- GMO crops
- Animals fed GMO feed/ crops
- Plastics
- Skin care products
- Oral hygiene products
- Non stick cook ware
- Shower products
- Pesticides
- Air freshners
- Domestic & commercial cleaning products
- Till receipts
- Antibacterial products
As you can see it’s a wide number of products that exposes you to these toxic chemicals. They make their way to in your body by being ingested, inhaled & absorbed through the skin. These toxic chemicals have a lot different names, some you may recognize as umbrella terms & others are specific chemicals that you may be aware of.
Again not an exhaustive list but these are the chemicals & terms you may regularly here & definitively need to be avoided.
- Xenoestrogens
- Endocrine disruptors
- BPA
- BPS
- Phthalates
- PFOA
- PFAS
- Parabens
- SLS
- Sulfates
- EDC’s
- Chemical Estrogens
- Forever chemicals
As you can see these chemicals are pretty wide spread & found in a number of products. The good news is that there are ways to reduce exposure, as there are products you can opt for that are free of these chemicals. I always suggest starting with the things that you are definitively exposed to daily.
This mainly means foods, shower, cooking, oral care, skincare & cleaning products. There are plenty of options that you can opt for. You can check out some of my articles below where I suggest options that are free of chemicals estrogen & endocrine disruptors.
Recommended Products Free Of Xenoestrogens & Endocrine Disruptors
Limit Intake Of Estrogenic & Inflammatory Food Sources
There are multiple foods that are highly inflammatory, estrogenic and can lower testosterone levels. With the most common being foods high in sugar, seed oils, phytoestrogens, mycoestrogens, omega 6 & alcohol.
Phytoestrogens
These are foods commonly found in plants & plant-based foods, with best examples being flaxseeds, sesame seeds & soy products. Now research is conflicting whether these foods actively lower testosterone. You are still best off avoiding though! Soy & soy based foods actually present another issue, in that they can disrupt thyroid signaling. This means that hormone production is interrupted & this includes negatively impacting testosterone production.
Mycoestrogens/ Mycotoxins
Mycoestrogens these are toxins that are present in food where mold grows on them. The main foods that present this issue are grains, nuts & some fruits. I suggest you keep these foods minimal anyway as they aren’t ideal nutrition wise for optimised T
If you are going to eat them, make sure there is no mold growing. Nut butters are especially problematic as they become moldy very easily! These toxins/ estrogen can damage gut health and the immune system. They can also lead to increased estrogen production, so best to avoid the above foods as much as possible altogether. If not, at least be wary for any mold on these foods!
Seed/ Vegetable Oils
I’m going to cover this at a very high level, as I have an article dedicated to this subject. Seed & vegetable oils are extremely inflammatory. There are a couple of different reasons for this, first off they are high in Omega 6 which is extremely inflammatory. You need Omega 3 to balance out level, which seed/ vegetable oils are low in. Then on top of that they are highly processed, there are chemicals and bleaches added to create these oils. The inflammation leads to lower testosterone; but also increases risk of pretty much all chronic disease!
Sugar
Along with seed oils, sugar is highly inflammatory, especially when you have it in excess. When you constantly eat sugar, insulin levels become consistently spiked. This inhibits testosterone production, lowers the effectiveness of insulin, leading to insulin resistance & ultimately high inflammation & body fat, This means lower testosterone & higher estrogen levels.
Omega 6
Pretty much already covered this but an excess of omega 6 in comparison to omega 3 leads to inflammation. Omega 6 isn’t evil & the body uses it for energy. The problem is when you have an excess of Omega 6 in comparison with Omega 3, that is what leads to inflammation. Most people already have way too much to Omega 6 in comparison with 3, so you want to avoid high omega 6 sources.
Alcohol
I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that alcohol isn’t good for your health. What you may not know is that it is very inflammatory & estrogenic (especially larger). You want to keep intake minimal & save it for special occasions! Avoiding all the above foods or keeping consumption low is probably the most effective way you can lower inflammation and lower estrogen naturally as a result.
Consume Foods That Lower Inflammation
Ideally you also want to consume foods that lower inflammation. This means your T production will be higher & will help prevent the conversion of testosterone to estrogen. Some of the main foods that lower inflammation & can lower estrogen naturally as a result are:
- Cruciferous (leafy green) vegetables
- White button mushrooms
- Dark berries
- Fermented foods
- Pomegranate
- Red onions
- Foods high in omega 3
Cruciferous Veg
As mentioned above these are leafy green vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, cabbages & cauliflower. They are sources of indoles & sulforaphane which are powerful antioxidants that lower inflammation & are linked to higher T. A quick note when it comes to indole 3 carbinol, you may see supplements advertised for this or DIM, stating they will lower estrogen levels.
I wouldn’t advise using these, they will lower your estrogen too much. Your body does need some estrogen, we are seeking to lower naturally so there is no longer an excess. We don’t want to interfere to the extent that supplements like DIM or certain drugs will. Cruciferous veg are also an excellent source of many vitamins & minerals. This includes vitamin C, magnesium & Zinc, these help lower cortisol & aid healthy testosterone production.
High in Antioxidants & Lower Aromatase
White button mushrooms, dark berries, pomegranate & red onions are all excellent sources of antioxidants. They are also natural aromatase inhibitors, this means they can help the prevention of testosterone to estrogen. While eating dietary sources is fine, just like with indoles/ DIM. You don’t want to supplement with aromatase inhibitors or drugs that inhibit aromatase either. You don’t want to excessively lower levels as that can lower estrogen too much, as that can have negative effects on health as well.
Fermented Foods
Fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, Greek yogurt, Kefir & kombucha, are all excellent sources of probiotics or improved gut health. When your health is better your health as a whole is better including lower inflammation.
Foods High In Omega 3
As mentioned earlier, most people have an intake of Omega 6 that is way too high. Omega 6 is extremely inflammatory & you need Omega 3 to balance out levels. So you need to eat foods high in Omega 3 to reduce the inflammation. Some of the best sources of omega 3 are eggs, beef, oily fish like salmon, mackerel & cod.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you’ve found this article useful. These are the 4 best ways I’ve found to lower estrogen naturally and keep yourself in good health.
Any questions please drop me a comment and I’ll get back to you.
Please feel free to share this article with anyone you think may find it useful. You can also follow me on my social media sites. I cover ways to lower inflammation & as a result lower estrogen naturally & increase testosterone production.
