How to Lower Estrogen

Research has shown these methods effective in lowering estrogen levels:

Exercise (lowers estrogen by 14%)
Weight loss
Gaining muscle
Reducing dietary fat (every 5% increase in energy from dietary fat raises estrogen 12.3%)
Reducing dietary sugar (lowers estrogen 25%)
Increasing dietary fiber
Eating berries, cabbage
Eating flaxseed (improves the good/bad estrogen ratio by 19%)
Supplementing with vitamin B6
Supplementing with vitex (battles the negative effects of estrogen by competing for receptor sites)
Avoiding consumption of grapefruit (shown to raise estrogen levels)

3 months of exercise lowers estrogen by 14%, independent of body fat reduction

After three months, women in the exercise group had a 7 percent decrease in the level of estradiol, the most potent blood estrogen, while women in the stretching group had no change in estradiol levels. (The exercise group performed moderate-intensity aerobic exercise 45 to 60 minutes, five days a week). Among exercisers, there was a 4 percent decrease in estrone levels compared with a 3 percent increase in controls, and the difference was statistically significant. Exercisers who lost more than 2 percent of their initial body fat had a 14 percent decrease in estradiol levels. Controls who lost body fat, however, did not experience a decrease in estradiol levels.

http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/20030123215938_health_news.shtml

Exercise and calorie restriction improves good/bad estrogen ratio

We sought to determine whether 4 months of moderate-intensity exercise coupled with calorie restriction would result in changes in urinary 2-OHE1, 16alpha-OHE1, or 2/16 in sedentary, premenopausal, eumenorrheic women. RESULTS: The intervention produced a significant drop in body fat (4.5%) and body weight (3.7 kg). Aerobic fitness increased significantly (26%). Overall, there were no significant effects of the diet and exercise intervention on 2-OHE1, 16alpha-OHE1, or 2/16. However, when divided into tertiles according to baseline 2/16, the intervention resulted in significant increases in 2/16 in women in the lowest tertile. Women in the lowest tertile (average 2/16 = 0.91) did not differ from the other tertiles in baseline estradiol concentrations, body fat, weight, fitness, or changes in these variables with the intervention.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17596776

Weight loss lowers estrogen, testosterone, LH and DHEA-S and increases progesterone

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of a weight loss program on the clinical and hormonal characteristics of anovulatory obese women attending our reproductive clinic. The mean weight loss was 9.5 kg. which represents a weight loss of 10.96% from initial body weight, with 26 patients (86.6%) resuming spontaneous ovulation. The women's mean plasma testosterone, LH, estradiol and DHEA-S decreased significantly and there was a significant increase in progesterone.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10544539

Lower BMI, not physical fitness, leads to better good/bad estrogen ratio

A higher sum of skinfolds was associated with significantly higher luteal 16-OHE1 (bad estrogen) levels and lower luteal phase 2:16 OHE ratio. Higher BMI was associated with lower follicular phase 2-OHE1 (good estrogen) and lower follicular 2:16 OHE1 ratio. We observed no statistically significant association between aerobic fitness and 2-OHE1 and 16alpha-OHE1, but found that body composition was associated with 2-OHE1 and 16alpha-OHE1 levels.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15809556

Gaining muscle improves good/bad estrogen ratio

A 12-week aerobic exercise training intervention significantly improved aerobic fitness and body composition but did not alter estrogen metabolism in premenopausal women. Interestingly, an increase in lean body mass was associated with a favorable change in 2-OHE1 to 16alpha-OHE1 ratio.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17416764

A 10% increase in body fat can raise estradiol by 5-7 pmol/l

Women with very low and high body fat had significantly lower levels of estrogen compared with women with low and average body fat. In women of very low to average body fat, a 10% increase in body fat was associated with a 5-7 pmol/l increase in estradiol levels. The association between fat percentage and estrogen was even stronger in women with positive energy balance, who also showed significant differences between body fat groups in estradiol profiles across whole the menstrual cycle. No such relationship was found in women with negative energy balance. CONCLUSIONS: Both very low and high body fat was associated with decreased estradiol levels. The relationship between estradiol and body fat was strongly influenced by women's energy balance.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18641044

Dietary fat increases estrogen levels and DHEA-S

The percentagesof increase in serum estrone were 12.3%, 25.0% , 29.9%, and 33.9% with a 5% increasein energy from total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat,and polyunsaturated fat, respectively. The corresponding figuresfor DHEAS were 10.6%, 31.1%, 27.1%, and 20.3%, respectively.

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/135/12/2862

Reducing dietary sugar by 63% lowers estrogen by 25% in 3 weeks

The dietary sugar of 15 young men was reduced from their habitual approximately 150 g/day to about 55 g/day. After 3 weeks, the concentration of estradiol in their plasma fell by about 25%. Resumption of their habitual intake of sugar for 2 weeks restored the estradiol concentration to its previous value.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3214134

Dietary fiber lowers estrogen, progesterone, LH and FSH

Dietary fiber consumption was inversely associated with hormone concentrations (estradiol, progesterone, LH, and FSH) and positively associated with the risk of anovulation by using random-effects models with adjustment for total calories, age, race, and vitamin E intake. Each 5-g/d increase in total fiber intake was associated with a 1.78-fold increased risk of an anovulatory cycle. The adjusted odds ratio of 5 g fruit fiber/d was 3.05.

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/90/4/1061

100 grams per day of prunes, high in soluble fiber, lower estrogen levels in one month

Nineteen healthy premenopausal women consumed their habitual diets for 3 menstrual cycles and then consumed 100 g prunes/d for the next 3 cycles. RESULTS: Prune supplementation increased total and soluble fiber intakes by 4 and 2 g/d, respectively. Mean luteal 2-hydroxyestrone (2OHE1) excretion decreased from 3.92 to 2.20 nmol/mmol creatinine during the third cycle. Luteal 16alpha-hydroxyestrone (16alphaOHE1) excretion decreased from 1.38 to 0.87 and 0.87 nmol/mmol creatinine during the first and third cycles, respectively. Follicular 16alphaOHE1 excretion decreased significantly only during the first cycle (from 0.82 to 0.45 nmol/mmol creatinine).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12450912

Dietary fiber lowers estrogen; dietary fat and excess body fat have no effect

Adiposity and dietary fat intake did not influence circulating plasma 17 beta-estradiol but dietary fiber intake was negatively correlated with both follicular and luteal 17 beta-estradiol concentrations. Subjects with high fiber intakes (> or = 25 g fiber daily) had significantly lower concentrations of 17 beta-estradiol in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Physical activity was similar in groups consuming high and low fiber diets. Subjects with oligomenorrhoea or amenorrhoea had higher fiber intakes/energy than subjects with eumenorrhoea.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8414277

Berries, cabbage and fiber improve good/bad estrogen ratio; caffeine raises bad estrogen

Foods rich in hydroxybenzoic acids (i.e., berries) and anthocyanidins (i.e., berries and cabbage) comprised the 2 polyphenol subgroups whose consumption was significantly and positively associated with 2-OHE1. Caffeine consumption (excluding caffeine from coffee) was positively related to 16α-OHE1 concentrations with the highest level of caffeine consumption (≥319 mg/d) showing the highest metabolite levels. Total dietary fiber, as well as fiber estimated from vegetables and fruits, was significantly inversely associated with 16α-OHE1.

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/136/6/1588.full

10 grams of flaxseed, less than two tablespoons, boosts good/bad estrogen ratio by 18.9%

This study showed that daily consumption of 10 g of ground flaxseed for two menstrual cycles significantly increased the 2-Hydroxyestrone:16alpha-Hydroxyestrone ratio in premenopausal women during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. It also showed that consumption of 28 g of wheat bran (insoluble fiber) did not significantly affect the luteal phase 2-Hydroxyestrone:16alpha-Hydroxyestrone ratio. The flaxseed treatment significantly increased urinary 2-Hydroxyestrone excretion by 30.7% compared with the control treatment (2-Hydroxyestrone is estradiol that has been deactivated). The two treatments containing flaxseed significantly increased the 2-Hydroxyestrone:16alpha-Hydroxyestrone ratio by 18.9%. These results suggest that flaxseed contains components that may be protective against breast cancer in premenopausal women.

http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/9/7/719.full

Flaxseed consumption lowers free estrogen by increasing SHBG

An observational study of 34 women showed urinary lignan concentrations (lignans are abundant in flaxseed) significantly and directly correlated with SHBG concentrations and inversely correlated with the proportion and concentration of free estradiol.

http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/83/7/2223

Flaxseed lowers estrogen and lengthens luteal phase by 1.2 days, in 2 months

We evaluated the effect of the ingestion of flax seed powder, known to produce high concentrations of urinary lignans, on the menstrual cycle in 18 normally cycling women, using a balanced randomized cross-over design. Three anovulatory cycles occurred during the 36 control cycles, compared to none during the 36 flax seed cycles. Compared to the ovulatory control cycles, the ovulatory flax cycles were consistently associated with longer luteal phase lengths (12.6 vs. 11.4). Although flax seed ingestion had no significant effect on luteal phase progesterone concentrations, the luteal phase progesterone/estradiol ratios were significantly higher during the flax cycles. Midfollicular phase testosterone concentrations were slightly higher during flax cycles. Flax seed ingestion had no effect on early follicular phase concentrations of DHEA-S, prolactin, or SHBG.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8077314

Vitex competes with estrogen for receptor sites

These data suggest that linoleic acid from the fruits of Vitex agnus-castus can bind to estrogen receptors and induce certain estrogen inducible genes.

http://www.chiroonline.net/_fileCabinet/chaste_berry.pdf

Vitamin B6 lowers estrogen and boosts progesterone

Administration of vitamin B6 at doses of 200-800 mg/day lowers blood estrogen, increases progesterone and results in improved symptoms under double-blind conditions.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6684167

Progesterone may battle the negative effects of high estrogen

Topical progesterone cream has an antiproliferative effect on estrogen-stimulated endometrium.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12524095

Grapefruit boosts estrogen and increases risk of breast cancer

We found a statistically significant positive association between whole grapefruit intake (we had no information on grapefruit juice intake) and endogenous serum estrogen level among 242 naturally postmenopausal Latina women not taking menopausal hormone therapy. Since it is well established that serum estrogen concentration is associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk, it is plausible that regular intake of grapefruit would increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer. Therefore, we recently investigated whole grapefruit intake in association with breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women. A total of 1,657 incident breast cancer cases were available for analysis. Grapefruit intake was significantly associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (relative risk = 1.30), for subjects in the highest category of intake, i.e., one-quarter grapefruit or more per day, compared to non-consumers. The relative risk of breast cancer associated with consumption of ¼ grapefruit or more per day compared to non-consumers was 44% higher among women who had never used hormone therapy; 36% higher in current estrogen therapy users, and 27% higher among current estrogen+progestin therapy users. The risk of breast cancer associated with consumption of grapefruit was 32% higher among lean/normal weight women and 26% higher among overweight/obese women. Taken together, these results suggest that the risk of breast cancer associated with grapefruit intake is stronger for subgroups of women with lower circulating estrogen levels. To our knowledge, this was the first report of a commonly consumed food that may increase the risk of breast cancer. If confirmed, these new findings have important public health implications.

http://www.cbcrp.org/research/PageGrant.asp?grant_id=2274