Hormonal Imbalances

• I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Can you help?
• I have had chronic fatigue syndrome for 16 years and now have hair loss and digestion problems. Will the dietary recommendations found in The Yeast Connection help?

• I have been having hormonal problems lately. I cannot seem to get my estrogen level balanced out. Can you help?
• I have had unbearable vaginal itching and what sounds like my heart beating in my right ear. Do you think I should try to just eat raw foods?
• Is it really possible to have estrogen dominance when you have had a complete hysterectomy?

I have been having hormonal problems lately. I cannot seem to get my estrogen level balanced out. I have been having hot flashes for the last 6-7 months. Relief is only short-lived. I had a complete hysterectomy 11 years ago and did fine on Estrogen tablets for that period of time. The doctors say that quite possibly my liver is no longer allowing the pill form to metabolize and therefore it is not getting into my blood stream to do its job.

I am now using a formula of estrogen that is in a lotion form. My dosage has gone up to nine drops daily and the hot flashes are fewer but still present. My weight has also increased in the last 6 months. I am guesstimating approximately 17 lbs have appeared in that time. I am 5' 6" and now weigh 150.5. I do not eat a lot and do try to eat healthily. But though I have tried to walk rather regularly and watch what I eat I still have put on weight.

My daughter and I are now going to a fitness center so that we exercise regularly (5 days a week). We have been doing this for 2 weeks now but I still end up feeling like I am still gaining. And it's not necessarily muscle (I realize that muscle weighs more than fat). I am just curious if you have any ideas. Let me know. Thanks.

I realize that you have been suffering for quite some time and must be frustrated with the lack of results you have been getting from the "traditional" routes. It is obvious from your question that something changed about six months ago. The hot flashes and weight gain began and your doctors theorized that your liver stopped processing the estrogen pills. That is a highly probable hypothesis, since synthetic hormones are taxing to the human system.

The presence of growth hormones, whether synthetic or natural, in meat and dairy products can also contribute excessive amounts of unneeded hormones to the body. I believe your first step should be to reduce or eliminate animal products from your diet. This should go a long way in helping to regulate your hormone levels.

Since you no longer have your ovaries and you are experiencing hot flashes, I believe it may be prudent to continue estrogen therapy temporarily, but with natural estrogen. I am curious as to why you are not taking natural progesterone as well. The natural forms of these hormones are devoid of adverse side effects. Natural progesterone, a good diet, and aerobic exercise work together to prevent osteoporosis. You should probably be concerned about that, too. See my article entitled, Hormonal Imbalance, for more information.

Foods rich in plant estrogens will help to balance your hormones. Such foods are soybeans, soy products such as tofu, miso, and boiled beans. You might increase your intake of these foods in order to compensate for your reduction of meat. Foods rich in phytoestrogens are apples, carrots, yams, green beans, peas, potatoes, red beans, brown rice, whole wheat, rye, and sesame seeds.

Since your liver may be having problems metabolizing estrogen, you will want to strengthen it with foods high in iron and B complex. Legumes are an excellent source. They also contain important minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Spinach, mushrooms, tomato juice, acorn squash, watermelon, broccoli, and green beans are also good sources of B vitamins and iron.

Seeds and nuts are good sources of calcium, magnesium, and potassium. They also contain essential fatty acids and oils that will lubricate any dry mucous membranes you may have from your imbalance.

You may also want to avoid dairy products, caffeine, and alcohol. As I mentioned before, dairy products contain Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) and are also high in protein and fat. Caffeine can bring on hot flashes and mood swings. Alcohol can also lead to hot flashes. These "food" items are unhealthy in many other ways that I don't have room to get into here. Future articles will contain more information on these subjects.

Try to consume the whole-grain versions of starches. For instance, brown rice instead of white rice, whole-wheat bread instead of bleached bread, and whole-wheat pasta instead of white pasta will provide many more nutrients and are far easier for the body to digest. White sugar is also too bleached and processed for the body to use. It is toxic! Use a less processed sweetener such as Sucanat, stevia, honey, or pure, organic maple syrup.

As far as supplementation goes, see my Article of the Month, "Is Supplementation Necessary?" Bioflavonoids are remarkable in controlling hot flashes. There are no harmful side effects with them. Since you are taking hormone therapy, you may want to supplement with vitamins B6 and E, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.

Only plants can take inorganic materials and convert them into an organic, bioavailable form that our bodies can use. Man-made, chemical pills can never replace natural, organic, whole food. Some companies actually offer organic, whole-food supplements in a concentrated form. These are the best kind. Be careful, however, supplements are just that … "supplements" and nothing more. They cannot replace food or undo bad nutritional habits.

At your present height and weight, your Body Mass Index (BMI) is 24.4. That puts you on the high side of normal (BMI = 20 to 25). BMIs over 25 begin the overweight category. If you were to set your goal at the lower side of normal, say a BMI of 21, your weight would need to be about 130 lbs, approximately 20 lbs less than now. That's about where you were six months ago.

I hope you continue exercising with your daughter. It is encouraging to have a partner and it also holds you more accountable when you're tempted to skip a workout. Five days a week is excellent; however, be careful you're not overdoing it. By that I mean, build your aerobic base before you exercise anaerobically. Anaerobic means to exercise without oxygen, such as weight lifting and sports that take great effort in a short amount of time. Aerobics are actually anaerobic because this type of exercise makes great demands on the body beyond the target heart rate.

You may want to start out exercising aerobically at least three times a week for thirty minutes or more. Optimum fitness may be maintained by increasing your regimen to five days a week for one hour per day. See my Ask the Nutritionist article,"Does the Bible mention anything about exercising?," for more details on aerobic training.

Make this new lifestyle your own. Read over my newsletters, past Articles of the Month, and my Ask the Nutritionist column to find out more details about how God intended for us to eat. May God bless you in your efforts to treat your body as His temple. "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:20).

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For about 6 months now I have had unbearable vaginal itching and what sounds like my heart beating in my right ear (I don't know how else to explain it). I notice the beating stops when I fast and comes back when I eat certain foods. But I can't seem to tell which foods cause it. I don't eat red meat and haven't in years. I do eat fish mostly and sometimes chicken and turkey. Do you think I should try to just eat raw foods?

My article entitled, The Optimum Diet for Any Illness, may answer some of your questions about food restrictions. If you eat only the healthy "Phase One Power Foods" that I talked about in the article, you will be eliminating most of the contributors to your problems.

These vegetarian power foods will help you build your strength and health over time (green leafy vegetables, salad greens, cooked greens, cruciferous vegetables, avocado, some grains, and essential fats).

Of course, the best way to consume all of these power foods is raw; however, you may have problems digesting them that way. Cook them less and less until you are consuming a majority of your food raw. Juice the vegetables as often as you can to rebuild your body faster. If you start to detoxify too fast, temporarily decrease the amount of raw food and juices you are consuming. Listen to your body and set a comfortable pace for it. Make it fun! The prophet Daniel ate these foods and was found healthier than his peers after only ten days (Daniel 1:12-16). Why don't you take his ten-day test and see if you feel any healthier?

Your symptoms seem to describe a hormonal imbalance. Vaginal dryness and heart palpitations are classic symptoms. Do you also have hot flashes and night sweats? See my article entitled, Hormonal Imbalance, for more information. I also highly recommend Dr. Terry Dorian's book, Hormonal Imbalance: The Madness and the Message. She has experienced it first hand and tells how she overcame it. She summarizes her findings in conjunction with Dr. John R. Lee (p 109):

1. Progesterone deficiencies exist and the problem is wide spread.
2. Estrogen deficiency is largely a myth.
3. The problems which women in industrialized countries face are largely due to estrogen dominance.
4. Osteoporosis, breast cancer, decline in mental acuity, loss of libido--these are related to progesterone. They are not estrogen problems.
5. I'm not against [natural] estrogen; if a woman needs a little [natural] estrogen for hot flashes or vaginal dryness, she can have some--but the typical woman won't need it.

Organic, cold-pressed flaxseed oil is the richest vegetable source of omega-3 fatty acids. This is essential in balancing your hormones and lowering your blood pressure if you have hypertension. If you don't eat enough greens, take a tablespoon of this to get your daily requirement. Fish is also a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, but the concentrated toxins in most fish make the wisdom of this choice doubtful.

We now have very few untainted sources for fishing. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that "fish can accumulate up to 9 million times the level of PCB's in the waters in which they live. By the food chain effect, fish may thus become loaded with enormous concentrations of these toxic chemicals" (Robbins, John. Diet for a New America. Walpole, NH: Stillpoint Publishing, 1987. 331). Also, fish literally breathe the water they swim in, so think of the massive contamination that accumulates within them.

Shellfish that filter water (oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, and other mollusks) are even more susceptible to PCB saturation. For instance, an oyster can filter 10 gallons of water in one hour. After one month, the oyster can build up toxic chemicals from the water at concentrations 70,000 times the amount contained in the water. (Ibid. 331.) Avoid all animal products if you can.

I suggest that you eat the phase one power foods mentioned above, exercise aerobically at least four times per week, eat plenty of phytoestrogens (flaxseed and soy products), continue taking your supplements, and use natural, transdermal progesterone cream to achieve hormonal balance and end estrogen dominance. Stress reduction through prayer, relaxation, and exercise is valuable as well.

You may call Aeron LifeCycles Laboratory to obtain a saliva hormone test kit and progesterone cream information. Their number is 1-800-631-7900. The saliva test should prove helpful in determining whether you have a progesterone deficiency or not.

Fasting can be health building if done properly. I fast almost every Monday and for five days every few months. It helps to cleanse us of environmental toxins that we cannot avoid. It helps us detoxify from the "mistakes" we made in our diet. It gives our digestive system a much needed break.

However, an extended distilled water fast can be dangerous. Most of us Americans are already deficient in nutrients and cannot afford to go deeper in the hole. A juice fast is the safest and healthiest way to fast. Fresh, organic, raw vegetable juices should be consumed during a fast.

Also, distilled water mixed with fresh-squeezed lemon juice and pure, organic, grade B maple syrup is beneficial (Stanley Burroughs--The Master Cleanser). I'm sure you have several books on fasting if you do it so often. Dr. Norman Walker has many books on juicing that are helpful.

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Is it really possible to have estrogen dominance when you have had a complete hysterectomy? My hot flashes were drenching after my surgery for about the first 3 weeks until I went on oral estrogen.

A hysterectomy can induce subsequent ovary dysfunction or atrophy, which can cause a progesterone deficiency. I highly recommend Dr. Terry Dorian's book, Hormonal Imbalance: The Madness and the Message. She has experienced it first hand and tells how she overcame it. Concerning estrogen, Dr. John R. Lee says:

I'm not against [natural] estrogen; if a woman needs a little [natural] estrogen for hot flashes or vaginal dryness, she can have some--but the typical woman won't need it.

You might want to check out Promensil for a natural solution. By following my guidelines, you should eventually be able to wean off of estrogen. The most important thing you can do is to adopt a vegan diet. No matter what else you do, please give this a try for at least ten days, as Daniel did, and notice the benefits. Find an organic, whole-food supplement that contains vitamin B12, magnesium, copper, zinc, and other essential nutrients, which Body Balance and Barley Harvest contain in abundance. Take probiotics to rejuvenate the friendly bacteria in your intestines (Balance of Power and Flora Balance) that have been killed off by chlorine and antibiotics. Find a natural progesterone cream (Renascence) to counteract the estrogen dominance you likely have as well.

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Kenneth E. Loy, Jr., CN