Natural ways to support Hormone Health

Natural ways to support Hormone Health

when dealing with abnormal uterine bleeding

As women we often experience a wide variety of issues related to our menses.

We can be bleeding a LOT, bleeding very little, having a cycle that is really irregular, seems to be coming every other week, or not coming for months.

Abnormal uterine bleeding can include any bleeding that falls outside the range of a normal cycle bleed.

A normal menses is considered bleeding that occurs about every 28 days (range of 21 to 35) and lasts for 4-7 days.

• So this can be cycles that are less than 21 days, more than 35 days, bleeding that lasts less than 2 days or more than 7 days, bleeding that is very heavy (greater than 60-80 ml) or extremely light (less than 20 ml), bleeding when postmenopausal, or bleeding after having sex.

These cycle irregularities can be due to a wide variety of factors.

Often one will want to rule out any possibility of pregnancy, malignancy, fibroids or other such issues. Systemic factors could be issues with the thyroid, kidney, liver, or coagulation problems. And of course taking hormones, using IUDs, or other pharmaceuticals can all play an influence as well.

Common dietary therapy approaches used to support abnormal uterine bleeding are:

• an anti-estrogenic diet,

• prostaglandin diet,

• iron rich foods,

• and a general whole foods diet.

Below are some good places to start:

Decrease inflow of exogenous estrogens:

Sources of xeno-estrogens:

• Chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides

• Car exhaust

• Solvents and adhesives

• Emulsifiers and waxes in soaps and cosmetics

• Nearly all plastics (phthalates)

• Dry cleaning chemicals

• Livestock and poultry products (conventional)

• PCB’s and dioxins

Increase outflow of endogenous estrogens / support estrogen metabolism & clearance:

• Ensure healthy liver and gallbladder function

• Ensure adequate fiber to bind estrogen metabolites & regular bowel movements to excrete them

  • When bile is secreted from the gallbladder it carries estrogen, and if there isn’t a proper amount of fiber for it to bind to, the estrogen will get recycled into the body

• Increase brassica family foods (cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, etc.)

• Increase eggs (must be organic), garlic, onions and beans

• Eliminate sugar, white flour and all refined foods

• Eliminate methyl-xanthines: caffeine, tea, chocolate, cola

Focus on good fats to support healthy hormones

• Minimize: conventional animal fats including dairy (high quality organic okay)

• Emphasize: salmon, sardines, rainbow trout, crab, fish oil

Here I dive more into how we support the female cycle and fertility from a Chinese Medicine perspective.