YORK, Pa. — Alright ladies, this one's for you.
Estrogen has a huge impact on a woman's health. If you have too much or too little of it, your health can suffer both mentally and physically.
So, how do you even know if you have low levels of estrogen? Dr. Vikki Petersen is a certified clinical nutritionist, chiropractor, and functional medicine practitioner, who offers these five symptoms to look for:
Weight gain: Without enough estrogen, your body burns starch and sugars less effectively which in turn, causes weight gain.
Mood swings and depression: Estrogen acts as a serotonin stabilizer, which helps maintain our mood, feelings of well-being, and happiness.
Fatigue: If you don't have enough estrogen, it decreases your ability to deal with stress but it also tends to burden your thyroid, which leaves you feeling exhausted.
Frequent urinary tract infections: Low estrogen levels reduce the health of the mucus membranes, therefore leaving you susceptible to infections that can result in urinary tract infections.
Hot flashes and night sweats: Lowered estrogen affects the part of your brain that controls your internal temperature. This can cause hot flashes during the day and night sweats at night, which can lead to a lack of sleep.
There are many ways that you can naturally try to treat low estrogen levels, however. Dr. Petersen suggests to:
Get Vitamin D: It can help maintain or even raise estrogen levels, so try to get outside and enjoy that sun at least for a little bit every day.
Add flax and sesame seeds to your diet: They are natural phytoestrogens and can help.
Try eating organic soybeans: They also contain phytoestrogens that balance estrogen, raise deficiency levels, and even can lower excess levels.
Of course if you have any concerns about a medical issue, it's always a good idea to get checked out by your local primary care physician.