Interesting Information

In my last post, I mentioned that I'd had a long talk with my friend Meredith this weekend about my medical mystery that keeps getting more and more... umm... fun?

She's done some research on a condition called Estrogen Dominance - and while some of the symptoms of the condition are common things that could be linked to several different diseases... seeing the list together and knowing that I have 19 of the 40 symptoms listed - you could make a strong case that there is a possibility that I have this problem.

Estrogen dominance describes a condition where you can have normal or excessive estrogen, but have too little progesterone to balance estrogen's effects in your body.

This actually does go hand in hand with PCOS... so it's not a far leap to make on your own. My doctor is running a full hormone profile today - which ought to tell him more about what is happening... but it certainly looks like I'll be taking some form of supplement.

Then comes the argument about natural progesterone cream versus the ingestable pill form, and which is better for you. I'm reading about the differences in the types of supplements and my only concern with the pill form is that my RNY Gastric Bypass will have some sort of effect on the metabolizing of the pills and it won't be as effective. I guess in a perfect world - some sort of injectable supplement would be ideal - but that leaves me giving myself multiple shots a day - which I already take 2 a day as it is.

In my research - I've come across something called the Anti-Estrogen Diet:

(I encourage you to all read this...men can have this problem too!)

An anti-estrogenic diet is simple and delicious. It has three main points:

• Eat down on the food chain. Eat foods that are more in tune with our genetic makeup such as fruits, vegetables, beans, roots, nuts, seeds, eggs, dairy and wild-caught fish.

• Minimize foods treated with chemicals. Eat as much organic food as possible, and avoid synthetic vitamins.

• Supplement your diet with nutrients that support your hormones. The flavones chrysin, apigenine, quercetin, and narigenin all inhibit estrogen, as well as the indoles: indole 3 carbinol, diindolymethane (DIM), and indole 3 acetate.

The anti-estrogenic diet consists of a three-week jump start program. The first week is a liver detoxification program that will cleanse the liver and enhance its functioning to create an environment that will allow your body to efficiently metabolize fats and carbohydrates for energy.

Phase I relies on fresh fruits and vegetables (heavy on crucifers such as broccoli), low-fat yogurt, fertile eggs, beans, whole grains, wild-caught fish and aged cheese, and prepares the body to switch from fuel based on carbohydrates to fuel based on fat. "Most people can tell a difference by the end of only one week," says Hofmekler.

Phase II emphasizes eating foods that promote anti-estrogenic hormones (progesterone in women and testosterone in men). Raw nuts, seeds, and olives are added to the diet as the body shifts from carbohydrate-based to fat-based fuel.

Phase III introduces meats, breads and pastas to the diet, but only in the evening meal and only on alternate days. Rotate phase III days with days of Phase I or II.

After reintroducing meats to your diet, remember when making food choices that food from the bottom of the food chain will probably be better for your body than a food from the top.

Holy Moly! Ya'll, I never thought I'd think that my sister's (I love you Cindy!!) point of view on hormones in our food would make any sense... but it's starting to really quickly!

I also encourage everyone to take the Hormone Balance Test provided by Dr. John Lee's website... it was very informative, and also can have some answers for you men out there that might have this problem unknowingly. It's not as common for men to have their hormones tested - so ladies - encourage your husbands to take this test and see if they might be having some unknown unbalance in their own systems.

Meredith told me that she felt compelled to tell me about this information because of her own success with supplementation, and she said that she felt like it was almost like knowing about Christ and not sharing that information with people that need to know the Good News. She's so right, and if this post helps even one more person start to figure out how to help themselves get in balance because of my struggle... it will be worth it.

Just as it would be worth it if any of my story in life brought someone to Jesus, and a life of faith.

If any of this information strikes a chord with you - please let me know and I'll be praying for you to find some answers... and I'll help guide you in any way that I possibly can. As I'm learning more and more everyday about what potentially is going on in my body.