Kate is a Functional Medicine Physician Assistant, Estrogen Dominance Expert, founder of Radiant Health, and the author of “Estrogen Is A B*tch,” - a book bringing awareness to estrogen dominance. We talk about lifestyle factors impacting our hormones, birth control’s effect on estrogen, symptoms of PMS that we don’t have to accept, and much more! Kate also shares five telltale signs of estrogen dominance!

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Highlights

3:16 Kate talks about her background, what inspired her journey to functional medicine, and how getting off of birth control pills changed her life.

6:38 The five telltale signs of estrogen dominance.

13:37 “normal” symptoms of PMS that are worth questioning

17:07 Women that have missed cycles and their relationship with estrogen dominance.

19:41 An overview of estrobolome and beta-glucuronidase.

22:28 The relationship between SIBO and estrogen dominance.

22:49 Does the length of time you’re on birth control correlate with the magnitude of estrogen dominance?

26:14 Other factors besides birth control that contribute to estrogen dominance.

29:41 What balanced estrogen looks like and its other roles in our lives.

33:28 The tests that Kate uses for checking for estrogen dominance.

39:26 How to heal from estrogen dominance.

42:01 Kate previews her book, “Estrogen Is A B*tch: Break the cycle of menstrual agony to embrace sexy confidence, enhanced libido, happy periods & optimal energy with balanced hormones!”

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About Kate Vasquez

Kate Vazquez is a Functional Medicine Physician Assistant, Estrogen Dominance Expert, founder of Radiant Health, and Author. She loves empowering women to reclaim their health and vitality alongside her husband. She created an online course, The Estrogen Reset, and wrote a book, Estrogen Is A B*tch, to bring awareness about estrogen dominance. In her practice, Kate teaches women how to naturally balance their hormones, as well as use their cycle as their superpower, reconnect to themselves within, and tap into their feminine energy at their highest level, so they can create a life by design that they love living.

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Connect with Kate

Website | yourradianthealth.com

Instagram | @katevazquez_pa

Facebook | Kate Vazquez, MMS, PAC

LinkedIn | Kate Vazquez, MMS, PAC, IFMCP

The Estrogen Reset course

Check out Kate’s book, “Estrogen Is A B*tch”

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Connect with Dr. Lauryn

Facebook | Dr. Lauryn Lax

Twitter | @drlaurynlax

Instagram | @drlaurynlax

Website | drlauryn.com 

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TRANSCRIPT (Episode Website contains full transcript)

Dr. Lauryn (00:02):

Well, hello, hello, hello. Welcome to the podcast, the show dedicated to quieting the noise in the health, food, and fitness world. I'm your host, Dr. Lauryn, former TV news journalist and a chronic illness patient gone health detective and functional medicine practitioner. When countless doctors, diets, and Doctor Google searches couldn't help me heal. Today I work with clients worldwide through my group programs and virtual clinic to help them radically transform their health. And this show is a manifesto to helping you do just that too. We're disrupting both conventional wisdom and diet culture as we know it with root cause solutions and insights that actually work so you can reach your highest potential from the inside out. Because, as you'll hear me say quite often, health is an inside job. Today we're talking all about estrogen dominance, something that you may have heard in passing. It's kind of buzzy in the hormone and functional medicine space,

(00:52)

but really, what that means is just estrogen-dominant symptoms. Things like stubborn weight gain, brain fog, low energy, maybe stubborn body fat, PMS, you name it. Estrogen dominance is oftentimes what many women are experiencing when they say I have hormonal imbalances. Even things like missing your period, you can actually have estrogen dominance, as we'll get into a little bit today on the show as well. And we have Kate Vasquez in the house, who is a functional medicine physician assistant and estrogen dominance expert. She is the writer of a book called Estrogen is a B*tch and really excited to bring some just awareness about this hot topic that, again, a lot of women are experiencing on a daily basis and perhaps calling common and also considering normal. But just because something is common does not mean it is normal. I'll say that one more time.

(01:49)

Just because something is common doesn't mean it is normal. Sort of like eating Big Mac cheeseburgers and drinking big gulps Slurpees may be very common for many people in the western world nowadays, 21st century. It doesn't mean that these are normal foods for humans and human physiology really to adapt to and eat. And so just because something's common doesn't mean it's normal. And the same thing can go greatly with a lot of our hormone imbalances or just other symptomology that we may chalk up as normal. So headaches, bloating and gas, brain fog, low energy, all the things. Kate now teaches women how to naturally balance the hormones as well as their cycle and superpowers reconnecting themselves within and tapping into their feminine energy at their highest levels so they can create a life by design that they love living. And this conversation, I just could have nerded out probably for another hour or two with Kate. She's just a wealth full of knowledge. So let's get to today's show all about estrogen dominance. 

(02:51)

Well, super stoked to have you in the house, Kate Vasquez. And I am just really excited to also talk about this topic of estrogen dominance today, which is the wild, wild west. But we talked about prior to even jumping on this podcast recording, but would love if you could give us just a little bit of background about who you are and what got you into doing the work you're doing in the world, especially within the realm of hormones.

Kate Vasquez (03:16):

Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much, Lauryn, for having me. I'm just so blessed and honored to be here. And as far as a little bit of the background on me, I'm a physician assistant and I started off doing cardiology, jumped into urgent care, did a little ER but, at the time, about five, six years into urgent care, practicing medicine, I realized like I wasn't really helping people cuz you know, we all get into medicine to help people. But it was just like the quick fixes. And a lot of the patients I was seeing at the time were asking me questions like, Why am I getting sick all the time? Why am I on all these medications and nothing is helping? And I didn't have the answer for them. I wanted to help them, but I'm like, I really don't know. I just know like how to treat your UTI, you know, <laugh> mm-hmm <affirmative>.

(04:03)

So, um, so it got me thinking and I've always been passionate about fitness, nutrition. I've been active my whole life. I even learned about nutrition, metabolism, and undergrad and I realized though it was just like, there's just a disconnect in medicine and, and I wanted to be able to integrate all these things, but unfortunately it's like when you get into medicine, you're, it's just very, um, sick care focused and you know, figure out the diagnosis and, and the prescription and a lot of chronic disorders are just aren't getting better with those, unfortunately, cuz we're not really zoning in on the lifestyle factors. So, um, one day I was listening to Dr. Hyman, I forgot how I came across him, but I, when I heard him speak and talk about functional medicine, it's like a light bulb turned on and I was like, this sounds amazing.

(04:47)

This sounds exactly what I want to do and should be doing in terms of practicing medicine. So I dove right in. I got into the Institute for Functional Medicine, got my certification, and started my practice at the same time. Um, cuz it's like once your eyes are open it's like you can't go back <laugh>, right? So that definitely started my journey into functional medicine and at that time I also had my own health issues. I had a lot of constipation, um, acne since I started puberty and I got on birth control for that. I also had migraines and anxiety and I didn't realize like all these things were connected. And so through functional medicine, I started healing my own body. But it wasn't until I got off birth control pills where my hormones went out of balance. Even after all the work I had done and cleaning up my diet and reducing stress and getting cleaner products in my home, my hormones went haywire and I was like, What is going on?

(05:41)

Cuz I was having breast tenderness for the first time. I never had before the pill. I was pretty regular, barely had any PMS symptoms and now I had more cramping than normal. My cycles were more irregular. They were like 30 to 35 days and I'm like, what is going on with my body? And so I started doing the testing and realized I had an imbalance of estrogen compared to progesterone. And then once I discovered this pattern myself, I started seeing this pattern in other women as well where they had this imbalance of estrogen. And by helping to heal myself and heal my clients from estrogen dominance, it really changed our life.

Dr. Lauryn (06:18):

Thank you for sharing that so much. And I think a lot of women can relate to just how hormone imbalances really also changed life a lot too. So let's start with just like defining estrogen dominance. What are the symptoms of estrogen dominance and how would one know that they are more dominant in that hormone?

Kate Vasquez (06:38):

Yeah, absolutely. I love this question cuz estrogen dominance is like this, this big medical term that most people aren't aware like what is it exactly? But if you take the name, break it down, estrogen dominance, it's basically like I said, an imbalance of estrogen in ratio to progesterone. And where we'll typically see this imbalance is during the luteal phase. And um, there are four different phase of the menstrual cycle. You have your menstrual phase where you have your period, um, can last three to seven days. And you have your follicular phase, which includes the menstrual phase and is a total 14 days and you get ovulation, um, which is what is the end of the follicular phase. It starts the luteal phase and then the luteal phase is at 14 days including the ovulation until your period starts all over again. And that's for a typical 28-day cycle.

(07:24)

Um, most women don't have a typical 28 day, but just to put it into perspective, so when I'm looking at the hormones, I'm looking at that luteal phase where we're seeing a rise in progesterone levels and normally estrogen increases right before ovulation to help um, the egg to be released from the ovary and it should start to decline. And then we get a little bit of bump when progesterone levels start to increase as well. And I call this time like the peak phase and on an average 28-day cycle, that's typically days 19 to 22. So what I'm looking at is that the ratio of estrogens compared to progesterone and what I've typically commonly seen are three different types of estrogen dominance patterns that will pop up. And so the first pattern that I'll typically see in my clients is normal progesterone levels but really, really high estrogen.

(08:21)

And then the second pattern is low progesterone with normal levels of estrogen cuz that will create that estrogen dominance effect. And then the third pattern I see is low progesterone and high levels of estrogen. So when I'm looking at doing the testing, that's what I'm looking for. And then as far as the symptoms of estrogen dominance there's many, many, many symptoms but I have figured out there are five telltale signs of estrogen dominance. And the first one is irregular periods. And so when we have our monthly cycle, there's the fluctuation of the hormones like I was talking about, where estrogen's increasing right before the ovulation, and then it starts to decline. And then we get that little bit of bump in addition to a rise in progesterone levels in that luteal phase. And so during this monthly cycle, you know, our brain is constantly sending signals to our reproductive organs to mature, you know, the egg and prepare it

(09:19)

um, during ovulation. And also, the rise in estrogen before ovulation helps to thicken the endometrial lining. And then when progesterone starts to increase in the luteal phase, it starts to change the endometrial lining because if an egg for example is fertilized, then it helps to prepare it so implantation can occur and pregnancy can occur. But when there is an imbalance in the hormones, this can actually slow or delay or even prevent ovulation from occurring or prevent changes in that endometrium from occurring as well. Um, so with estrogen dominance we'll see irregular period cuz if there's a delay, um, in ovulation or the endometrium is changing and progesterone levels aren't increasing like they should, um, this can actually delay menstruation as well. Cuz normally when progesterone levels increase and they start to decline, now the body knows, okay, pregnancy didn't occur. Now you can, you shed that endometrial lining.

(10:17)

But if we don't get that bump and rise in progesterone, so those two estrogen dominance patterns that have low, low progesterone levels, they may have irregular periods cuz that's not occurring. So that's the first sign. The second sign is a heavy period. So when women have a lot of estrogen in their body, remember when estrogens thickening the endometrial lining right before ovulation a lot of estrogen can cause even thicker lining to occur. So by the time they have their period, they have a really heavy bleed. They're bleeding a lot cause of that thickened endometrial lining. And so that, um, can contribute to heavier bleeds and even clotting can occur. So if you have heavy bleeding with clots the size of quarters, that's definitely not normal. And then the next sign is PMS symptoms. So I know I definitely learned in school like PMS was normal. You just treat it with like birth control or anti-inflammatory medications.

(11:09)

But um, the thing is that with PMS symptoms, higher levels of estrogen cause a chemical called prostaglandins to be released in the body. And these prostaglandins are what increased inflammation and causes contraction of the uterus. And so the more estrogen you have, the more prostaglandins that get released. And so that contributes to very severe menstrual cramps and pain. Also, if you pair that with lower progesterone, then you'll also have like mood swings, insomnia, and headaches associated with that as well. Um, also high estrogen and low progesterone contributes to a lot of bloating. So a lot of times women will tend to feel bloated right before their period starts and just because of that imbalance in their hormones. The fourth symptom that contributes to estrogen dominance is breast tenderness. And this is because excess estrogen causes that breast tissue to swell. And that's something that I experienced coming off the birth control is like for the first time I was having this breast tenderness and that was because my body wasn't metabolizing the estrogens out, um, properly.

(12:12)

And so I had all this excess estrogen causing that breast tissue to swell, it was painful. Um, so that's definitely another telltale sign. And then the fifth sign is weight gain. So estrogen is responsible for our curves. So as we go through puberty, um, we do tend to gain a little bit of weight in our butt, hips, and thighs. But when women tend to gain even more weight and they notice that it's primarily located in the butt, hip, and thighs, that's definitely a telltale sign of estrogen dominance cuz where we, you know, gain weight, um, in the body can definitely determine what specific hormonal imbalances occurring. So like for example, if a lot of women are gaining weight in their abdomen, we know that's associated with like insulin resistance and high cortisol levels. So if you tend to gain more weight in the butt, hips, and thighs, normally it's because of excess estrogen in the body. And then so those are the top five symptoms, but other symptoms of estrogen dominance can include brain fog, fatigue, bloating, acne, and even infertility.

Dr. Lauryn (13:12):

You've got a lot of amens on all the fronts there. Thank you for explaining that. I guess like a question of mine would just be like PMS like quote unquote we do chalk that up to being normal. Is there any normalcy to those feelings, like even um, like the shift in the bloating, et cetera? Like what would be the ideal period that a woman should experience or could experience if their body was in balance?

Kate Vasquez (13:37):

Yeah, absolutely. That, that's such a great question. Well, I don't think it's normal to have significant bloating and, and mood swings like, you know, feeling irritable and anxious and, and then having that breast tenderness and really severe cramping to the point where debilitating. What I do think is normal is if you have, you know, it's normal to experience a little bit of cramping maybe on the first day, but then it should subside. Cuz at the end of the day it's, you do need those prostaglandins to help that uterus to contract. So it should be minimal to no cramping that you should be experiencing. And yeah, your, your hormone shouldn't be, contributing to the mood swings too. So it's like, you know, something happens and you, you cry all of a sudden. Um, and normally you don't do that the rest of the month or you know, all of a sudden some you get very angry and irritable for no reason. It's important to take a look at those hormones cuz that shouldn't be happening. Um, but yeah, I, I, as far as a normal period, I, I'd say minimal to no cramping. Um, and actually having stable, more stable moods and, and no breast tenderness. Cause once I balance my estrogens those symptoms significantly, well the breast tenderness resolved and the cramping I have mild to none.

Dr. Lauryn (14:51):

Yeah, that's great to know and I think hope for, for a lot. Um, we talked a little bit about too, um, just the irregular cycles. How does estrogen dominance, or how can it play a role if at all, and one that is just not cycling at all, and then also menopause?

Kate Vasquez (15:11):

Yeah, absolutely. So with um, women that have irregular cycles, especially those with like PCOS, we tend to focus on high androgens, but little is known that there's also excess estrogen too that can definitely play a role in the game contribute to, to delayed irregular cycles or no periods at all in ovulation. So unfortunately it's like a lot of time the practitioners are just focusing on the testosterone, the androgen aspect and not looking at the estrogen aspect too, which is why I do believe a lot of women with PCOS they'll start to get on these medications to bounce out their testosterone, but they still continue to have the symptoms because the estrogens aren't being addressed as well. And um, as far as menopause, this is definitely a good point too cuz I will typically see this in women that are cycling, but it can also incur as women are approaching menopause because the first hormone that starts declining is progesterone.

(16:13)

So once progesterone starts to decline, now you have, estrogens are still staying where, where they're at. Um, now you have this estrogen dominance effect as well and it can definitely contribute to a lot of the very same, same symptoms. So if say a woman has had like regular periods, her whole life never really had any PMS symptoms and as she's approaching menopause, all of a sudden she's finding that the periods are becoming, I mean it's normal to see irregular periods, but now also she's got cramping and these mood swings and the breast tenderness, you know, out of the blue. That's definitely a sign of estrogen dominance.

Dr. Lauryn (16:49):

And then what about those that like haven't had a cycle and like maybe they've been undereating or overtraining, Is there, I mean is that just no estrogen dominance whatsoever, but however what if they've been on birth control as well and there's just a lot of variables there?

Kate Vasquez (17:06):

Oh yeah, definitely those that aren't cycling. It's definitely a possibility there could be estrogen dominance. The only way to know for sure is to get testing. But yeah, if, if they're also on birth control, sometimes that can, you know, it, it can stop the periods from occurring every month, and then when women come off of it, um, that's when the imbalances really occur. And I, I start to see, and, it's interesting cuz it's like women aren't taught about birth control and like what are the long term effects? I mean I know I, I know most people are aware like, oh it could increase the risk of stroke, especially if you're smoking, you know, strokes or blood clots. But they don't talk about the long-term effects like it impacts gut health and it can contribute to something called leaky gut.

(17:55)

Um, increase intestinal permeability. So that's where these tight junctions and the intestines open up and they allow big, large particles passed through such as like toxins and infections. Um, and on the other side of the intestines is your immune system. So that's where, a lot of women can get autoimmune disorders cuz that immune system's being triggered. It also impacts the liver's ability to produce bilirubin, which is needed for bioproduction, and bile is needed to help bind estrogen when it goes through the liver. Um, the liver turns estrogen from its active form to its inactive form. So bile can bind it and then get rid of it in the intestines through our poop. So if, um, that's being impacted, like birth control, there are studies showing that it actually impacts this ability, this is impacting your ability to get rid of those excess estrogens. Which is why I will see like what happened with I believe happen with myself and a lot, a lot of other women as well, when they come off the birth control, they have all this excess estrogen, synthetic estrogen that wasn't metabolized correctly, um, that is was just built up in the system in addition to now the body's having to produce its own estrogen again.

(19:01)

And then, another point that I wanted to make too in terms of birth control is, um, so it decreases your liver's ability to produce and then also progestin is a synthetic form of, progesterone also slows down the gallbladder too. So you have those two impacting and contributing to estrogen dominance.

Dr. Lauryn (19:22):

Yeah, so like the gut hormone connection is really very tightly interlinked. I talk a lot about that with my patients as well. And um, can you just briefly overview us on the estrobolome, what that is, and then also beta-glucuronidase and what that is as well?

Kate Vasquez (19:41):

Yes. I love saying estrobolome, it's so fun to say. Yeah, it's basically <laugh>. Yeah, it's basically estrogen in the microbiome, um, put together. So in the gut, we have trillions of microorganisms, um, made up of like bacteria, viruses, protozoa, yeast, um, sometimes even parasites as long as there's not an overgrowth of a particular one, which is causing a lot of chaos and imbalance in the gut. So, with the estrobolome, there's specific bacteria that's responsible in helping to metabolize estrogen out of the gut. So I talked a little bit about the liver, the liver turning the active form into the inactive form of estrogen. Then it binds to bile once it goes into the intestines, beta-glucuronidase an enzyme that normally should be low, and if this enzyme's low, then inactive estrogen can pass through with the help of the gut bacteria. However, if there is disruption of the microbiome, so if someone has an overgrowth of bad bacteria, something called small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or overgrowth of yeast or parasites, um, any disruption of the microbiome can affect that gut bacteria, and then beta-glucuronidase starts to increase and it actually turns that inactive estrogen back into its active form, which is not good cuz it's like the body is supposed to use estrogen and get rid of it.

(21:07)

But if you have this process that's turning it back into the active form, now the body says, Oh, it's like I, I use the analogy it's like you're, you're in a, like a soccer game and your coach tells you to get out, um, because you're like, you're, you're feeling tired but all of a sudden you get some, you know, an energy drink and now you're ready to go. So you get back into the game. So it's like, oh your body's saying you're ready to go. Well instead of sending you out, let's get you back in. So it's getting recirculated back into the body and that's contributing to estrogen dominance. So that's why gut health is very, very important. Um, cuz there's three phases of estrogen metabolism. The first two occur in the liver and the third is in the gut. So if you're only looking at supporting the liver and not the gut, um, this is why it's important that you get the gut health checked as well.

Dr. Lauryn (21:53):

Yeah, and kind of how that two-way street would you say like if we do have estrogen dominance, perhaps by treating the gut it's like a domino, we can go that two-way street basically for helping assist with estrogen dominance. So clearing that out.

Kate Vasquez (22:08):

Oh, of course, absolutely.

Dr. Lauryn (22:10):

Yeah. I tend to see a lot of SIBO as well, like just anecdotally post birth control like quote unquote syndrome or one that's been on that for a while. Is that a finding that you see as well? Like the research is so minimal on SIBO in estrogen related, um, but that's something I see anecdotally.

Kate Vasquez (22:29):

Oh yeah, yeah. Cause it's, it definitely impacts the gut. I definitely developed SIBO as well coming off the birth control pills cuz even though I did a lot of elimination, I had experienced constipation and bloating, which I do believe, I mean there's many things that can impact and contribute to SIBO, not just birth control. Cause I definitely was stressed, took a lot of NSAIDs for migraines. Um, so a lot of things definitely, contributed to that. But you know, I mean studies are showing that it, it is affecting like the microbiome and the health of the gut that even those that aren't on birth control, you know like I mentioned, other factors can definitely contribute to SIBO, even low stomach acid acids of um, if people have, don't have enough stomach acid that can contribute Because when, when we eat food, we create what's called like a bolus and it's like, so I call it a ball of mush and that bolus leaves the stomach into the small intestines and it creates an acidic environment in your small intestines So that prevents bacteria from growing. But if you don't have enough stomach acid, then you don't have an acidic environment in the small intestines. And now this bacteria starts to overgrow. And unfortunately, a lot of people that tend to have acid reflux is usually result from low stomach acid. But of course, the first thing we do, especially what we were taught in western medicine is to suppress the stomach acid with, you know, like Pepcid, a histamine blocker or, a proton pump inhibitor like Prilosec. And, it's like when you think about 'em, like that's kind of counterintuitive, like stomach acids already low, why are we continuing to suppress it and adding just more issues to the problem, you know, it's not really addressing the underlying cause. So I definitely have commonly seen that as a root cause when looking into the different things that are contributing to estrogen dominance a lot in my, in my clients as well and myself as well,

Dr. Lauryn (24:20):

Me as well just the digestive mechanics being off. with birth control, do you see like a length of time like correlate with the magnitude of estrogen dominance? So for example, if a woman was on birth control for say 16 years compared to like six months and she felt not great. And then also in the recovery piece too from that estrogen dominance, like how long does that estrogen dominance last in the body if they come off of that and then they begin supporting their health?

Kate Vasquez (24:49):

Yeah, I do believe the longer you're on it then yes, the more likely you are going to develop like estrogen dominance or some kind of hormonal imbalance coming off. Um, if you're on it only for like three, six months, there's definitely a greater chance you're able to bounce back from that. Um, and as far as the length of time, I mean it can definitely vary, um, from person to person depending on all the factors that we have to definitely look into and support. But I'd say it, it can take anywhere from, from three to nine months to really help balance out the hormones and support like the gut, the adrenals, um, supporting detoxification as well. Cuz there's so many toxins and things too that are in our, in our environment that can contribute, um, not just birth control. So that's what I do is I, I work with each client to figure out like what is, all the underlying root causes, how we can best support their body and all the different systems, um, so that way we can get those hormones back into balance. But yeah, I mean everybody's so different. Some people are gonna bounce back quicker than others, but I would say on average it can take anywhere from three to nine months to bounce back.

Dr. Lauryn (25:56):

You mentioned some other factors and I agree like the xenoestrogens or just other toxins. I see a lot of mycotoxicity or mold exposure. Um, what would be some examples though of toxins or other factors that could be contributing to estrogen dominance aside from birth control?

Kate Vasquez (26:14):

Oh, absolutely, yeah, toxins I think is like, it's so crazy when, when I was learning about functional medicine, I came across a statistic from the environmental working group saying that they looked at a study that showed women used about 12 products per day and left the house with 168 chemicals on their body. And when I read this I was shocked. I was like mind blown. Um, so I started looking at all the products that I was using and counting on like, am I using like hundred-something ingredients on my body every day? And it was definitely an eye-opener because we are exposed to so many different toxins. So toxins can be the products that you're using on your body, you know, shampoos, makeup solutions, creams, body washes, um, detergents. It can also be household cleaning products, um, even plastic water bottles.

(27:02)

BPA is definitely, um, a common endocrine disruptor, a toxin that has been found to affect, um, endocrine disruptors are also known as xenoestrogens, which are foreign chemicals that are shaped, they mimic estrogen in the body and they bind to the same estrogen receptors. So, you know, if, if we have estrogen and excess or these foreign chemicals binding to the same, our body thinks there's more estrogen than there really is. So those are definitely contributing. Also non-stick cookware too. Um, so when you start looking at your home and what the things that you're using, you'd be surprised. Like there's a lot, a lot of toxins. And when I discover this I was like, oh my goodness, I, I almost wanna just like live in a bubble, but I knew that that wasn't realistic. Um, so I started swapping things out one at a time, um, until I got to a place where I felt pretty comfortable that I reduced my toxic load, but also toxins can be found in our food too.

(27:58)

Um, so, a lot of products tend to be sprayed with like chemicals, like insecticides and, and sometimes even weed killers and they can be, in pesticides, they can be contaminated with these things and they can affect, you know, our body and our liver the same way. Also animal products. I know back in the day, and I think this is what contributed to my acne, was I was consuming a lot of meat and dairy and back then they had a lot of hormones. , and so when you're taking in these added hormones, you know, it's adding to your own hormones that your body's making and contributing to this as well. Um, but yeah, definitely food toxins from food can contribute. You mentioned mycotoxins, which are mold toxins. Um, and another thing too that women don't realize is sometimes breast implants. So when women get breast implants for cosmetic reasons, um, they contain a lot of chemicals as well.

(28:47)

And it's interesting cuz like my friend Danielle Valoras, she did a whole summit on breast implant illness and I learned so much about breast implants and all the toxins, the chemicals, even heavy metals that they contained and whether someone has a saline or silicone implant, they all have this saline casing and things can diffuse through that. It is a very porous material and the body also recognizes it as a foreign body. So it will try to build this capsule to try to protect the body, but things are still diffusing through. Um, but that is another thing that can definitely impact and contribute to estrogen dominance as well.

Dr. Lauryn (29:26):

No, thank you. Yeah, for painting that whole picture of multiple factors and what would just like balanced estrogen look like and what other roles does estrogen play outside of just like our cycle and Yeah, just the beauty of estrogen?

Kate Vasquez (29:40):

Yeah, I mean at the end of the day I don't wanna give estrogen a bad rep because there are so many benefits of estrogen. Not only just like giving our curves and you know, maturing, our organs, preparing the egg to be released in the endometrium for pregnancy every month, but it's also important for our brain, our memory. Um, it's important for strong healthy bones for our immune system, for our cardiovascular system because as women go through menopause and their estrogen starts to decline, we actually lose our protectiveness of that from all these chronic disorders such as Alzheimer's and diabetes. Oh, and insulin resistance to like low estrogen has been linked to insulin resistance and diabetes. So it's like we're losing our protectiveness and have an increased risk of the development of these chronic disorders. So estrogen definitely is, is, is needed is just, it just becomes a problem when it becomes imbalanced in the body.

(30:34)

Um, I always call estrogen Goldilocks cuz it's like not too little and not too much. You want it just right. Um, but, but yeah, I mean when you can look at the body and, and look at the patterns of estrogen dominance, I mean there's different things that can help, um, support, especially in terms of gut health and reducing the toxic burden, managing the stress. Um, and then also looking at different phases of metabolism through the liver, I'll sometimes do testing for that as well. But when we can get estrogen balanced, I do believe like women are able to function better. You know, they don't have the brain fog anymore, they have more energy, their periods aren't, you know, the PMS symptoms aren't debilitating anymore. So they can actually show up fully for themselves, their business, their loved ones and do the things that they can enjoy, not miss out on memorable moments.

(31:24)

Um, so once we can get estrogen to that point, I do believe that they'll have definitely a better quality of life. And as far as like the consequences, like if it's not treated, there are definitely a lot of things that can, um, come about if estrogen is not balanced and that's associated with a lot of hormonal disorders such as endometriosis. It is actually an estrogen dominant condition that a lot of women aren't aware of because they're, they're given, um, the name endometriosis and not really understanding like why did they develop endometriosis, which is this excess tissue that, uterine tissue outside of the uterus. But when they have that excess estrogen, it's what's causing that tissue to swell and to bleed and contribute to scarring. But also, development of like PCOS And you and I talked a little bit about that, um, uterine fibroids too.

(32:14)

When there's excess estrogen they can affect and contribute to the development of the cyst on the uterus. Also, cysts in the breast, because remember estrogen causes breast tissue to swell, but it's also linked to the development of cysts in the breast and also the development of, of cancer. Breast cancer is definitely one that's definitely predominant. A lot of women are aware, like especially with too much estrogen in the body, but estrogen receptors are also all over. They're not just in the breast and in in the uterus, but there's also in the thyroid in the bone and the lungs, um, in the intestines. Um, and so women are not aware that sometimes, estrogen can definitely contribute to other cancers like thyroid cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, bone cancer. So it's really important that we make sure estrogen is in balance to prevent the development of these things.

Dr. Lauryn (33:05):

I mean so many things that that one little hormone does. Um, but so you mentioned testing. So talk a little bit about what type of testing you do recommend and how do you like catch the patterns of estrogen dominance? Like could one come back with a low estrogen say on or estradiol on blood work and yet still be having estrogen dominance for example?

Kate Vasquez (33:29):

So I primarily start with blood work first. So I like to see how often women are cycling, like what is the total length of their cycle day so I know when I can catch the peak of when progesterones increasing in the body to see the estrogen and ratio to that. So that's the first thing I'll ask is like how long are your cycles? So say if a woman has like a 30-day cycle, I know her peak is gonna be day 23, which is seven days minus 30, or you know if someone has a 28 day and that's gonna be date 21. So I will ask how long are their cycles. Figure out their peak, and do blood work first just so I can see if it's something that I need to look into further. Now if progesterone estrogen levels look pretty good, um, and they're not really having a lot of symptoms associated with estrogen dominance, then that's where I stop.

(34:18)

But if they have a lot of symptoms and I see imbalance, then I may move forward into a urine test. But what I'm looking for is, is optimal ranges of progesterone, which is 15 to 25. Now women will typically be in that range in their twenties to forties, but as they start moving towards menopause, they definitely won't be in that optimal range cuz like I said, the progesterone's gonna be that first hormone that starts to decline. And as far as estrogen, there really isn't an optimal range for estrogen. But I like to calculate something called the progesterone estradiol ratio. So I'll multiply the progesterone level by a thousand, divide that by estradiol. Um, cuz I like to see I least greater than 150 up to 200. So if someone's less than 150,