What Is Oestrogen?

Oestrogen is a tiny chemical messenger produced mainly by your ovaries.

It helps you to;

• Regulate your menstrual cycle.
• Develop secondary sexual characteristics (like breast development).
• Maintain the thickness of your uterine wall to support pregnancy.

Did You Know?

Men Have Oestrogen, Too!

Oestrogen is found in lesser amounts in men compared to women. It helps men maintain their sexual drive and ability to get erections and works with testosterone in the production of sperm.

Oestrogen Can Be Produced By Other Organs, Too!

The liver, heart, skin, brain, and fat cells can produce small amounts of oestrogen.

It's More Than Just Reproductive Hormone

Oestrogen also supports brain, bone, and heart health, making it essential for overall health.

Now that you know the importance of healthy oestrogen levels, let's do a quick check to assess your hormonal balance.

Check Your Symptoms: Do You Have Low Oestrogen Levels?

Take this quick quiz to see if low oestrogen levels are affecting you.

• Do you often have mood swings without any apparent reason?
• Is feeling tired a new norm in your life?
• Are your menstrual cycles irregular?
• Do you get acne often, and has your skin started sagging early?
• Is your hair thinning or falling out excessively? 
• Is your body weight fluctuating too often?
• Do you experience hot flashes often?
• Has your sexual drive reduced? Or does vaginal dryness bother you? 
• Does your skin feel very dry?

If you have answered yes to multiple questions, you may be suffering from symptoms of low oestrogen.

It would be a good idea to get your blood checked for oestrogen levels. Low oestrogen levels can also affect bone density and heart health, so it is important to address them early.

But worry not; Ayurveda offers holistic solutions to rebalance your oestrogen level.

Ayurvedic Perspective On Low Oestrogen Level

Ayurveda views hormonal imbalances as Agni Dusti( imbalances in metabolic fire). Your hormones are little chemical messengers that travel throughout your body. When their pathways are blocked, they cannot function properly. Your Agni helps to keep these pathways clean. Ayurveda focuses on restoring this Agni, thereby allowing your hormones to balance naturally.

Factors like genetics, stress, and certain treatments like cancer chemotherapy can reduce the amount of oestrogen in your body. Ayurveda recommends agni correction through detoxification, stress management, and phytoestrogen ( plant-based estrogens) supplementation to restore oestrogen levels.

Did You Know?

Excessive exercise, disordered eating, and stress can suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, the pathway for the production of oestrogen. This suppression can lead to low oestrogen levels, so it's best to avoid extreme workouts and diets.

Finding the balance is the key! 

Natural Ways To Increase Oestrogen Levels

We'll explore these techniques under three categories:

• Agni Stabilization- By Herbs And Detoxification.
• Phytoestrogen Supplementation.
• Lifestyle Changes- Exercise, Yoga, Stress Management And Sleep Hygiene.

1. Agni Stabilisation:

You can achieve Agni stabilisation with spices in your pantry, such as ginger, cumin, cinnamon, fennel, cardamom, black pepper, and cinnamon.

Incorporate them into your daily diet for a balanced Agni.

Want to learn a quick Agni-stabilising herbal tea with these spices?

2. Ayurvedic Spice Tea:

Ingredients:

• 1-inch ginger
• 1 tsp cumin 
• A pinch of cinnamon
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 4-5 black peppercorns
• 2 cups of water
• Honey

Preparation:

• Add ginger, cumin, peppercorns, turmeric, and cinnamon to a pot with 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil.
• Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add a dash of honey for sweetness.

This tea is anti-inflammatory and promotes your digestion.

3. Detoxification

Panchakarma (an Ayurveda detox) can help cleanse the hormonal pathways. But if it is unavailable, you can try home remedies like intermittent fasting or fibre-rich foods.

4. Fasting:

A 24-hour fast once a month can naturally detox your body. However, practise this only if you are physically able to.

Contraindications: Anaemia, eating disorders, people with extra stress and excessive manual work

Tip: Try 6 or 12-hour fasting first and gradually build up your ability to fast 24 hours.

5. Fibre-Rich Foods:

For those who cannot fast, adding fibre-rich foods like oats, quinoa and leafy vegetables to your diet can cleanse your gut.

6. Phytoestrogen Supplementation:

Phytoestrogens are plant compounds that mimic oestrogen in the body. Fruits like apples, grapes, and pomegranate; vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and celery; fibres like spinach, nuts and seeds like flax seed, pistachios, and almonds; soy products; whole grains; legumes like chickpeas and lentils; contain phytoestrogens.

Incorporate them in your weekly meal to naturally raise your oestrogen levels.

Caution: Again, moderation is the key- avoid excess phytoestrogen consumption.

7. Lifestyle Modifications:

A healthy lifestyle consists of stress reduction, exercise and healthy eating habits.

8. Steps To Reduce Stress:

• Incorporate a 5-minute meditation routine immediately after you wake up and just before going to sleep. Works wonders in reducing carry-over stress to the next day.

These techniques reduce your cortisol level and your body's fight-or-flight reaction, allowing your body to return to a balanced state.

• Oil massage: 

Practice applying oil to your feet, crown of your head, and ears regularly. Oiling these areas helps you reduce stress and get a good night's sleep.

9. Exercise Regularly:

Exercise and strength training help stimulate the endocrine system to produce oestrogen, reduce body fat, promote muscle and bone health, and reduce stress levels.

Tip: Try moderate exercises like cycling or walking for half an hour in your daily routine.

10. Yoga Poses For Oestrogen Balance:

• Bhujangasana

This asana improves blood flow to your uterus and ovaries, thus stimulating them to balance the hormones.

How to practise it:

Lie on your stomach with your hands beneath your shoulders. Place your legs close together. Press into your hands to lift your chest with your elbows slightly bent. Gradually raise your body until it reaches your stomach level, and hold for 5 breaths.

• Viparita Karani

This pose helps to increase blood flow to the pelvic region.

How to practise it:

Lie on your back and extend your legs up a wall. Relax and stay in the position for 5 to 10 minutes.

• Baddha Konasana

This pose helps strengthen pelvic muscles and balance ovarian hormones.

How to practise it:

Lie on your back with your knees bent outwards and the soles of your feet touching each other. If you are comfortable, slightly raise and bring back your legs at the knees like the fluttering of butterfly wings. 

• Balasana

This pose helps your body to relax completely, thus reducing your stress levels.

How to practise it:

Kneel on the floor, sit on your heels, bend forward and rest your forehead on the mat.

It is okay if you cannot touch the mat. Stretch and relax as much as you can without overexerting yourself. You will still get the benefits!

11. Sleep Hygiene:

Establish consistent sleep timing to ensure your cortisol levels are balanced, thus promoting proper hormonal balance.

12. Seek Professional Help For Eating Disorders:

Eating disorders affect your overall physical and mental health, along with lowering oestrogen levels. Get professional help- psychologists and dieticians can work together to help you chart a healthy diet plan.

Ayurveda Tips For Healthy Eating

• Eat Warm, Nourishing Foods- These Help Maintain Your Agni.
• Practice Portion Control: It Helps To Avoid Bloating And Indigestion.
• Properly Chewing Every Bite Of Food Helps Reduce The Load On The Stomach.

Now that you know the techniques to restore your oestrogen balance, incorporate these techniques in your routine for 1 week and observe the positive difference in your physical and mental well-being in a week.

Wrapping Up

Low oestrogen levels can throw your physical and mental health out of balance. Take steps to correct the problem at the root level, whether due to imbalanced Agni or stress. Ayurveda can help you root out these factors and thus naturally normalise your oestrogen levels. 

Consult us online if you want personalised tips based on your symptoms.