Things I Skip for My Hormone Health

Things I avoid for my hormone health:

🚫 Receipts

🚫 Plastic Bottles

🚫 Fragrances

🚫 Food Dyes

(Here’s why 👇)

All of these things contain 💥xenoestrogens💥

Xenoestrogens are chemicals in everyday products that have estrogen-like effects.

Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to:

▪️ Uterine fibroids

▪️ Endometriosis

▪️ Infertility

▪️ PCOS

▪️ Early menopause

▪️ Early puberty

As well as cancers, metabolic disorders, obesity and more 😢

The point is not to fear everything we breathe, eat, smell, or touch. The point is to understand simple things we can do to minimize exposures to xenoestrogens and endocrine disruptors on an everyday basis over time.

Here are some things anyone can do:

💧 Carry a glass or stainless steel water bottle rather than plastic

💸 Opt to skip printed receipts

🧴Choose fragrance-free cleaning products

🍭 Avoid synthetic food dyes

🌽 Purchase organic foods

💋Choose personal care products that are paraben-free

🌱 Use air purifiers and/or house plants to keep indoor air clean

Think of your body as a bucket. Chemical toxins are always pouring into the bucket, and your natural detox pathways are always draining those toxins out. As long as you are clearing out toxins faster than they are building up, you’ll stay in a space of health.

Drop me a ❤️ if you learned something new!

#xenoestrogens #hormonedisruptors #endocrinedisruptors #hormonehealth #elementsnatmed

REFERENCES:

Ahn C, Jeung EB. Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and Disease Endpoints. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(6):5342. Published 2023 Mar 10. [link]

The Endocrine Society. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Threats to Human Health [link]

For YOU: Tiny Habits to Stop Stress

In case you haven’t noticed…

Stress is not just an emotional experience. It can disrupt just about every aspect of our physical health as well—mainly because we have a physiologic response to stress no matter what the trigger. It can contribute to:

✖️ belly fat

✖️ trouble losing weight

✖️ period problems

✖️ blood sugar swings

✖️ sleep struggles

✖️ groggy mornings

✖️ digestive issues

But we have the power to stop stress in its tracks—every day and all day, with tiny habits. Like…

❣️ Pausing for 30 seconds to focus on your breath

❣️ Getting up from your desk for a 2-minute stretch break

❣️ Going for a walk around the block

❣️ Shaking out your arms, legs, and whole body

❣️ Snuggling or being intimate with a partner

❣️ Tapping around the eyes or under your collar bone

Here is your challenge:

Tap ❤️ to like this post and then pick one thing from that list and do it now!

#stresshormones #hormonehealthmatters #everythingsconnected #elementsnatmed

Seed Cycling: What You Need to Know

Period problems? I got you.

Research shows that following a Mediterranean diet pattern and eating foods like olive oil and fruits can support easier periods. Another popular way to use foods to support the menstrual cycle is 👉 seed cycling.

There are no clinical trials on seed cycling, but seeds do contain nutrients known to support hormones, like:

✔️Lignan phytoestrogens

✔️Omega-3 essential fatty acids

✔️Zinc, magnesium, and vitamin E

With seed cycling, women eat:

1️⃣ One tablespoon each per day of ground flax seeds and pumpkin seeds on days 1-14 of the menstrual cycle (phase 1), when estrogen levels rise.

2️⃣ One tablespoon each per day of sesame seeds and sunflower seeds on days 15-28 of the menstrual cycle (phase 2), when progesterone levels rise.

If you’d like to give it a try, here are some easy ways to add seeds into your daily routine:

🥤 Add a scoop to your smoothie

🥣 Mix into yogurt

🥗 Toss into salad

🍓 Sprinkle over toast, nut butter, and fresh fruit

Nutrition is one of many ways we can support healthier hormones and easier cycles. If you need more support with hormone health, you're in the right place!

Visit our website to schedule an initial visit with Dr. Cantrell! 🌱

REFERENCE:
Onieva-Zafra MD, Fernández-Martínez E, Abreu-Sánchez A, et al. Relationship between Diet, Menstrual Pain and other Menstrual Characteristics among Spanish Students. Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1759. Published 2020 Jun 12. [link]

The Soy Debate

What the research says ⬇️

Phytoestrogens are plant compounds in foods that mimic estrogen. They include:

✔️ Isoflavones in soy

✔️ Lignans in flax seeds

✔️ Resveratrol in wine

Research shows that eating more phytoestrogens is correlated with a lower risk of breast cancer in women before menopause and a lower risk of breast cancer recurrence in women after menopause (PMID 35241506 and 38070485).

How much?

The most risk reduction was in women who ate about 60 mg of soy isoflavones per day, or 2-3 servings of soy.

One caveat is that soy is a common allergen, often genetically engineered, and highly processed 😬

So look for organic soy products that are minimally processed—like tofu, tempeh, miso, and edamame.

If you don’t want to make sense of all this by yourself and want a personalized assessment and plan for hormonal health, we are here to help!

🔗 Follow the link in our bio to get started!

REFERENCES:

-Boutas I, Kontogeorgi A, Dimitrakakis C, Kalantaridou SN. Soy Isoflavones and Breast Cancer Risk: A Meta-analysis. In Vivo. 2022;36(2):556-562. [link]

-Desmawati D, Sulastri D. Phytoestrogens and Their Health Effect. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2019;7(3):495-499. [link]
-van Die MD, Bone KM, Visvanathan K, et al. Phytonutrients and outcomes following breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2024;8(1). [link]

How to Support Estrogen Metabolism

💥 Not all estrogens are equal.

Maybe you’ve heard that estrogen fuels breast cancer risk.

But did you know that there are many different estrogen metabolites and some present a greater risk than others?

Also, estrogen metabolites interact with genetics, liver enzymes, antioxidants, and other biochemical pathways to ultimately determine breast cancer risk.

Meaning estrogen is only part of the puzzle 🧩

Some things we can do for healthy estrogen metabolism include:

▪️ Support estrogen elimination from the gut with fiber-rich foods, probiotics, and supplements like calcium-d-glucarate

▪️ Support estrogen metabolism in the liver with sulfur-rich foods (like onions, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts) and antioxidant supplements like resveratrol

▪️ Support production of more favorable estrogen metabolites with supplements like DIM (diindolylmethane) and I3C (indole-3-carbinol)

The best approach is one that is personalized to YOU.

If you are looking to strike the perfect balance of hormonal health today and disease risk reduction down the road, we are here to help.

🌱 Get started at our practice through the link in our bio!

#estrogenmetabolism #breasthealth #hormoneoptimization #hormonehealth

REFERENCES:

-Das S, Somisetty VS, Ulven SM, Matthews J. Resveratrol and 3,3'-Diindolylmethane Differentially Regulate Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and Estrogen Receptor Alpha Activity through Multiple Transcriptomic Targets in MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(19):14578. [link]

-Siddiqui R, Makhlouf Z, Alharbi AM, Alfahemi H, Khan NA. The Gut Microbiome and Female Health. Biology (Basel). 2022;11(11):1683.. [link]
-Starek-Świechowicz B, Budziszewska B, Starek A. Endogenous estrogens-breast cancer and chemoprevention. Pharmacol Rep. 2021;73(6):1497-1512. [link]