Tag Archives: Progesterone

Endometriosis Estrogen Dominant Disease

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Endometriosis: A Disorder of Estrogen Dominance

This post is a Segway to the original Endometriosis post from the Guardian. Please read both!

Estrogen is the hormone that makes women “women,” in its support of the female organs that support human life. It initiates the development of sex characteristics at puberty by stimulating the growth of endometrial and breast tissue. Every month it stimulates the growth of the follicle which releases the egg. It supports vaginal tissues and stores fat to support a woman who might become pregnant or nursing. Other growth-related processes attributed to estrogen are preventing bone loss and maintaining collagen in the skin and connective tissues. Estrogen also aids in the synthesis of neurotransmitters, especially serotonin and dopamine, and supports the transportation of glucose across the blood brain barrier.

While estrogen contributes to fertility and a woman’s monthly cycle, it can run amok when it goes unchecked by enough progesterone, the hormone that promotes differentiation. A common presentation of unbalanced estrogen is endometriosis. Endometriosis is the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside of the uterus, primarily located on the pelvic peritoneum, ovaries and recto vaginal septum. Endometriosis has a high association with adenoymyosis, endometrial tissues growing outside of the uterine wall; and fibroids, a benign tumor of muscular tissue in the wall of the uterus.

Endometriosis and its cousins adenomyosis and uterine fibroids, often difficult to tell apart, are the reasons that many women experience pelvic pain and bleeding, and make visits to their gynecologists. While only 6-10% of women of reproductive age experience endometriosis, 50-60% of the pelvic pain experienced by teenage girls is caused by endometriosis, and endometriosis is present in 50% of women with infertility.

Endometriosis is also associated with inflammation, in the form of elevated cytokines and homocysteine. These cytokine elevations put a woman at higher risk for autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis, Grave’s, Hashimoto’s, and Celiac disease. Amazingly, endometriosis lesions express aromatase and synthesize their own estradiol from testosterone, creating more estrogen and inflammation, and contributing to estrogen dominance! Endometriosis is also associated with an increased risk of ovarian endometrioid and clear-cell cancers, as well as other cancers such as non-Hodgkins lymphoma and melanoma.

In short, the estrogen dominance that leads to endometriosis breeds growth in the form of more endometriosis, more estrogen production and more inflammation, and may even contribute to the growth of cancer. The conventional treatment for endometriosis includes NSAIDS, GnRH agonists (Lupron), oral contraceptives, and surgery. Because progesterone tends to be decreased in women with endometriosis, progesterone supplementation can be a more natural alternative to pharmaceuticals. Progesterone can serve as an important component in breaking the cycle of estrogen dominance as it stabilizes and slows the cell growth associated with estrogen. Many women are desperate for a solution to their pain and will gladly start with a trial of progesterone.

Consider salivary hormone testing in your patients, as the Pg/E2 ratio can play an important role in determining a progesterone-based treatment plan for women with endometriosis at any age.

Check out Dr.Jocker’s Natural Solutions to Estrogen Dominance . I am especially interested in you looking at Xenoestrogenic chemicals / foods and ways to avoid them

References
1.Lotto V, Choi SW, Friso S. Vitamin B6: a challenging link between nutrition and inflammation in CVD. Br J Nutr. 2011;106(2):183-95.

Zhang D, Wen X, Wu W, Guo Y, Cui W. Elevated homocysteine level and folate deficiency associated with increased overall risk of carcinogenesis: meta-analysis of 83 case-control studies involving 35,758 individuals. PLoS ONE. 2015;10(5):e0123423.

Giudice LC. Clinical practice. Endometriosis. N Engl J Med. 2010;362(25):2389-98.

Zheleva-Dimitrova, D. Obreshkova, D. & Nedialkov, P. Antioxidant Activity of Tribulus Terrestris – A Natural Product of Infertility Therapy

Kadam PD, Chuan HH. Erratum to: Rectocutaneous fistula with transmigration of the suture: a rare delayed complication of vault fixation with the sacrospinous ligament. Int Urogynecol J. 2016;27(3):505.

Sir T. [Do androgens modulate luteinizing hormone secretion in women?]. Rev Med Chil. 1997;125(6):710-8.

Progestin vs Progesterone-A Case of Mistaken Identity

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A Case of Mistaken Identity:
Progestin vs. Progesterone

Progesterone. Progestogen. Progestin. There is much confusion, even among experts in the field of hormone research, surrounding the names of these hormones and chemicals, and this misunderstanding is dramatically affecting the lives of millions of women. Let’s try to clear up some of the madness.

Progesterone is the name of a hormone that is endogenously produced in men and women, although it  is much more prevalent in women. This is the hormone that predominates during the second half of the menstrual cycle and of course during pregnancy. It gets its name from promoting gestation. Progesterone is also the name used for hormones that are produced from plant sources that have a molecular structure that is identical to the hormone found in the body.

Progestins are synthetic molecules, found nowhere in human physiology or elsewhere in nature, that interact with progesterone receptors in the body and through those receptors exert some partial effects of progesterone. Because these molecules are foreign, many of the side effects and the effects of their metabolites are harmful.

Progestogen is a general term for compounds, both natural and synthetic, with a steroid hormone structure that allows them to attach to progesterone receptors. Both bioidentical progesterone and synthetic progestins fall into this broad category.

Seems pretty straight forward, doesn’t it? Not so fast. It appears that the difference between progesterone, progestogens, and progestins is still not appreciated, as they are often used interchangeably in the literature. The confusion that arises for providers when interpreting research findings that reference progesterone and progestins would be reduced if a consistent name was utilized. Because of the inconsistency, it is up to the reader to be educated about the differences.

Progesterone (which is by definition a bioidentical molecule) is not very well absorbed when taken orally. For this and other reasons, a number of synthetic molecules have been developed to mimic the actions of progesterone. Medroxyprogesterone acetate (Provera), norethindrone, norgestimate, levonorgestrel, and drosprirenone are just some of the names of these chemicals that are used in contraception and in hormone replacement.

A number of studies, including the Woman’s Health Initiative, have indicated that the study groups who are given estrogen along with a progestin have an increased risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease over their counterparts who are given estrogen alone. Because of the confusion in nomenclature, these findings have prompted some regulatory bodies to require that all progestogens carry a warning label stating that there may be an increased risk of cancer and other conditions with the use of these products. Remember the old adage “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater?” This classification mix up is far from harmless, as there is ample evidence to support that progesterone, when given alone or in combination with estrogen, is protective to the breasts and the cardiovascular system. Progesterone exerts several anti-cancer mechanisms on tissues and millions of women may be excluded from this benefit due to mistaken identity.

Help your patients stay educated about the differences between these very different substances. Understanding the many benefits of progesterone and the detriments of progestins can be of profound benefit to their health and longevity.

References
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/ . Accessibility verified 9/27/17.

http://www.bmj.com/rapid- response/2011/11/02/ progesterone-or-progestogen- or-progestin-which-t. Accessibility verified 9/27/17.i

https://womeninbalance.org/ resources-research/ bioidentical-progesterone-vs- synthetic-progestins/./ Accessibility verified 9/27/17.

The Real Truth about Osteoporosis

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The real truth about Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis literally means porous bone. The word refers to a horrible disease in which bones become fragile and much more likely to break, and the skeleton looses its integrity and turns into a terrifying time bomb inside of you. Osteoporosis makes an everyday act, like going to the mailbox, fraught with the danger of a hipbone snapping simply from the act of walking. Osteoporosis is seen much more often in women than in men, and it can begin when you least expect it.

Though osteoporosis is generally considered an old woman’s disease, this is not actually the case. The most recent data from the National Osteoporosis Foundation shows that about 12 million people in the U.S., age 50 or over, already have full blown osteoporosis, and another 40 million are on the doorstep of the disease because they have low bone density, a condition known as osteopenia. Unless proper intervention is taken, women with osteopenia almost always slide into osteoporosis.

Although the common wisdom says those younger than 50 only rarely exhibit symptoms of osteoporosis, a study from the University of Arkansas found the disease to be a greater risk than most women suspect. Researchers collected information on 164 women of typical collage age, and found that 2 percent of them had bone densities low enough for them to qualify for a diagnosis of osteoporosis, and 15 percent had bone densities low enough for a diagnosis of osteopenia.

There are no symptoms when osteopenia begins. There is no pain or change as bones becomes thin, brittle and less dense. As you progress to osteoporosis, the first signal of disease is often a bone breaking from only minor injury and in some cases, from no injury at all. Other symptoms include:

  • Back pain caused by a fractured or collapsed vertebra
  • Loss of height over time as vertebra deteriorate and compress
  • Stooped posture and distended abdomen (the body takes on the shape of an S)

Mainstream media and the medical establishment perpetuate the myth that osteoporosis is caused by a deficiency of calcium, and support the notion that calcium supplements are the answer. But this fails to explain why Americans, who have the highest rates of calcium consumption in the world, also have the highest rates of osteoporosis.

There is a psycho-social component to osteoporosis, as the disease is usually seen as a woman’s own fault. (She has osteoporosis because she doesn’t eat right, doesn’t take enough calcium pills, doesn’t exercise enough etc.) And nothing herald’s aging more than a stoop.

Factors that speed the way to a diagnosis of osteoporosis include:

  • Poor diet during formative years
  • Being athletically active as a young woman (results in low estrogen levels)
  • Radiation (including mammograms)
  • Use of synthetic corticosteroids such as prednisone
  • Being a thin white woman
  • Having Celiac, Crohn’s or any other disease that blocks nutrient absorption
  • Smoking
  • Eating disorders
  • Excessive alcohol consumption
  • Prolonged use of birth control pills
  • Chemotherapy

The truth about osteoporosis is that bone is an endocrine tissue. In both women and men, bone expresses receptors for the steroid hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. This is undeniable full faced evidence that optimal and balanced levels of these hormones is essential for healthy bones, and it is the reason that osteoporosis, like all the degenerative diseases, does not show up until hormones have diminished.

Estrogen, progesterone and testosterone directly power the two essential components for the production of healthy bone. They are:

  • Osteoblasts–new bone cells
  • Osteoclasts–old bone cells

It is important at this point to realize that bone is not static. It is instead a dynamic process in which new bone is constantly being made, and old bone removed in a process known as resorption. When steroid hormones are at optimal levels and in balance, bone is healthy and strong. And when hormone levels decline and become unbalanced, the disease process begins.

In both women and men, osteoblasts are powered by estrogen and testosterone. Osteoclasts are powered by progesterone.

Osteoblasts are in charge of producing bone matrix and mineral. Ideally, they work as a team with components of bone marrow and osteoclasts for optimal bone formation.

The function of osteoclasts is critical in the maintenance and repair of bone. Bones are stronger than aluminum on a weight basis, and are a composite material of approximately equal amounts of hydrated protein and mineralization.   Osteoclasts disassemble this hardy composite at the molecular level by producing collagenase, an enzyme that destroys collagen.

Osteoblasts and osteoclasts together control the amount and quality of bone tissue you have in your body. This means that when you have optimal levels of balanced steroid hormones, osteoblasts and osteoclasts will work in harmony to produce healthy bones, and not a sign of osteoporosis will be seen, no matter what your age.

Hormones are essential to total body health and well being

There’s more to hormones than high quality bones. Hormones are of supreme importance to your overall health and well being. They are the great communicators of the body, by sending chemical messengers that transfer signals and instructions from one set of cells to another. When all hormones are present at optimal levels, not only is harmony restored to your osteoblasts and osteoclasts, but to your body as a whole. Developing osteopenia or osteoporosis is a signal that your hormones need attention.

Don’t discount hormones. They are so important that they have a branch of biological science devoted to them, known as endocrinology. Even the medical establishment grudgingly recognizes the tremendous importance of hormones, and labels doctors who specialize in them as endocrinologists.

Hormones influence and regulate almost every cell, tissue, organ, and function of the human body, including growth, development, metabolism, and sexual and reproductive function. Hormones orchestrate the maintenance and balance of our internal terrain, through a process known as homeostasis.

Yes, there has been much bad press about negative effects of hormones. This has been done intentionally to scare you away from hormone replacement. Selling drugs to the hormonally deprived is big business at its worst. However, more and more women are getting the message that optimal balanced hormones are key to wellness at all levels and the absence of osteoporosis.

This is what’s behind the new breed of physicians who are trained in anti-aging medicine. These doctors specialize in bioidentical hormone replacement, not the hormone substitution drugs we heard so much about a decade ago. Bio identical hormones are exact replicas of the hormones humans make naturally when they are young. Bio-identical hormones can be replaced at levels you had in your prime. The result is not only freedom from osteoporosis and other degenerative diseases. It is the only way to recapture some of yourself as you used to be.

NOTE: For decades I have recommended the DPD Urine Pyrlinks Test which measures the amount of Osteoclasts vs. Osteoclasts.  As long as there are more Osteoblasts then Osteoclasts, you are in good shape. This test is considered the Gold Standard because its accuracy far outweighs the standard Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptionmetry  most doctors use for osteoporosis determination.

NOTE: Osteoporosis has nothing to do with calcium.  One of the best products I have ever recommended for Osteoporosis is Magnifical and although the last three letters are “cal” there is no calcium in this product.

NOTE: As written above, hormones play a vital role in the prevention of Osteoporosis. Women past menopause or heading into menopause usually display a very weak Progesterone signal and men usually have no signal at all.  For this I recommend the Saliva Test for Hormones because it measures both RNA and DNA and as such is a more accurate marker than conventional blood test which can only measure one point in time.

NOTE: Drugs like Fosamax and Prolia interfere with the breakdown of dead cells (Osteoclast) and as such, dead bone cells are not being eliminated to make room for new fresh bone cells ((Osteoblasts)) to replace them. This causes “spontaneous fractures” which is when you are sitting down watching TV and your arm or leg suddenly breaks.  This has been well documented and was shown in a i hour piece on ABC News a while back.

NOTE: You do not fall and break your hip–your hip broke and you fall as a result!!

For more information:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25202834

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24385015

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21815190

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21149714

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20162450

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Menstrual Cramps

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 Menstrual Cramps 

 Ever think that menstrual cramps are just a fact of life?  That every woman has them?  And even if they don’t, that you are just one of the unlucky ones?   I call BS!  Cramps are actually a symptom of an underlying problem.  They can be cured.  The only thing that is required for that is to look at the underlying causes.  Once those are taken care of, the cramps almost always go away, or at least are eased considerably.

An important side note before getting started is that the same problems that cause cramping are the ones that cause a heavy menstrual flow.  Managing to cure one almost definitely cures the other (presuming that what is being handled is primary dysmenorrhea, not a form of  secondary dysmenorrhea caused by an underlying physiological abnormality).  This would be helpful for a lot of women.  Heavy blood flow reduces iron levels and can make women weak, woozy, and anemic.   What’s worse, a heavy period is arguably the biggest pain in the ass on the planet.

There are three respects in which a natural, paleo approach can ease the pain of and even cure menstrual cramps.  They are curing micronutrient deficiencies, cooling inflammation, and restoring hormonal balance.

Micronutrient deficiencies, cramping, and a Paleo diet

Micronutrient deficiencies are a problem for menstrual cramping because micronutrients are key components in the contraction and relaxation of muscle tissue.  Electrolytes in particular, which would be potassium, calcium, sodium, and magnesium, all have well known muscle-relaxing effects.  In fact, deficiencies in any of these nutrients is the primary cause of muscle cramping elsewhere in the body.   Magnesium especially.   With adequate intake of each of these nutrients, as well as the whole slew of micronutrients and vitamins that are enriched on a paleo diet, the intense pain of abdominal muscle cramping can be eased.

A paleo diet maximizes micronutrient intake by the simple fact of keeping a woman’s diet within the range of whole foods.   This helps first by eliminating sources of empty calories.  Empty calories include all desserts, breads, baked goods, sodas, and wheat products.  They contain almost nothing of nutritional value, except for perhaps some B vitamins and a bit of these micronutrients, but all of these nutrients can be obtained from animal and other plant products in much higher quantities.

Moreover, empty calories, particularly wheat-based calories, have downright negative effects on nutrient absorption.  Wheat foods contain proteins called lectins, which bind with micronutrients strongly enough that they prevent normal digestive chemicals from being able to absorb the micronutrients themselves.   For this reason, empty calorie foods such as bread can actually make an individual’s micronutrients pass right through her.  When a woman replaces these empty, or even micronutrient-stealing calories with vegetables and animal products, she naturally increases her intake of just about every vitamin and mineral.  Foods that are particularly rich in magnesium include nuts, cruciferous vegetables, and halibut.  Foods rich in calcium include sardines, dairy products, cruciferous vegetables, and meats.  Foods richest in potassium are bananas, avocadoes, tomatoes, cruciferous greens, and salmon.    Organic vegetables have higher proportions of nutrients than inorganic ones.

Vitamin E has been shown by itself to reduce the pain of menstrual crampingGood sources of vitamin E are cruciferous vegetables such as spinach, turnip greens, broccoli, and chard, almonds, peppers, asparagus, tomatoes, and carrots.  Vitamin E is also available in high amounts in meat products.  Most importantly for paleo dieters, vitamin E is four times as concentrated in grass fed meats than feed lot meat.

Inflammation, cramping, and a paleo diet

A paleo diet is inherently anti-inflammatory.  Inflammatory agents include gluten, other wheat proteins, sugar, particularly fructose, and omega-6 PUFAs which are found in almost all vegetable oils.   A paleo diet is absent of these.  As a matter of fact, calling a paleo diet an “anti-inflammatory” diet is spot on.  The whole point of adopting a paleo diet is to reduce the inflammation that comes from eating toxins.  Yet the benefit of a paleo diet is not just in toxin removal; it is also in the addition of helpful molecules.  Paleo diets active include anti-inflammatory foods such as grass-fed ruminants, seafood, and vitamin- and anti-oxidant- rich plant products.

Reducing inflammation reduces the body’s hyper-reactivity to uterine physiology.   With a calmed immune system, a woman’s body will not leap into inflammatory hyper-drive.

The most important molecule to focus on in a discussion of muscle contractions and menstruation is prostaglandin.  Prostaglandin is an inflammatory eicosanoid, and it’s responsible for the contraction of muscles around the uterus at the time of menstruation.

The precursor to prostaglandin is arachidonic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid.   Arachidonic acid has positive effects in the body, since the inflammatory process is necessary for homeostasis and maintaining optimal health, but when consumed in excess, it provides ample material for the body to mount inflammatory processes.  Arachidonic acid is found naturally in animal products, particularly meat and egg yolks.  This has caused many conventional nutritionists to demonize meat and egg yolks.  Yet AA is also derived from the consumption of linoleic acid, another fatty acid, and linoleic acid is found in great amounts in soy, corn, and vegetable oils.   A natural level of consumption of AA is optimal, and should be ingested in the natural, animal forms.   With this kind of diet, the ratio of omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats is ~ 3:1 or 2:1, which is considered by most researchers today to be the optimal ratio.   When vegetable oils are regularly consumed, the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats can spike to average American levels, ~ 20:1.  That incites the painful, inflammatory response.  No questions about it.

Hormone balance, estrogen dominance, stress, and a paleo diet

The final and most important piece of the puzzle is hormone balance.  When hormones get out of balance, which is really easy for women today, many things can go wrong.  A woman’s reproductive system is not to be messed with.

What goes wrong with menstrual cramping is that the uterine lining becomes too thick.  With a larger lining, more tissue exists to produce prostaglandin.  Moreover, more tissue needs to be shed, so more and more material needs to be squeezed through a smaller space (women with narrow cervixes are more prone to menstrual cramping).   This also, as I hinted at above, means that the exorcised material will be heavier, and the period will last longer.

Estrogen is responsible for the thickening uterus.  Therefore, estrogen dominance is the primary problem that most women with menstrual cramps suffer from.  Estrogen causes their reproductive organs to go into productive hyper-drive, and their abdominal muscles suffer the results.  If estrogen can be brought back down, a woman’s menstrual problems often cease.

Estrogen dominance is caused primarily by two factors: it is caused 1) by the consumption of phytoestrogens, and 2) it is caused by stress.

Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring plant chemicals that resemble, but are not identical to, a woman’s natural estrogen.  What this means is that phytoestrogens enter a woman’s body through her diet and act as estrogen in her body.  In some ways this phenomenon enhances normal estrogen functioning, and in other ways it inhibits the activity and signalling of true estrogen, since it confuses the body’s normal accounting mechanisms.  With both phytoestrogens and true estrogens in the blood, the reproductive organs and hypothalamic receptors do not know how much estrogen to produce.  Sometimes the pituitary will detect the phytoestrogens in the blood and go ahead and decrease it’s production of estrogen, such that a relative balance between estrogen-like chemicals and the rest of a female’s hormones is maintained in the bloodstream, yet other times the pituitary does not detect the phytoestrogens, and it goes on pumping out as much estrogen as it had previously.  In this case, way too much estrogen is floating around in a woman’s bloodstream, and it’s causing all sort of reproductive havoc.  This results in menstrual cramping.  It is also a factor in PMS, PMDD, mood disorders, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and breast cancer.

Foods that contain phytoestrogens are legumes, nuts, and seeds.  These should be avoided by all women.   The worst of all of them, however, is soy, and is should be avoided at all costs by all women.  Sometimes soy and other phytoestrogens are recommended to women during menopause to mitigate their symptoms, and this does sometimes help with hot flashes and the like.  However, almost always soy leads to decreased ovulation, irregular menstruation, and impaired fertility.   Phytoestrogens may resemble estrogen, but they are not estrogen, and that confusion has plagued the medical establishment and struggling women alike for decades.

A paleo diet eschews soy, legumes, and goes light on nuts and seeds.  For this reason, it is helpful in restoring hormonal imbalance.  A paleo diet also eliminates the toxins I mentioned above which contribute to systemic inflammation, which in turn can incite estrogen production, so in this way it helps restores balance.  And finally, a paleo diet emphasizes natural, grass-fed animal consumption against feed-lot consumption, which minimizes the amount of foreign hormones and foreign hormone disruptors that are often injected into or fed to feed-lot livestock.

A paleo diet also emphasizes organic vegetables, or at the very least washing and peeling vegetables.  Conventionally-grown vegetables are often coated in fertilizers and such that contain potent endocrine disruptors.  It is important, especially during a person’s developmental years, to be as removed from these toxins as possible.

A second cause of estrogen dominance is stress.  Physiological stress from consumption of modern toxins as well as emotional stress from modern living results in a decrease in progesterone production and an increase in estrogen production.  The term “estrogen dominance” was first coined by Dr. Lee , and what it means is that estrogen is higher than the other hormones in the body.  In his book, he talks mostly about how much faster progesterone production falls off in menopause than estrogen production does (by 120 times!).   Estrogen levels may rise in response to stress, but it’s also important to note that estrogen dominance can also mean that estrogen levels stay the same while progesterone and testosterone levels fall.   The only way to insure that progesterone secretion does not stop is to have the healthiest possible functioning HPA axis.  This means reducing stress, both of the emotional kind and the physiological kind.

This being the case, a paleo diet is the optimal course of action.  It markedly reduces all kinds of stress: it eliminates toxins, for example, but it also restores blood sugar balance by eliminating sugar from the diet, which improves mood, and it optimizes dopamine, serotonin, and GABA functioning, all of which are necessary for being in a good mood and having a healthy HPA axis, too.

A caveat: the female response to stress is complicated, and it does not always result in estrogen dominance.  It can, for example, result instead in adrenal fatigue, or in stress-induced hypothalamic amenorrhea.   In both of these cases, hormonal disruption does not lead to estrogen dominance.  Yet in women with menstrual cramps, it is almost certain that this is the case, since excess estrogen is what causes uterine excess.

As a final note on hormone balance, being overweight contributes to estrogen dominance.    Almost all human cells carry an enzyme called aromatase.  What aromatase does is convert testosterone into estrogen.   This means that if aromatase activity has increased in a woman, her estrogen levels will spike, but her progesterone levels will remain the same.   The reason this happens in overweight women is because aromatase is highly active in fat cells.  Worse than that, however, is the fact that aromatase activity begets more aromatase activity, such that being overweight can create a vicious cycle of fat gain and estrogen production.  Many overweight women exist in a state of constant aromatization and estrogen production.  One way to mitigate this problem is to stop consuming aromatase-exciting foods such as soy, and to instead eat foods such as cruciferous vegetables which activate enzymes in the liver responsible for clearing excess estrogen out of a woman’s body.   Another way to mitigate this problem is with natural, non-restrictive weight loss.  A paleo diet provides just such a template.

Exercise

One final way to restore hormonal balance and alleviate menstrual pain is with exercise.  Exercise boosts serotonin levels, and serotonin helps with the pain response.  Moreover, moderate exercise improves mood and mental clarity, improves glucose sensitivity, and better prepares the body to handle other stressors that come its way.

All that said…

hormone balance takes time.   Sometimes results can be seen immediately, but sometimes the body needs months to heal and to readjust the sensitivity of its hormone receptors.  For this reason, all of these steps help with menstrual pain, but patience and stress-reduction are possibly the most crucial steps of all.