For a man to function at his best, estrogen must be controlled and kept in the right range. If you suspect your estrogen levels are high, don’t panic, there are a few effective ways to lower estrogen levels naturally.
Just mentioning the word estrogen to some can conjure up enough negative imagery to lead to widespread panic and condemning statements like “estrogen is harmful to the body” being spouted.
Should you really do everything you can to completely avoid this hormone? Or is the real key to optimum internal function and sex drive all about moderating estrogen levels as opposed to completely eradicating them?
It turns out – it’s actually the latter. You need estrogen for important functions like bone maintenance and repair in conjunction with other vital elements like the suppression of excess body fat. [1] This obviously means that you don’t want it gone altogether.
So how do you actually control your estrogen count and ensure that it doesn’t affect your sex life as well as your ability to maintain lean muscle mass and basically live your life in as manly a state as possible?
Read on to find out more!
Do You Have An Imbalance In Estrogen And Testosterone Hormones?
When estrogen levels increase and testosterone levels start to decline in the male body, it is not always obvious to detect such a problem. For a lot of men, it starts out with some weakness and fatigue. You may find that you feel tired throughout the day. At first, you consider that this is all related to poor sleep, or perhaps a little extra stress. Later on, other problems start to develop.
Unfortunately, many of the issues that the body suffers from due to an imbalance in estrogen and testosterone are often mistaken for other conditions. This is why it is important that you realize the signs that are associated with high estrogen, as well as the particular symptoms that may signal a decline in your testosterone levels.
One of the first areas of concern that men usually notice problems with is their sexual function. High estrogen and a low level of testosterone can cause a man to experience a low libido, which means they will not be as interested in having sex as they used to be. Morning erections also start to become less frequent. When the time comes for having sex, the erectile function may also be adversely affected. Not all men will experience erectile dysfunction, but erectile firmness and duration may not be as impressive as it used to be.
When estrogen levels increase in the male body, it may cause breasts to become enlarged. Additionally, you may notice that you are abdominal fat starts to increase. This is actually a very common problem among men with low testosterone. At the same time, muscle mass may reduce as well. This can also cause physical weakness, which means going to the gym and lifting some weight will start to become more difficult – you will also not be able to push the same weights as you were able to before these problems started to develop.
When your estrogen levels rise, you also become more likely to develop a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia. This can lead to the development of urinary tract problems, such as having to get up more frequently at night to urinate. You may also find that it feels like your bladder does not completely empty when you urinate. Furthermore, a lot of men with symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia have to urinate more frequently.
Top Ways To Lower Estrogen In Your Body
Ensuring estrogen doesn’t override your system is all about maximizing your testosterone levels – there are numerous ways in which you can do this, and it’s likely going to take a combination of several elements to optimize your test levels on the whole.
Some changes can be implemented immediately to swing the balance back in your favor, whereas other aspects will need to be sourced externally via your nutrient intake and supplements.
Are you ready to find out what some of the most effective methods of controlling estrogen are?
Let’s take a closer look.
1. Test Boosters
There is a wide array of testosterone boosters available on the market to help increase your natural levels, thus ensuring that estrogen can’t prevail as the dominant hormone. However, there are many ineffective test boosters out there.
You should really use a natural, tried, and tested herbal extract product like Herbolab Tongkat Ali, as opposed to going for some of the dubious mass-marketed variants out there on offer by high-profile sports supplement companies.
Anything that has been sourced from nature and has been used for decades (in some cases even centuries) to enhance one’s “manliness” is always going to be your safest bet.
Tongkat Ali a traditional medicinal herb from Malaysia has been shown to be very potent at not only reducing estrogen levels, [2] but also boosting free testosterone [3] and lowering stress. [4] It will deliver realistic results via completely natural means as opposed to things such as steroids messing with your internal biochemistry and potentially causing you harm or at the very least leading to wasted cash.
2. Avoid Having Too Much Of These Food Types
Believe it or not, estrogen is actually contained in a lot of the food we eat – it’s obviously not human estrogen, but the form of phytoestrogen these foods contain can actually lead to a spike in our own estrogen production.
You shouldn’t completely cut out these food types, but they do need to be consumed in low amounts:
- Soy and soy-related products
- Beans
- Oats
- Barley
- Lentils
- Sesame seeds
- Flaxseeds
- Licorice root
- Bourbon
- Beer
This list isn’t fully comprehensive but it gives you a good overview of the food types to moderate. If your estrogen levels are very high at the moment, consider trying some natural estrogen blocking supplements as well.
3. Consider Getting More Sleep
There’s nothing worse for your testosterone levels than a lack of sleep. [5]
“I literally must have had 3 hours sleep last night…I’m just so busy!” – sounds familiar doesn’t it? Either you or someone you know will have said this.
As strange as it sounds – not sleeping much is often associated with overachievers…if you’re gullible. In reality, it’s incredibly damaging and you’d actually get far more done if you slept more.
When you lose out on sleep (you should never really have any less than 7+ hours a night) it’s been shown that you’re very likely to suppress your body’s natural ability to maximize test release.
When you were younger – you may have worn a lack of sleep with pride. Now that you’re older and wiser; you should know it’s just plain dumb, not to mention damaging.
Manage your schedule however, you can to ensure that you get that all-important shut-eye.
4. Eat MORE Of These Food Types For Lower Estrogen
Whereas some food types increase estrogen production, others increase testosterone production and maximize your ability to do everything from performing to your fullest extent in the bedroom to burning your excess body fat more efficiently.
If you want to ensure your natural testosterone levels remain at a constant high point; eat more of the following items:
- More leafy green and cruciferous vegetables
- Raw eggs
- Nuts
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Red meat
As per our estrogen high food list – this list doesn’t contain every testosterone boosting food type available but it does give an accessible overview of the items you should be including more of. As you might have figured out already, the emphasis is on healthy fats.
5. Reduce Your Body Fat Levels
Studies have shown that increased levels of body fat may actually assist in the production of estrogen – view this as a vicious circle whereas one component feeds into the other thus ensuring both elements can co-exist together. [6] Therefore, to lower estrogen efficiently one must lower the body fat content.
It’s important that you reduce your body fat to a healthy level if you want to ensure that your estrogen count is as low as possible – this will also mean that it’s easier to keep the stuff off when it’s gone because there won’t be a huge influx of estrogen to keep it in place.
It really is a win-win situation.
6. Perform Regular Exercise
Regular exercise (especially resistance training) has been linked with boosting the body’s natural testosterone count – making this simple implementation alone could be all you need to bring your estrogen to count back in line. [7]
Being that many people don’t anywhere near as regularly as they should, it’s easy to see why they might suffer from a lack of “flare” in the bedroom if they’re living a sedentary lifestyle.
Statistics from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services show that over 80% of adults in the United States fail to meet the recommended minimum requirements of physical activity to support their bodies. [8] More than 95% of adults do not participate in 30 minutes or longer worth of exercise daily.
People are living sedentary lifestyles, and this is causing great distress to the population. When you fail to exercise enough, your testosterone levels will not be boosted, but rather start to decline faster.
7. Reduce Your Stress Levels
Stress is often unavoidable in our day-to-day lives. You have to attend a meeting and hope that the client will be happy with your presentation. You need to make sure that the kids are picked up on time at school. You are responsible for paying the bills at the end of the month. Divorce, being fired from a job – there are many things that happen each day, all leading to a pile-up of stress.
While acute stress can actually be a useful thing in life, chronic stress may cause many problems with the human body. It does not only leads to a higher risk of depression but also starts to affect your physical well-being – including your body’s ability to produce testosterone.
Long-term stress causes a constant release of cortisol, which is a hormone that the body produces when it is under stress. Several studies have confirmed that cortisol has a negative relation toward testosterone.
One study that was published in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine found that introducing cortisol to the body of a male patient causes circulating testosterone levels to decline. [9] Negative associations were also identified with stress-induced cortisol spikes following tests performed after specific exercise routines were performed by the participants of the study.
There are many strategies that can be used to reduce stress levels. Reducing the use of caffeine and alcohol may help greatly, as these substances all causes stress levels to increase and ultimately leads to a larger secretion of cortisol. Nicotine is also bad for stress, which means quitting smoking can also be useful.
Other stress-reducing techniques may include adopting better time management skills, keeping a stress diary with you, as well as trying out some relaxation techniques. There are many different types of techniques, such as deep breathing, that may help to calm you down and relieve stress. In some cases, talking to someone may also be a great way to blow off some steam and reduce those high levels of stress.
If you want to add a supplement to your daily regimen, try ashwagandha for stress.
8. Spend Some Time In The Sun
What’s more, fun than spending a day at the beach? Most certainly not an entire Sunday afternoon cooped up in the house, that is for sure! Spending some time out in the sun, such as by taking a visit to the beach, going for a walk in the park, or having a picnic at the zoo, does not only help you catch a bit of a tan but may also be useful for boosting your testosterone levels.
When your skin is exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun, it causes a vitamin D precursor that is already present in your skin to be converted into vitamin D3, which is then metabolized by the liver and passes through the kidneys. The vitamin D3 is then converted into calcitriol, which is the active form of vitamin D.
Vitamin D plays many important roles in the human body – from bone health to mental well-being. Along with these roles, the vitamin also has an effect on the body’s ability to produce adequate levels of testosterone hormones.
A study conducted by the Medical University of Graz in Austria tested the effects of vitamin D supplementation on a group of men who were overweight and undergoing a weight reduction program. [10] All men were non diabetics. The group was divided into two. One group received a daily supplement of vitamin D, while the second group received a placebo. The study was conducted over a period of one year.
At the beginning of the study, serum testosterone and vitamin D levels were tested in all participants. The same tests were performed again at the end of the one-year study period. The scientists reported significant improvements in testosterone levels among the male participants who were provided a daily vitamin D supplement. Nonsignificant changes in testosterone levels were observed among the male participants in the group administered a placebo.
9. Reduce Your Exposure To Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A is a chemical that is found in many of the products we use on a daily basis. Plastic bottles are the most common objects that are associated with this chemical, but Bisphenol A, also known as BPA, is a chemical that is also found in children’s toys, thermal paper, food packaging, healthcare equipment, and even in dental materials. We can be exposed to the chemical through an oral route, as well as through transdermal contact and inhalation.
When exposed to Bisphenol A chemicals, the liver converts the chemical into a molecule known as bisphenol A glucuronide. [11] While the majority of these molecules are excreted from the human body through urination, some of the molecules tend to interact with estrogen receptors in the body.
The exposure of BPA can then lead to an increase in the presence of estrogen. This is why the chemical has been linked to endocrine disorders, infertility in both men and women, as well as many other health-related problems, including an increased risk of prostate cancer in men.
Additionally, this may cause a man to experience signs that are related to elevated estrogen levels, while circulating testosterone levels may be adversely affected.
10. Reduce Your Exposure To Parabens
This one is similar than the previous point, but instead of focusing on BPA, I want to offer a quick overview of the adverse effects that parabens might also have on estrogen levels in men, along with its potential effects on testosterone.
Parabens are widely used in millions of products. They are found in almost everything we use on a day-to-day basis. Take a look at the moisturizer you use on your face each day – chances are, it contains parabens. Your toothpaste and shaving gel also most likely contain parabens. Cosmetic products and hair care products, including shampoos, often also includes this chemical. Parabens are preservatives that make it much cheaper for brands to produce these different products.
A review paper published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences explains that parabens have an estrogenic effect when the human body is exposed to the chemical. [12] The preservative contains an enzyme that activates estrogen release. When this occurs, levels of estrogen will become elevated in your bloodstream. This will, in turn, cause problems with the concentration of serum testosterone that is present in your body.
Conclusion
You should really aim to incorporate all of the above tips to not only keep your estrogen levels in check but also to maximize your testosterone release as this is going to lead to optimum body performance in almost every area – there are many other useful little tricks to work with out there, but this list aims to cover some of the most vital.
Consider that your natural ability to produce testosterone is going to start declining when you reach the age of 30 onwards – this means that the contents of this article could be absolutely vital if you’re 40 or above and can’t place your finger on why things have become a little “dull” lately; it might just be your age, and if that’s the case then every single one of the above tips will help.
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